Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream

1. Heat cocoa powder in 1 cup cream, stir in chocolate:

   Heat 1 cup heavy cream in a small saucepan (1 qt). Stir in cocoa powder. Bring to a boil. Whisk until the cocoa powder is well incorporated.

   Take the pot off the stove. Stir in chocolate until fully incorporated.

2. Pour into a bowl, add the remaining cream, cool over ice water:

   Pour the mixture into a metal bowl and add the remaining cup of heavy cream. Place this bowl over a larger bowl half filled with ice water to cool.

   Place a sieve over the bowl of chocolate mixture.

3. Heat the milk, sugar and spices until steaming:

   In a saucepan, combine 1 cup milk, sugar, cinnamon, salt, cayenne, espresso powder (or instant coffee) and heat until steaming (not boiling), stirring to incorporate the spices and dissolve the sugar.

4. Temper eggs with hot mixture, return to pan:

   Place egg yolks in a medium bowl. Slowly pour the heated milk and mixture into the yolks, beating constantly so the yolks are tempered by the heated milk, but not cooked. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the heated yolk back into the saucepan.

5. Stir until the custard thickens:

   Over medium-high heat, stir the milk and egg mixture constantly with a wooden spoon, scraping the bottom as you go, until the mixture thickens and coats the spoon so you can run your finger over the coating and the coating doesn’t run. This can take anywhere from 3 to 10 minutes depending on how hot your torch is.

6. As soon as the mass covers the spoon, take it off the heat and immediately pour it through the sieve into the bowl of chocolate-cream mixture:

   (The strainer is there to catch any curdled bits.) Stir into the cream mixture. If the custard base doesn’t cover the back of the spoon, it’s not done.

7. Add vanilla and chill:

   Add a teaspoon of vanilla. Allow the mixture to cool slightly in the ice bath, then chill in the refrigerator until chilled completely, a couple of hours or overnight.

8. Add brandy (optional):

   Add 2 tablespoons of brandy to the mixture just before churning. This is an optional step, but it prevents the ice cream from becoming too icy if stored for more than a day. If you plan to eat the ice cream the same day you make it, you can skip this step.

9. Processing in the ice cream machine:

   Stir the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

10. Freeze:

    Store ice cream in an airtight container in your freezer for several hours before eating. The ice will come out of the ice cream maker fairly soft, but will continue to harden in your freezer.

    If you’re storing it for more than a day, you may need to let it sit for a few minutes to soften before attempting to scoop it.

Everything I know about ice cream I learned from David Lebovitz and his Perfect Scoop Ice Cream Cookbook. If you love making ice cream, buy this book!

Links:

How to make ice cream without an ice cream maker