Week Two - Chocolate with Cinnamon and Cayenne

Since I started this blog a week into the new year, I figured I should make up for that lost week by posting two flavors this week. So here it is, flavor number two! I suppose I should come up with a better method of naming flavors, as "Chocolate with Cinnamon and Cayenne" sounds a bit clinical. But for now, we'll just go with it.

This flavor combination is a favorite of mine. I mean, you could probably mix chocolate with just about any flavor and I'd eat it. In fact, I've often said that I'd probably eat a chocolate-covered hamburger if you put it in front of me...and I haven't eaten a hamburger in about twenty years. (Save for that one terrible near-hamburger experience I had in college. But I digress...) I know perhaps these spices sound like odd additives to a sweet treat, particularly the cayenne, but the way these flavors layer together and then reveal themselves one by one as the ice cream melts in your mouth...it's a real thing of beauty.

So I hope you'll open your minds and your taste buds and enjoy some Chocolate with Cinnamon and Cayenne:

Chocolate with Cinnamon and Cayenne (adapted from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home)

Ingredients:
1/3 cup cocoa powder (I use Scharffen Berger)
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
1 1/2 oz bittersweet chocolate (again Scharffen Berger)
2 cups whole milk
1 tbs plus 1 tsp cornstarch
3 tbs cream cheese
1/8 tsp sea salt
1 1/4 heavy cream
2 tbs light corn syrup
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1. In a saucepan, heat the cocoa powder, 1/3 cup of the sugar and the water and bring to a boil over medium heat. After 30 seconds of boiling, remove the pan from heat and add the chopped bittersweet chocolate, stirring until all the lumps and bumps are removed.

2. In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch and 2 tbs of milk.

3. In yet another bowl (this time, a larger bowl) combine the cream cheese, chocolate mixture and sea salt until it's lump-free.

4. In a large saucepan, mix the remaining milk and sugar, the cream and corn syrup and bring to a rolling boil for about 4 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and whisk in the cornstarch mixture.

5. Return the pan to heat and boil, stirring constantly, for about a minute. The mixture should be slightly thickened at this point.

6. Slowly pour the milk mixture into the cream cheese mixture (lots of mixtures!) and whisk until lump-free. Add the spices and stir until uniform.

7. Pour the mixture (carefully!) into a freezer bag and submerge (make sure it's sealed!) in a bowl of ice water. Let sit in water until completely cooled.

8. Transfer cooled mixture into bowl of ice cream maker and churn. Upon completion, transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze.

9. Sprinkle with some candied pepitas (or don't) and enjoy!