One thing I’ve discovered about myself lately is that I am intrigued by odd and wacky ice creams flavors - the not-so-Ben-&-Jerry’s type of ice cream that you can find just anywhere. If you remember I recently posted my Maple Whiskey Candied Bacon Ice Cream Recipe that was a hit among friends. This has peaked my interest that there are probably many more crazy ice cream flavors out there that have yet to be discovered. Here’s where I come in…
I love to experiment with food, particularly of the sweet natured and I came across a Mexican chocolate chile ice cream. As with any recipe I find I always adapt to my own taste buds and make a few minor, but important changes. I went to a Mexican market, but could not find Mexican chocolate so I modified it by adding my own spices to the chocolate - cinnamon, pumpkin spice and nutmeg. You will always want to taste the mixture before you freeze it to adjust the flavoring to your liking. And don’t be scared that this has a chili in it. This ice cream is not spicy at all.
As a garnish to the ice cream I made caramel corn (I’m thinking it’s like flan-flavored, since this is a Mexican-themed dessert) and topped it with some Fleur de Sel and a dash of ancho chili pepper. Sweet, salty, crunchy and spicy - perfection!
For the Mexican Chocolate Chili Ice Cream:
Makes 1 quart
- 1 large pasilla negro chile, stemmed, seeded and, if you wish, deveined
- 1 1/3 cups half-and-half
- 2 ounces Mexican chocolate, chopped into small pieces, or dark chocolate (70% cacao)***
- 3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, preferably 70% Venezuelan, chopped into ¼-inch pieces
- 4 egg yolks
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 1/3 cups heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla, preferably Mexican vanilla
- 2 1/2 tablespoons Kahlúa or other coffee liqueur
***Note: If using dark chocolate you will need to add 1 tsp cinnamon, a pinch or nutmeg and/or a pinch or two of pumpkin spice.
Directions
1. Make the chile infusion. In a small skillet heated over medium, toast the chile, pressing it flat against the skillet with a metal spatula until it is very aromatic—about 10 seconds per side. Place in a small saucepan, add the half-and-half, Mexican chocolate and the semi-sweet chocolate, and heat over medium until steaming (but not boiling). Cover and let steep for 10 minutes, then pour into a blender jar and process until the chile is pureed.
2. Set up a double boiler. Set up a 4-quart saucepan, filled halfway with water, into which you can nestle a 3-quart stainless steel bowl. Bring the pot of water to a boil over high heat while you’re preparing the custard base.
3. Cook the base. In the 3-quart stainless steel bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until thoroughly combined, then whisk in the chile-infused chocolate mixture. Reduce the temperature under the pot of boiling water to maintain a gentle simmer. Set the bowl of custard base over the simmering water and whisk frequently, scraping down the sides of the bowl regularly with a rubber spatula, until the mixture thickens noticeably, about 5 minutes. The custard is sufficiently cooked when it reaches 180 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. (You can also test it by dipping a wooden spoon into the custard, then running your finger through the custard: if the line holds clearly, the custard has thickened sufficiently.) For the finest texture,
4. Cool the base. Fill a large bowl halfway with ice. Nestle a smaller bowl into the ice and pour the custard through a fine-mesh strainer into the bowl in the ice bath. Whisk the mixture until it is completely cool. Refrigerate if not using immediately.
5. Finishing the base, freezing the ice cream. Stir the heavy cream, vanilla and Kahlúa into the base. Freeze in an ice cream freezer according to the manufacturer’s directions. Scrape into a freezer container and freeze for several hours to firm.
For the Caramel Corn garnish:
Makes 5 quarts
- 4-5 quarts popped popcorn (a double batch of this popcorn recipe, unsalted, unbuttered)
- 2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup dark corn syrup
- 1 Tbs molasses
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- Fleur de Sel
- ancho chili pepper
1. Heat oven to 225°F. Place popcorn in large roasting pan; set aside.
2. Combine brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, molasses and salt in a thick-bottomed, 2-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a full boil. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until candy thermometer reaches 250°F or small amount of mixture dropped in ice water forms a hard ball (about 12 to 14 minutes). Remove from heat; stir in baking soda. The caramel will foam up a little and turn a lighter color when you add the baking soda.
3. Carefully pour hot mixture over the popcorn in a large roasting pan. Using a wooden spoon, stir until all popcorn is coated. (Be careful not to let the caramel touch you; it’s very hot.) Place in oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, stir to more evenly coat the popcorn with the caramel sauce. Return to oven. Continue cooking for 20 minutes. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with salt and chili pepper. Immediately spread caramel corn out onto waxed paper. Let cool completely. Break into bite-sized pieces. Store in tightly covered container.
Add as a garnish to ice cream when serving.
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