Cinnamon Ancho Ice Cream

With the temperatures reaching the low 90s this week, I can’t help but think about the true joys of ice cream. I love ice cream. Let me be clear here, I LOVE ICE CREAM!!! I think it’s because it reminds me of my childhood. I remember the excitement of piling in the car with my sister, mom, and dad after baseball or softball games and rolling to the Dairy Queen not too far from home. Going for ice cream as a child was an event. Peanut buster parfaits or Heath Bar blizzards were my choice then and still to this day!

When I got a little older, my first job in food was working at a Baskin Robbins with my sister. That was like giving the mice a key to the cheese factory. We had a blast. Heidi was by far the responsible one and I couldn’t contain myself from sampling every ice cream as often as possible. Shocking, I know! Our friends from high school would always stop by for samples and the owner, Rudy, liked the bump in sales!

My love of ice cream still reigns supreme to this day. When given the chance to write a multiple course menu for a dinner event, I always choose to finish the night with an ice cream course. I enjoy traditional ice creams but when doing a special dining event, I prefer to give the guests something truly unique. I did this particular ice cream a few weeks ago for a dinner event and the results were guests craving more!

Cinnamon Ancho Ice Cream

• 3-cups whole milk
• 1- cup heavy cream
• 13 egg yolks
• 1-¼ cups of sugar
• 2 tablespoons of cinnamon
• 1- large dried ancho chili pepper

To get started, heat the dairy in a medium sized saucepot along with the cinnamon, 1 cup of sugar, and the ancho peppers. Bring the mixture to a slow simmer; remove from the heat and let sit for a half hour.

This process is simply known as the steeping process. The idea here is to rehydrate the ancho pepper, extract its smoky flavor and inherent subtle heat. I understand that it may seem a little odd to use an ancho pepper in this application but trust me the lingering heat is amazingly cool. When I made this with my sous chef Jason, he made the initial observation that the ice cream reminded him of hot tamales. Exactly!

Using a fine mesh strainer, strain the liquids from the solids, keeping the liquids and discarding the chili peppers. Return the cream to the saucepot and return to a slow simmer.

While the cream is heating to its slow simmer, begin cracking the eggs and separating the egg yolks from the whites. I know there are a few gadgets that perform this task and I’m sure they are fantastic but I find it just as easy to use my hands to do the separation.

Once all the yolks are separated, place the yolks in a large mixing bowl and when the cream has reached its simmer add the last ¼ cup of sugar to the eggs and fold in using a high heat rubber spatula. It is crucial that you add the sugar to the yolks at the last moment possible. If you add the sugar too early you can create a process known as sugar burn.

Sugar burn occurs when egg yolks are introduced to sugar and the yolks actually begin to coagulate or cook due to the presence of the sugar. For a better explanation of sugar burn or anything related to the science of food, might I suggest Harold McGee’s On Food and Cooking: The Science and lore of the Kitchen. If you’re a foodie, and I know you are, this book is a must have because it’s an extremely fascinating read.

OK, let’s review. At this point you should have a mixing bowl of egg yolks and recently added sugar. Your cinnamon ancho cream should be at a slow simmer and now were ready for the process of tempering.

Tempering

Carefully, slowly and oh-so-gently begin to pour what will essentially be about 40-50 percent of the cream into the bowl with the yolks. While pouring the cream into the mixing bowl, use your high heat spatula to incorporate the yolks and cream. (I highly recommend placing a damp cloth towel under the mixing bowl before attempting this process. The wet cloth towel should prevent the bowl from sliding around thus giving you more control. Just a suggestion chef!)

When about half the cream is added to the yolks and you’ve successfully stirred the mixture ensuring that you didn’t scramble the eggs, return the saucepot with the cream back to the heat. Now pour the contents of the mixing bowl (the tempered yolks and cream) into the saucepot with the cream and stir with your high heat spatula.

On medium heat, continue to stir until the temperature of the yolk infused cream begins to thicken a bit. The desired temperature should be about 130-140 degrees. However this isn’t always a foolproof system. Use your spatula and continue to stir until you notice a significant change in texture. The consistency we are looking for is called nape (pronounced, nap-ay) or when the sauce can effectively coat the back of a spoon. Be very careful here and don’t take your eye off the cream. If you get too aggressive with the heat, you will over cook the cream producing scrambled eggs. Trust me, I’ve made this mistake before.

Ok, once the cream has reached its nape consistency remove from the heat and transfer the cream to a mixing bowl through a fine mesh strainer. Discard any remnants left in the strainer.

This mixing bowl should be placed in a larger mixing bowl containing ice and a little water. The idea here is to chill the cream in a mixing bowl as fast as possible by resting it in a larger bowl of ice water. Affix the smaller mixing bowl in the ice bath of the larger bowl. Add the cream to the smaller bowl and continue to stir the cream to release as much of the heat as possible.

Now that the temperature of the cream has dropped considerably, place the cream in a container and set in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. The cream will last for a few days so it’s totally cool to cheat and do this process ahead of time. For your information, you’ve just successfully created a Cinnamon Ancho Crème Anglaise. Crème Anglaise is a classic French sauce often used in dessert dishes. Just so you know!

At this point, your cream is ready to be spun in the ice cream maker. Refer to the guidelines of your ice cream maker before adding your cream, as certain ice cream makers will freeze the cream at differing times.

Presentation

I like using all sorts of serving vessels for ice cream. Depending on your guests or the formality of the event, you can use anything from ice cream cones to martini glasses. I’m giving you the option to choose here chef. Let your imagination and creativity run wild.

As for garnishes, might I recommend a nice compote of brandy-poached apples with a tablespoon of brown sugar? You could also use cinnamon snicker doodle cookies and create a play on an ice cream sandwich. Ooh, that sounds good too. I like using cinnamon sticks or you could even garnish with a few hot tamale candies or red hots! Whatever you want to do is fine here chef. Just make sure you have plenty of guests around to enjoy your ice cream party!

Buen Provecho!