Mayan Chocolate Ice Cream

This was given to me by my friend Sarah. She did this w/o an ice cream maker (which I do not have) I am so looking forward to trying this.


In a double broiler (or create a makeshift double broiler by placing a medium glass bowl over a pot of simmering water): whisk together 3 cups of half and half, 1/2 cup cocoa powder and 10- 12 oz dark chocolate (or semi-sweet chocolate)...until all is melted. Then, take the bowl off the stove and add 2 ts (or more) vanilla or almond extract (I used my homemade stuff; vanilla pods extracted in rum), a couple teaspoons of cinnamon... and however much cayenne pepper that you think you can take (I dumped in a bunch). Set this aside.

In a different (large) bowl, whisk together 2/3 cup sugar, 2 pinches of salt and 10 egg yolks.


In another saucepan, simmer 3 more cups of half and half (it will be warm, but not too hot. You should be able to stick your finger in the liquid without swearing...). Now, you will be tempering the eggs (which will be a bit tricky). Basically, you do not want your eggs to solidify. You have to pour the warm half and half ever so slowly into the egg and sugar mixture ...while whisking. Whisk with vigor!

Now, you can pour the egg mixture into the saucepan...and simmer again. Whisk the whole time. Your custard should get thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (the temp. will be around 170*). It will feel heavy and smell wonderful.

The chocolate mixture, the egg-custard mixture and a bunch of chopped almonds should be mixed together at this point(but only if everything is completely smooth with no globs of egg floating around in your ice cream-to-be). If you have the globby egg problem, pour your custard into a bowl through a sieve to remove the unsightly intruders. But you shouldn't have to deal with the issue in the first place, so do not worry.

Set the unified mixture in an ice-bath for 15 minutes (to cool it down quickly).
Then, stick it in the fridge to chill for 3 hrs before sticking it in the ice cream maker. Or ignore the ice cream maker and freeze it in a tubberware container (in the back of the freezer). I suggest that you just ignore the ice cream maker. Why create more dishes for yourself?

This recipe makes 2 quarts (so, yoiu might want to share with at least one other person...).

Enjoy the creamy ice cream with a kick of chili pepper!