Spicy Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream
This ice cream is unlike anything I've ever had. It’s spicy and sweet, hot and cold, and blissfully creamy. It skips nothing in terms of heavy cream and half-and-half, but you really only need one scoop. I promise! The recipe is adapted from the wonderful Rick Bayless
by: Three Many Cooks
Serves: Makes 1 quart
Ingredients
- 1 large pasilla negro chile, stemmed and seeded
- 1⅓ cups half-and-half
- 5 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- 4 egg yolks
- ½ cup sugar
- 1⅓ cups heavy cream
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla
- 2 tablespoons Kahlua
Instructions
- 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, chocolate, a few dashes of cinnamon, and some freshly grated nutmeg, 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.
- Set up a 4-quart saucepan, filled halfway with water. Bring the pot of water to a boil over high heat while you're preparing the custard base.
- In a 3-quart stainless steel bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar, 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.)
- 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.
- Stir the heavy cream, vanilla and Kahlua 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.
Want. Need an ice cream machine, STAT.
This sounds so rich and decadent. Love the flavors!
That right there is making me want ice cream for breakfast.
I’m looking for an ice cream maker, mostly because the ice cream flavors I want are either unavailable or very expensive. What machine do you use, and are you happy with it?
This sounds wonderful!
Whoa! This sounds too good. I love chocolate and spicy together – and Kahlua doesn’t hurt either.
Oooooh, good call Amy!
Ivoryhut–I used my mom’s ice cream machine (i can’t yet afford my own.) Her’s is pretty old, but it’s the best i’ve ever worked with. You don’t need to freeze the bowl beforehand or anything, just turn it on. It takes an hour or so, and it makes the creamiest, smoothest, most wonderful ice cream.
Hopefully she’ll weigh in on the brand and where she got it.
yum yum! Ice cream makers hold no fear for me, but I’m intimidated by chiles – is the one called for typically found in supermarkets? Can I substitute?
Hey Lucy,
Don’t be afraid of chiles!! they are so wonderful and full of flavor, I am really just beginning to explore the world of dried chiles, but it’s exciting.
Anyway, I found pasillas at a Latin American grocery store near me (a quick google search and you’ll probably find one.) But, I’ve seen them in grocery stores. I just looked up substitutions, and this what I found at Cook’s Thesaurus:
pasilla chile = chile negro = pasilla negro Pronunciation: puh-SEE-yuh Notes: This is the dried version of the chilaca chile. It’s long, black, and wrinkled, and a standard ingredient in mole sauces. Ancho chiles are sometimes mislabeled as pasillas. Substitutes: ancho chile (sweeter) OR mulato chile (stronger, earthier flavor)
Hope this helps!
Hi Ivoryhut, I’ve had my Simac ice cream freezer since Sharon was barely out of diapers. It was state of the art when I bought it then and it still runs very well, but it wasn’t cheap. It’s the kind with the refrigerant in the coils so you don’t have to freeze the bowl. With this kind of system no need to plan ahead. Just add the custard or juice, turn on the freezer and press start. If you want, I’ll put in a good word to Santa Claus for you:)
Pam, Can not find the Simac Ice Cream Maker in USA? I can only find pasta makers?