In addition to making maple syrup and building maple syrup making machines I also make ice cream in the summer. Two summers ago I started making Aztec Chocolate Ice Cream. It is a cooked custard ice cream that includes cocoa, cinnamon, cayenne powder, and candied ginger. It starts cold, rich, and chocolate then burns your face off.
I love the stuff.
My wife won’t go near it.
Here is the recipe as a couple of people have asked for it.
MapleEngineer Aztec Chocolate Ice Cream
See NOTE at the end.
500 ml (2 c) 35% (whipping) cream
1 L (4 c) 10% (table) cream
1 c (85 g) Dutch process cocoa powder
1 1/2 c (180 g) sugar
1 T (15 ml) vanilla (I use really good Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla in bourbon)
1/8 t (6 g) salt
1 1/2 t (2.7 g) ground cayenne
1 1/2 t (4 g) ground cinnamon
1/2 t (1.4 g) ground ginger
I put the 10% cream, sugar, vanilla, and cocoa powder in a pot and heat it slowly to a simmer whisking slowly but constantly until the sugar is dissolved. Then I add the spices and salt and whisk slowly until well incorporated. Once everything is smooth I remove the pot from the heat, whisk in the heavy cream, put it in a container, and stick it in the friged, preferably overnight, to cool thoroughly.
Once it’s cool make it into ice cream.
This recipe produces what I think it a very nice, VERY rich (18% MF) chocolate ice cream with a nice burn.
NOTE: As a typical Canadian who grew up during the transition from Imperial to Metric measurements I still cook in Imperial units. Well…sort of. I measure the cream in Liters but everything else in t, T, and c. So, I’ve put the units that I use first with my best shot at converting them second. Be aware that I may have made a terrible mistake. I recommend measuring as I do. If anyone wants to correct these measurements I will update the recipe here.
I’ve spent time in Louisiana but never ran into Tabasco ice cream. I will see if I can find it the next time I’m there.
I could probably adapt this recipe to include Tabasco instead of cayenne. Is it normally chocolate or do they do it over a vanilla base?
The stuff I had I think was on vanilla but they probably had both.
This was probably like 17 years ago so it’s possible they don’t do it any more but everyone had a positive reaction to it so I’d assume they still do.
While on the topic of spicy food in Louisianna, have you tried spicy boiled peanuts?
I don’t think that a Tabasco vanilla ice cream appeals to me. I really like the heat with chocolate and spices.
I have tried boiled peanuts but never spicy boiled peanuts. I was not a fan of the plain old boiled peanuts. It was like eating a bowl of boiled beans. I prefer dry roasted and salted.