making ice cream at our house is a production

— a happy one

but a production nonetheless

i’ll ask dw to put our ice cream canister thing in the freezer

which means we play frozen food tetris

to make room for it.

we’ll return to whatever we were doing:

washing the dishes

playing crossword puzzles

5 minutes will pass,

sometimes hours.

then the question will come up:

what flavor are we making??

likely i don’t have a flavor in mind,

not exactly.

dw is always game for whatever i concoct,

as long as it’s not chocolate + fruit

i know, i know, I KNOW.

during a recent very quick skim of pantry items

we kept it simple.

kinda.

cayenne chocolate ice cream

makes about 3 1/2 cups

*note: the spicy kick creeps up on you. you’re busy savoring the creaminess and cold and chocolate and then there’s heat. it’s not unpleasant.

4 egg yolks, from large eggs

scant 1/2 cup coconut sugar

3 cups lactose free half/half (this was on hand, i’d make this with canned coconut milk, or any plant/nut based milk)

1/2 TBL cornstarch or potato starch

3-4 TBL good quality cocoa powder

1 tsp cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)

in a saucepan gently heat the half/half with the sugar and cocoa powder, medium heat. whisk until warmed though and the sugar has incorporated. in a bowl have your egg yolks ready. ladle in a bit of the warmed milk, whisking the yolks all the while. add in another 2 ladle-fuls and whisk. the temp of the yolks should be warmed through. add the yolk mixture to the saucepan, but leave about a ladle-ful in the bowl, and continue whisking all the while. the mixture will thicken slightly.

for the remaining mixture in the bowl, add the cornstarch or potato starch and mix until incorporated. add to the saucepan. mix some more.

sprinkle a dash or two of cayenne pepper, i would say it was about 1 tsp, but use at your discretion to your liking.

pour into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap. allow to cool completely, ideally overnight.

when ready, pour into ice cream maker and churn according to machine’s instructions.

BAM!

————-

1 year ago: diy sperm cornhole

2 years ago: vegan strawberry sweet biscuit

other ice cream concoctions:

coffee chocolate chip ice cream – lactose free

peppermint chocolate chip ice cream – lactose free

spiced coconut pecan ice cream – dairy free

strawberry ice cream + almond waffle cones – dairy free

tangerine ice cream – lactose free

not interested in ice cream, try the spicy pudding version