This is my second dip into Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream cookbook. Making ice cream at home has become the norm for us now – I can’t remember the last time I actually bought it at the store. I can make a custard base in my sleep, but Jeni’s recipes are a little different.
Different doesn’t mean harder – there are a couple of extra steps but the absence of eggs means not having to worry about straining the final mixure (to remove any clumps of cooked egg). I’d say this method (which uses cornstarch and cream cheese) results in a more consistently silky ice cream.
Assana is my flavor picker out of this book since she’s the Jeni’s expert. When I delivered the last one to her, I asked which flavor was next, and she said to make the spicy chocolate – otherwise known as Queen City Cayenne.
I used really good chocolate for this, since it’s the star of the show. The cayenne isn’t overpowering and delivers a low and slow type of heat. It’s just right. The deep chocolate flavor is attained by using both dark chocolate and cocoa powder. I used Valrhona cocoa powder and Amano Morobe 70% chocolate. The result is a rich, very chocolatey ice cream with just a hint of spice. It’s really delicious (so good I ate some for breakfast). Assana gets a gold star for her excellent taste in ice cream.
For the recipe, along with directions to make a chocomole sundae using the ice cream, take a look at Good Day NY.
- Queen City Cayenne Ice Cream (Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home, p. 160)
