Cinnamon Ice Cream

Last Saturday we celebrated my brother’s confirmation with a Mexican dinner at home with family. My Aunt Paula made her famous beef enchiladas, my Aunt Teri made one of her amazingly delicious green salads and we had rice and beans. It was delicious, easy and made for a great evening with family celebrating the fact that my brother is now officially Catholic.

Of course, a family gathering would not be complete without dessert. Naturally, I volunteered to make the dessert but couldn’t decide what to make. I’m a big fan of themes and since we were having Mexican food, I originally wanted to make a Mexican dessert- Churros. Now I’m not sure if churros are a true Mexican dessert or just an Americanized version of a Mexican dessert, but they are amazing and sounded delicious and I considered making them.

That was until I realized that it is getting so incredibly hot in Elk Grove (although, as I write this, it is a very pleasant day with a nice breeze) and something more refreshing sounded better. That’s when I pulled out my copy of The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz and settled on the Cinnamon Ice Cream. It definitely did not disappoint!

This ice cream is a custard base and requires the tempering of eggs. It might sound daunting but trust me, it’s not! David does a great job in his book explaining the entire process and his directions are really easy to follow. If you are interested in experimenting with ice cream this summer, this is a great book to get started with!

This ice cream ended up being the perfect choice for my brother’s confirmation party. The only negative, very few people tried it because I forgot to bring it out! I was too busy enjoying my family that I forgot to bring out the ice cream! Oh well, I also made two batches of chocolate chip cookies so my family did not go without dessert. The few family and friends that have since tried the ice cream, love it and I think you will too! Enjoy 🙂

-Kelly 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 10 3-inch cinnamon sticks
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 5 large egg yolks

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, heat milk, sugar, cinnamon sticks and 1 cup of the cream. Once mixture is warm, set aside and let steep for one hour.
2. Re-heat cinnamon mixture and the remove cinnamon sticks.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks. Slowly pour some of the milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Then pour the eggs into the saucepan.
4. Stir mixture constantly over medium heat until mixture thickens and coats spatula (I also use a thermometer and usually notice the mixture thickening between 175-180 degrees. For more information on tempering eggs, check out this helpful site from Food Network.)
5. In a separate bowl, add the remaining 1 cup of cream. Pour the custard (egg mixture) into the cream and stir until cool.
6. Chill mixture overnight then freeze according to your ice cream maker directions.
7. Freeze for a few hours. Enjoy!