Cinnamon Ice Cream
Adapted from The Perfect Scoop (Ten Speed Press) Although cinnamon ice cream is perfect with apple pie, gingerbread, and even a bowl of sliced fresh peaches, when in season, I’ll often pair it with other ice creams or fruit sorbets, where the gentle spiciness is a nice counterpoint to the fresh fruit flavors.
- 1 cup (250ml) whole milk
- 3/4 cup (150g) sugar
- pinch of salt
- 10 cinnamon sticks, broken up (in a mortar & pestle, or with a hammer in a ziptop bag)
- 2 cups (500ml) heavy cream
- 5 large egg yolks
- ground cinnamon: optional
- Heat the milk, sugar, salt, cinnamon sticks, and 1 cup (250ml) of the heavy cream together in a medium saucepan. Cover, remove from heat, and let steep 1 hour.
- Rewarm the mixture and remove the cinnamon sticks with a slotted spoon.
- Nest a medium-sized bowl in a larger bowl that’s partially filled with ice water, to create an ice bath. Set a mesh strainer over the medium bowl and pour the remaining cream into the medium bowl.
- Whisk together the egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually add some of the warm cinnamon-infused milk to the yolks, whisking constantly. Scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heatproof spatula, until the custard thickens and coats the spatula.
- Remove from heat and immediately pour the custard through the strainer into the cream. Stir the custard until cool, then chill thoroughly in the refrigerator, preferably overnight.
- Taste the mixture before churning, and add a bit of ground cinnamon, if desired, then freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.