Chocolate-Cinnamon Ice Cream

A couple weeks ago, whipping cream was on sale. When it's on sale, I can't help but pick up a couple; if I don't make ice cream with it, I could make alfredo. If I don't make alfredo, I could make any number of other things, or just whip it up and eat it over a nice, chocolatey brownie. I'm a fan of cream. Even though it's horribly awful for your health...

Then, I forgot about that cream I bought. For about a week and a half. Oops! The use by date was only a day away, and I needed to use the cream. I fretted for a little while, trying to figure out what to make with it, and determined the only thing that made sense was ice cream. But what flavor? I flipped through my copy of Perfect Scoop feverishly, looking for just the right recipe, that, oh yeah, I had all the ingredients for. There were not that many recipes, that's for sure...but, I decided it was between chocolate (always a phenomenal stand-by) and cinnamon (a yummy flavor you can't buy at the store). I asked Jeff and his vote was for cinnamon, and then it hit me. Why not make a combination? Why decide at all? I looked over the recipes and figured out what I would do, and promptly called my neighbor to see if she had any extra semi-sweet baking chocolate because I only had 3 ounces and needed 5. I promised homemade ice cream in exchange for it, and she was naturally happy to oblige.

And then I set forth to make chocolate-cinnamon ice cream.
It was delicious. It was a little heavy on the cinnamon, and I would use less next time, but it was delicious. Chocolate and cinnamon work perfectly together, complementing each others' flavor nicely. Neither flavor is overwhelming or overlooked.

Chocolate-Cinnamon Ice Cream
Adapted from Chocolate Ice Cream and Cinnamon Ice Cream from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz
Printable Recipe

2 cups whipping cream, divided
1 cup milk
3/4 cup sugar
5 egg yolks
5 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate, chopped
3 tablespoons dutch processed cocoa
5 5-inch cinnamon sticks, broken into small pieces (I originally used 6, but felt it was just a bit too much)
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a saucepan, warm 1 cup cream and the cocoa, whisking vigorously to blend. When it's warm, remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is melted and thoroughly mixed in. Remove to a medium bowl and set in an ice bath. Scrape the pan out as well as you can. Place a wire strainer over the bowl.

To the same saucepan, add the milk, remaining cream, sugar and cinnamon sticks. Warm until the sugar is dissolved, but do not allow it to boil. Remove from the heat, cover, and let the cinnamon steep for an hour.

Rewarm the cinnamon-milk mixture and strain out the cinnamon stick pieces with a slotted spoon. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks. When the cinnamon-milk is warm, slowly pour it into the egg yolks, whisking while you pour. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook. Do NOT let it boil. Stir it constantly until thickened (it should coat the back of your spoon and leave a trail if you run your finger through it). Immediately remove from the heat and pour through the strainer into the chocolate-cream mixture. Add the vanilla and stir to cool the mixture. When it is cool, place it immediately in the refrigerator, covered, and chill for several hours to overnight. If it gets too thick, whisk it before you churn to thin it out. Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer instructions.