To get back into ice cream making, I decided to make Aztec Hot Chocolate Ice Cream from The Perfect Scoop (affiliate link). It sounded rich and complex, very chocolate - something I'd love.
Did this ice cream live up to my expectations of it? Well, yes and no. I've made it more than once - a good sign, right? - but that was primarily because it was too spicy for us.
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Excitedly, we ate a serving of the first batch. This was a great, rich chocolate ice cream - that we couldn't really taste through the chile powder. 2 teaspoons of chipotle chile powder made it entirely too hot for us. My ancho chili powder is old so I opted for the chipotle, but if I'd realized how much hotter chipotles are over ancho chiles, I would have used much less. At least now I know better.
Luckily, all was not lost. Alex somehow managed to eat half of the ice cream I had made. I made another half batch of ice cream, omitting chile powder entirely, to blend with the remaining spicy ice cream and put through my ice cream maker again.
Now the ice cream was spicy but manageable. Honestly, I think that even the reduced amount of chile powder covered up a lot of the other flavors I would have enjoyed - like cinnamon. The chipotle chile made the ice cream smoky, which is good if you like that kind of thing, but I wasn't a fan personally. The ice cream's texture was great; it melted easily in your mouth. I loved the richness of the chocolate. When the spiciness wasn't overwhelming, the ice cream was nicely sweet but not overwhelmingly so.
Overall, I think this was a great ice cream. When I make it again, I'll only use a tiny bit of chile powder so I can taste the other flavors better.
In the mood for a different ice cream instead? Try Anise Ice Cream, Milk Chocolate Stout Ice Cream, or Dried Apricot-Pistachio Ice Cream.
Want something similar in cookie form? Try Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies.
📖 Recipe
- 2 ¼ cup heavy cream
- 6 tablespoons cocoa powder
- ¾ cup sugar
- 3 ounces semisweet chocolate (chopped)
- 1 ¼ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- a pinch of salt
- 1 ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon chile powder (Lebovitz recommends ancho or chipotle for smokiness; I used chipotle but I wasn't a fan)
- 2 tablespoons brandy
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Stir together cream, cocoa powder, and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove the pan from heat and add chocolate, stirring to combine. Once chocolate is completely melted, add the remaining ingredients. Pour into a blender and blend to make sure everything is well combined (although you could probably skip this step).
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Chill the mixture well before churning in an ice cream maker.
Laura says
We got an ice cream maker for Christmas but we haven't tried it out yet. What's your favorite of the recipes you've tried in yours?
Leona says
I've liked all of them! This was a great chocolate one. Absolute favorite would probably be the Milk Chocolate Guinness ice cream I made. I've also had a Tiramisu ice cream and a Chocolate-Raspberry ice cream that were excellent and that I was too lazy to write about. There's a great, rich chocolate peanut butter one in The Perfect Scoop. I can send you recipes for any of these if you'd like. Also, I had great luck making the vanilla ice cream recipe that came with my instruction booklet. I put crushed Oreos into that one 🙂
Meredith says
This looks good! We don't have an ice cream maker. Are they generally easy to use and worth the money?
Leona says
It was definitely worth the money for me!
I have an ice cream attachment for the Kitchenaid stand mixer. I bought it at Bed Bath and Beyond with a coupon, which helped. Before I moved, I had a 30-dollar model which worked okay, but I think the Kitchenaid one works better and is easier to store (since the only extra equipment is the basin). Both were easy to use. I store the bowl in the freezer so I can make ice cream at the drop of a hat. You just connect the basin to the mixer, start the machine mixing, and pour in the ice cream custard. It's pretty obvious when the ice cream is done, because the paddle starts skipping.
I've made at least 7 different ice creams with it. I like dense ice cream, which homemade generally is. The best thing is being able to make unusual flavors. I've never noticed Tiramisu ice cream in the store, for instance. Also, with the ice cream maker, I can experiment making sorbets and non-dairy ice creams. In fact, I'm going to make a chocolate-orange sorbet later this week.
I don't think that making your own ice cream is any cheaper than buying good ice cream, but I have more variety and fun this way. 🙂
Meredith says
Thanks! I have a kitchen aid mixer, so will investigate this attachment!,
Jeffrey Chapman says
My sister once gave me a pint of Jeni's Ice cream Queen City Cayenne, which sounds very similar--though perhaps less spicy. And I thought it was a wonderful combination of chemical hot/sweet and physical cold.
Leona says
That sounds pretty good. I'm willing to keep trying spicy desserts and ice creams. Maybe it'll grow on me, like salted caramels might be beginning to.
Liz says
I like the way you give feedback, so if I ever try this, then I know where to focus. Thanks for sharing this.