Spicy Chocolate Ice Cream (that's actually spicy)

This spicy chocolate ice cream is a tightrope walk between cold and hot, spicy and sweet, refined and whimsical. And it doesn’t fall off. It's performing for the spicy food fiends and the spicy food fiends only. 

When it comes to spicy desserts, I actually can’t say I’m the biggest fan. But when a birthday boy asks you to make him a spicy dark chocolate ice cream, you roll up your sleeves, put on your big boy boxers, and add two and a half tablespoons of cayenne powder into a perfectly unassuming chocolate ice cream. Yes, really. That much cayenne.

You might be wondering why you need to empty your entire little container of cayenne powder to make this. It sounds like a ludicrous amount, right? Like the devil’s work. 

Well, the thing is, dairy is a common remedy for eating food that's too spicy. It has to do with the fat molecules in dairy coating the capsaicin… or something. Just the other day, in fact, I was watching a video of people trying increasingly spicy foods, and they all had tall glasses of milk on standby to help quell the raging flames in their mouths.

In other words, in order to make spicy chocolate ice cream that is actually, legitimately very spicy, you need a LOT of spice. Like, an ungodly amount. When you see the amount of cayenne this recipe calls for, just know that, yep, you read that right.

The birthday boy was happy, and someone else even said it was the best ice cream I’ve made. I’m still beaming from the compliment. Or maybe I’m just smiling through the pain of eating this ice cream… 

This is blow-your-head-off-spicy, if I'm being honest. It's not for the faint of heart. The heat is front and center—definitely not a back note or aftertaste or subtle twist—and just one lick gave me hiccups. The dark chocolate and cayenne play nice with each other, and cinnamon and chili powder help round out the flavors overall, making for an eating experience that's like if Mexican hot chocolate wanted to kill you.

Included in the recipe are shards of dark chocolate stracciatella to help add sweet chocolate flavor and textural variation. It’s optional, but I highly recommend it. I ended up using plain dark chocolate with a small amount of flavorless coconut oil.

Try something a little spicier than a PSL this spooky autumn season. It’s a trick and a treat all in one. Happy Halloween! 

Important note: This post used to say that this recipe wasn't ludicrously spicy, but I made this recipe again, and it came out way spicier this time. I don't know why. In any case, I've amended the post to reflect this. I don't want anyone going into this thinking it's just got a little kick. 

INGREDIENTS

20 g cocoa powder (3 tablespoons)

3.08 g salt (1/2 teaspoon)

150 g sugar (3/4 cup)

1.23 g xanthan gum (1/4 teaspoon)

1 tablespoon chili powder

2 ½ tablespoons cayenne powder (add it half a tablespoon at a time, tasting as you go)

2 small shakes of cinnamon (about ¼ tsp)

50 g invert sugar syrup (1/4 cup)

450 g milk (2 ¼ cups)

150 g dark chocolate (6 oz)

160 g heavy cream (3/4 cup)

1 bar of good-quality dark chocolate and some flavorless coconut oil for stracciatella, optional

DIRECTIONS

1.       Mix together cocoa powder, salt, sugar, xanthan gum, chili powder, cinnamon, and half a tablespoon of cayenne powder in a bowl and set aside. 

2.       Whisk together the dark chocolate and cream in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Once smooth and all the chocolate has melted, take it off the heat and whisk in the dry ingredients.

3.       Put the saucepan back on the heat and add in the invert sugar. Add the milk a little at a time, whisking until all the milk has been added and everything is smooth. At this point, taste and see if you want to add more cayenne. 

4.       Strain and leave to chill for several hours or overnight. Put an empty ice cream container into the freezer.

6.       The next day, churn the ice cream base according to your ice cream machine’s instructions.

7.       While ice cream is churning, chop the bar of dark chocolate and put it in a microwave-safe bowl with a small amount of flavorless coconut oil (I didn’t measure, but I’m guessing it was about ½ teaspoon). Put in the microwave, heating it for 30 seconds at a time until melted. 

8.       When the ice cream looks like it’s almost done churning, stream the melted chocolate into the ice cream to make thin shards of chocolate that solidify when they come into contact with the cold ice cream. 

9.       Pack the finished ice cream up into the empty ice cream container in the freezer and freeze for several hours until firm enough to scoop.

NOTES

Invert sugar/invert syrup is easy to make and helps keep your ice cream easy to scoop. I used the recipe from Hello My Name is Ice Cream, but any recipe for invert sugar/invert syrup should work just fine. It only requires sugar, water, and a weak acid such as citric acid, lemon juice, or vinegar.