Heat Up & Cool Down With This Creamy Red Chili Ice Cream Recipe With Candied Bacon Bits by Chef Gigi

This summer, heat up to cool down! There's nothing quite like chili ice cream on a hot summer day. Seriously! The chili adds just the right amount of heat to the ice cream, and the fat in the ice cream helps to cool down the heat of the chili. 

It's hard to pinpoint where chili ice cream originated because many cultures can claim it, dating way back to Italy and Latin America. Chili ice cream also may have history in Asia! Regardless of where it originates, this ice cream is a show-stopper dessert and conversation starter at any gathering.

For the red chili ice cream with candied bacon bits, you'll need whole milk, granulated sugar, heavy cream, egg yolks, red chili peppers, salt and my sweet and spicy bacon, crumbled, to sprinkle on top. You will also need an ice cream maker for this recipe. The ice cream base is cooked on the stovetop before being poured into an ice cream maker and churned until creamy. The bacon bits are stirred in right before the ice cream goes into the freezer.

Serve this crazy good spicy ice cream as a dessert or sweet summer snack. We think you'll agree that the creamy ice cream and spicy chili combination is a perfect match!

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Cuisine: Latin American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes
Total time: 1 hour and 10 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 6 large egg yolks
• 2 - 4 red chili peppers, roughly chopped (de-seed for less heat)
• pinch salt
• 1/4 cup sweet and spicy bacon bits, for garnish

Here's how to make it: 

1. In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, add half the sugar, half the cream, all the salt and the chili. Slowly bring to a gentle boil over low heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cover. Steep the chilis for flavor infusion for 30 to 60 minutes, depending on your heat preference. Taste every 15 minutes and decide.
2. While the chili steeps whisk together the egg yolks and remaining sugar in another bowl.
3. Strain and discard the chili peppers and reheat the infused milk until hot, triggering the yolks to begin thickening. Pour only about half the hot milk mixture slowly into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. This is called tempering the yolks (it heats them evenly without turning them into scrambled eggs).
4. Pour the infusion back into the hot pot of milk and cook it over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, and ensuring you're scraping the bottom. Cook it until it's thick enough to coat the back of your spoon. You can tell this stage by wiping the spoon with your finger. If it leaves a trail about the width of your finger, it's ready. Whatever you do, ensure it will not boil from there on out. Boiling will result in a split of the blend you just made. We call it a "broken sauce."
5. Strain the ice cream base through a fine-mesh sieve into a metal bowl. The straining catches any bits of egg that may have solidified. Add any remaining cream and cool. Cover and chill in the fridge until cold, at least 6 hours or overnight. If you prefer not to want to wait, place the bowl in an ice water bath, stirring, until chilled. At this point, you have what they call crème anglaise, a charming dessert sauce also used as an ice cream base.
6. Freeze in the ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Add the bacon bits to churned ice cream (we call this a mix-in) by chilling a large metal bowl in the freezer or setting it up in an ice water bath. Gently fold the ingredients into the ice cream in this ice-cold bowl when fresh out of the machine and before remaining freezer time. Pack ice cream in an airtight container and let it set in the freezer until firm, at least another 4 hours or overnight.

Note: Keep in mind that foods served cold naturally have a slightly muted flavor, so if you want the ice cream spiked with spice, let it infuse for longer!

Recipe cooking times and servings are approximate. Need to convert cooking and baking measurements? Here are some kitchen conversion charts. Here's how to submit your recipes to 30Seconds.

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