White Chocolate Ancho Chile Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 3 ancho chiles, stems removed

• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

• 6 ounces (2 bars) good quality white chocolate such as Tobler or Lindt

• 2 cups heavy cream

• 2 cups milk

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 1 vanilla bean

• 6 egg yolks

• Cinnamon stick and shaved dark semisweet chocolate for garnish

Instructions

Cover the chiles with hot water and let them soak until pliable, about 30 minutes. Remove the chiles and discard the stems and seeds. Place the chiles in a blender or food processor and puree finely with a little of the soaking water. Stir in the cinnamon and cloves.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over hot water.

In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, cream, and sugar. Split the vanilla bean and scrape some of the seeds into the mixture. Bring the mixture to a boil.

While whisking the egg yolks in a bowl, pour in about one third of the hot milk mixture. Reheat the remaining milk and add the egg yolks. Heat for 1 minute, whisking constantly.

Strain the mixture into a bowl. Stir in the chiles and chocolate, and chill for 15 minutes in the freezer.

Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer&rquo;s instructions. Serve garnished with a cinnamon stick and the shaved chocolate.