Dark Chocolate Cumin Ice Cream

The sweet and salty combination is genius.  Someone once told me that the reason that  Lays potato chips are so darn good is because their recipe has the perfect ratio of salty and sweet to make your taste buds craving more of each.  So then, you just keep. on. eating. The whole bag.  Or maybe it’s just me.  But yeah, the combo is genius.  It tricks your taste buds and you just can’t get enough.

I made this ice cream months ago and am just now getting around to posting it.  I really think that dark chocolate is a must here.  Milk chocolate just would not taste good with the cumin.  Anyway, let me know if you like this.  It’s a good mix of salty and sweet, and really satisfying.  A friend of mine tried it, was a little unsure and then kept digging her spoon in it until she scraped the bowl.  Mission Accomplished.

Dark Chocolate Cumin Ice Cream

2 cups heavy cream

2 1/2 cups milk

5 large egg yolks

1 cup sugar

1 large bar dark chocolate

2 tablespoons cumin

2 cinnamon sticks

Place 2 cups milk and all the heavy cream over low heat with sugar and stir until sugar dissolves.  Whisk egg yolks in a steady stream into cream/milk/sugar blend and be careful not to make scrambled eggs!  Once yolks are fully mixed, and mixture is warm, add cumin and cinnamon sticks.  Stir slowly for another 15 minutes, turning the heat up to medium.  After the ice cream begins to take on the color of the cinnamon and cumin, remove form heat and let cool for one hour.   Once the hour is up, remove the cinnamon sticks from your ice cream base. Pour into ice cream maker that has been frozen according to manufacturer’s instructions.  While it’s churning, place chocolate bar and 1/2 a cup of milk (adding slowly) into small saucepan.  Let chocolate melt and create a sauce. After freezing, layer ice cream into container alternating with the chocolate sauce.  Because it is relatively hot, it will form a few chunks and a bit of a swirl.  I liked this.  If your prefer to have only a swirl, make the sauce earlier and let cool a bit before you add it to the ice cream. Let me know how you like it!