The 4th of July party is just an hour away! For the finale I made a recipe from the Cuisinart Recipe Booklet that came with my ice cream maker: Mexican Style Chocolate Ice Cream.

2 C whole milk

1 1/2 C heavy cream

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1-2 pinches cayenne

pinch salt

2/3 C granulated sugar, divided

5 large egg yolks

6 oz bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped

Medium saucepan whisk milk,cream,vanilla,spices, salt and half the sugar. Bring to a boil

In a separate bowl combine egg yolks and remaining sugar whisk until pale and thick.

In another bowl place chopped chocolate.

When the cream mixture comes to a slight boil, whisk 1/3 of hot liquid into the yolk mixture and whisk so it doesn’t become scrambled eggs. Whisk in another 1/3 of the hot liquid then return the cream/yolk mixture back into the saucepan stirring with a wooden spoon constantly over low heat until it is thick and coats the spoon.

Pour the mixture through a mesh strainer into the bowl with the chocolate pieces which to combine and let it come to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.

When ready, pour it into the ice cream maker and let it process 20 minutes. It is soft and creamy so if you want it to have a firmer consistency, pop it back into the freezer.

Patty’s Points:

1. Lovely flavor, nice combination of cinnamon and cayenne.

2. I didn’t have bittersweet chocolate so I used cocoa powder and improvised (3 TBSP cocoa + 1 TBSP oil = 1 oz chocolate).

3. I didn’t have whole milk and substituted half and half and it turned out fine.

I am dashing off to the party now. As you can see below, I made my Pretzel Sparklers that I will be bringing to the party to serve with ice cream. Details of the party to come later….