Chipotlé Chocolate Fried Ice Cream

Those of you who follow my recipes get a chocolate "two-fer" this week (this month...) Monday I posted a Brown Butter Cheesecake Truffles recipe for #FoodBloggerLove and this post is a Chocolate & Chili recipe for the #ImprovCookingChallenge today.

I was kind of glad Nichole (the wonderful blogger who organizes the Improv Cooking Challenge) chose this particular combination. For a year now I've been ordered tasked with asked to replicate this:

I've made two versions so far, but neither was satisfactory. But I think I'm getting closer...

I scream, you scream, we all scream when we have chipotlé ice cream!

I had been reading about making ice cream thickened with cornstarch instead of eggs. I'd heard that it was so silky & smooth -- so that's the direction we went today:
In a sauce pan whisk together 1 cup sugar, 1/3 cup baking cocoa, 2 Tablespoons espresso powder, 1-1/2 teaspoons chipotlé chile powder, and 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon. Whisk in 2 cups whole milk and heat on stove.

While that's going, mix another 1/2 cup milk with 3 Tablespoons cornstarch until there are no more lumps. Just as the concoction in the pan comes to a boil, stir in the cornstarch mixture. Continue to stir and boil until the texture is like pudding. Remove from heat. Boil 1/2 cup heavy cream (I utilized the microwave) and pour over 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips. After a minute, stir until the chips are melted.

Add this to the spicy cocoa in the pan and stir well. Chill complete mixture until ready to prepare according your ice cream maker manufacturer's directions. (You can read how I churned mine here.)

Ice cream recipe adapted from Joy the Baker.

While your ice cream maker is doing the hard work; go ahead and prepare the coating for your ice cream balls.

(please, if you are gluten-intolerant, ensure you are using a certified gluten-free corn flake product!)

I crushed until I had 2 cups corn flake crumbs. Then I stirred in 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut. (you can also use crushed nuts, if desired...) Set aside.

Form ice cream into balls (I made 6; you could make more or less depending on the size of your dessert appetite!) Freeze for an hour. Roll in crumbs and return to freezer for two hours.

(first coating -- you could fry it this way, but I wouldn't recommend it!) 

Beat two eggs in a small bowl. Dip coated balls in the egg, then again dredge in crumb mixture. Freeze for two hours.

(after 2nd coat)

I actually prepared another two eggs and repeated the process to make sure I had a good coating. Stuck them in the freezer for another 2 hours.

(last dip in crumbs -- now fit to be fried!)

Just before frying the ice cream balls, make your bed of whipped cream. (I whipped 8 oz. heavy whipping cream with 1 Tablespoon powdered sugar. You can make more, because the whip does help lower the heat from the chipotlé...)

Heat oil to 400°. Gently lower one ball at a time and fry for almost a minute.

Remove from oil (let it drip excess oil a few seconds) and serve immediately!

Did you enjoy my Chocolate & Chili choice? Check out my friends' recipes at these links:

An InLinkz Link-up