Cinnamon Chunk Ice Cream (#IceCreamWeek)

Welcome to Day 4 of Ice Cream Week 2014! This year the event is hosted by Kim of Cravings of a Lunatic and Susan of The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen. We have teamed up with 25 amazing bloggers to satisfy all your Ice Cream Cravings.

So far on #IceCreamWeek I've shared How to Make an Ice Cream Pie at Home, Chocolate Beet Milkshakes, and Lazy Leftover Fruit Salad Ice Cream. All of these are pretty easy to throw together. It's time to get real to work. This is a two part recipe. Today I'll share the ice cream, and tomorrow I'll share the Snickerdoodle Ice Cream Sandwiches I made with it.

Today's ice cream is spiced with cinnamon, primarily because a bag of cassia (cinnamon) chunks caught my eye at the spice store. Apparently they are great to add to coffee grounds for a spiced brew . . . except I'm a tea drinker and prefer my Lady Grey with a splash of cream. As a result of my impulse buy I had this bag of cinnamon chunks that needed something to do, so I put the chunks to work transferring all that lovely cinnamon oil to an ice cream base.

My inspiration was a steeped cacao nib ice cream in Alice Medrich's Pure Dessert cookbook. Cacao nibs and cassia chunks are NOT interchangeable [eat nibs, not chunks--hey, that could be a t-shirt slogan] but for the purpose of this recipe it's a good swap. To be honest, I chose this recipe because it didn't involve cooking egg yolks. I have a thing about separating edible foods--why use the chard leaves and toss the stems? Why toss the beet greens in favor of the beets? Why all the fuss about egg white omelets--what's wrong with the whole egg in an omelet? I'll stick with heavy cream and sugar, thanks. With the exception of molten chocolate lava cakes, I have yet to meet a dessert worthy of me ending up with forlorn egg whites looking for a good home [any attempts to change my mind are encouraged, my spoon is ready].

Note: because this ice cream base is warmed, it needs to chill a good long time before churning. I find it easiest to get this started the night before, while I'm finishing up dinner activities in the kitchen. That way the ice cream can chill overnight, and I can churn whenever I'm ready the following day.

You will need a stove top/hot plate, a freezer, and an ice cream maker for this recipe.

Cinnamon Chunk Ice Cream (makes 3½ cups, or a generous bowl and enough for tomorrow's ice cream sandwiches)

1½ cups (12 ounces) heavy cream

1½ cups (12 ounces) whole milk

½ cup (3 ½ ounces) granulated sugar

2 teaspoons cassia chunks (I think broken cinnamon sticks should substitute)

⅛ teaspoon salt (I used kosher)

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring all ingredients to a simmer. Remove from heat and cover for 20 minutes.  Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer, discard the cinnamon chunks, and chill for at least 4 hours (overnight works great). Freeze the ice cream according to manufacturer's instructions, mine took about 25 minutes to get to soft serve stage. Transfer to a freezer and freeze for at least an hour to firm up. Serve, or have a bowl and save the rest for Snickerdoodle Cinnamon Ice Cream Sandwiches.

Be sure to stop by all of today’s Ice Cream Week Participants:

• Ice Cream Float by Cravings of a Lunatic
• Maple Bacon Bourbon Brown Sugar Ice Cream Sandwiches by The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen
• Coffee and Donuts Ice Cream Sandwiches by The Redhead Baker
• Chocolate with Buttercream Icing Ice Cream by Cookistry
• Dulce de Leche and Pecan Sundae by My Catholic Kitchen
• Banana Split Finger Sandwiches by The Life and Loves of Grumpy’s Honeybunch
• Strawberries and Cream Ice Cream by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Cinnamon Chunk Ice Cream by Farm Fresh Feasts
• Chocolate Mint Frappe by Noshing with the Nolands
• Gluten Free Lemon Mint Frozen Custard by Gluten Free Crumbley
• Oreo Ice Cream by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Peach Pie Milkshake by The Messy Baker
• Strawberry Vodka Float by Mind Over Batter
• Coconut Cream Fudge Bars by Quarter Life (Crisis) Cuisine
• Flourless Chocolate Almond Coconut Ice Cream Sandwiches by Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• How to Make an Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Soda by Mother Would Know
• No Churn Low Carb Mint Ice Cream by Yours and Mine are Ours