Cinnamon S'mores Ice Cream

Now that it's campfire season, what better way than to celebrate with s'mores! This came as a request from one of my coworkers and I think this may be the coolest ice cream I've made to date. If you don't have a torch it's no biggie, spread your meringue on a parchment lined cookie sheet and throw it under the broiler for 2-3 min on high (KEEP AN EYE ON IT!). 

I found that where the traditional graham cracker is the best for campfire s'mores, it tends to almost bloom and dissolve when wet, so I made my own sugar cones* (you can use store bought to save you a step, use 2-3 sugar cones). Looking for the smokey flavor from the campfire? Cinnamon sticks as well as ground cinnamon add to the 'toastiness' of the s'more, but can always be left out if you do not like it. Overall, this (hopefully) will bring back nice memories of sitting around a campfire with your closest friends and enjoying the evening! Cheers!

Ingredients:

Ice Cream Base

2 cinnamon sticks

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

4 egg yolks

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup sugar

Meringue Base^

2 egg whites

1/2 cup sugar

pinch of cream of tartar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Sugar Cone*

2-3 cones broken up

1/2 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate  chips

*Pulled and tweaked from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop p. 228-229

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan on medium heat add sugar, 1 cup heavy cream, milk, cinnamon sticks and 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon. Whisk until sugar has dissolved and cinnamon has been incorporated. Remove from heat and let steep for 20 minutes

2. Return saucepan to low heat and in a separate bowl whisk together egg yolks. Slowly pour some of the warmed mixture into the yolks and whisk 

3. Pour yolk mixture back into saucepan and stir custard until it becomes thick and reaches 165-170 degrees Fahrenheit 

4. Strain custard mixture into remaining heavy cream and let cool in the freezer for 1 hour

5. Break up the sugar cones into small pieces

6. In the bowl of your electric stand mixer, add 2 egg whites. Beat on high until the whites start to become opaque

7. Add cream of tartar. Slowly add the 1/2 cup of sugar, cinnamon and vanilla

8. Beat mixture until you get stiff peaks

9. When the meringue is glossy and you have stiff peaks, smooth out the mixture onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Make sure when you smooth the meringue out to not fully flatten on the sheet, you want to be able to scoop it up and add to your ice cream

10. Take your torch and toast your meringue to your likeness

11. When custard has cooled in the freezer, take your mixture and pour into your ice cream maker. Freeze to manufacturer’s instructions

12. At the end of the freezing process, slowly add in chocolate chips, broken waffle cone and toasted meringue. Make sure everything is swirled in well!

^This recipe contains raw eggs so if you aren't into that try using Marshmallow Fluff and follow the same steps to torch