Cinnamon Ice Cream

To go with the pecan pie… or almost anything…

Cinnamon Ice Cream
Makes about 1 quart

1 cup of whole milk
3/4 cup of sugar
pinch of salt
10 cinnamon sticks, broken up in a mortar and pestle, or with a hammer in a zip-lock bag (plus more depending on how much cinnamon you like)
2 cups of heavy cream
5 egg yolks

Heat the milk, sugar, salt, cinnamon sticks, and 1 cup of heavy cream together in a medium saucepan. Cover, remove from heat, and let steep for 1 hour.

Rewarm the mixture and remove the cinnamon sticks with a slotted spoon.

Nest a medium sized bowl in a larger bowl that's partially filled with ice water, to create an ice bath. Set a mesh strainer over the medium bowl and pour the remaining cream into a medium bowl.

Whisk together the egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually add some of the warm cinnamon-infused milk into the yolks, whisking constantly. Scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-proof spatula, until the custard thickens and coats the spatula.

Remove from heat and immediately pour the custard through the strainer into the cream. Stir until the custard is cool, then chill thoroughly in the fridge. Overnight preferably.

Taste the mixture before churning, and add some more ground cinnamon. Then, freeze the custard in your ice cream maker, according to the ice cream machines instructions.