Cinco de Mayo Dessert

Chocolate Chipotle Brownies &
Dulce de Leche Ice Cream

How's this for a Cinco de Mayo dessert? Um, I have mixed thoughts... I love the ice cream, but I'm not a big fan of the brownies. I can appreciate the creativity of the chipotle kick, but I don't really like it. Part of the reason is that I'm having some serious heartburn now (and that's very rare). Aubrey hasn't gotten home from work yet, but I can only imagine what his face will look like when he tastes the brownies. I don't think he'll like them.
On the other hand, he loved the ice cream.... I actually made it last night. The only issue I had was that the swirl didn't really "swirl." It just kinda mixed in with the ice cream. Next time I'll layer it.... ice cream-caramel-ice cream-caramel-ice cream. That way the scoops will show a swirl.


Chocolate Chipotle Brownies

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon plus 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 tablespoon plus 1 cup all-purpose flour
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground chipotle chile pepper
4 eggs
1 cup chopped Mexican chocolate or semisweet chocolate morsels

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Grease and flour an 11 by 7-inch baking pan or dish with 1 teaspoon of the butter and 1 tablespoon of the flour. Heat the remaining butter and the unsweetened chocolate in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until melted. In a medium bowl, stir together remaining flour, sugar, cinnamon, and ground chipotle. Add sugar mixture to melted chocolate mixture, stirring to combine. Add eggs, mixing until smooth. Stir in chopped chocolate or chocolate morsels.
Pour mixture into the prepared baking pan or dish. Bake until the center is set, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely and then cut into small squares.

Source: Food Network

Dulce de Leche Ice Cream

Ingredients:
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
6 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons sugar

Directions:
Fill a large pot 3/4-full with water. Place the unopened can of condensed milk in the water, making sure it is covered completely, and carefully bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 3 hours, adding more water as necessary. Remove from the heat and let sit until cool enough to handle. Watch the can carefully to make sure it does not start to bulge. If the can does begin to bulge, remove from the heat and let cool. Once cool, punch a small hole in the top of the can, return to the heat, and continue cooking (only partially submerged in water once the can has been pierced). When the can has cooked for 3 hours, set aside to cool completely before opening.
(If you are uncomfortable using the whole can method, you can cook the condensed milk, out of the can, over a double boiler, stirring every 5 minutes, for about 3 to 4 hours, or until it has achieved a deep golden color. Or, alternatively, purchase canned dulce de leche at your local supermarket.)
Once the dulce de leche has cooled, make the ice cream base: In a medium heavy saucepan, combine the cream and milk and bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. In a heatproof large bowl, whisk the egg yolks, 3/4 of the dulce de leche, and granulated sugar until smooth and pale. When the milk comes to a boil, whisk 1 cup of the hot cream mixture into the egg yolk-sugar mixture until smooth. Gradually add the egg mixture in a slow, steady stream to the hot cream in the pan, whisking to combine. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain through a fine mesh strainer into a clean container. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing down against the surface to keep a skin from forming. Refrigerate until well chilled, about 2 hours.
Remove from the refrigerator and pour into the bowl of an ice cream machine. Freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. When the ice cream is nearly completely churned, spoon in the remaining dulce de leche to create a swirl in the ice cream. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until ready to serve.

Source: Food Network