I had some Malaysian long pepper (Piper longum), a spice with a similar peppery bite to black pepper but with more heat and a sweeter, earthier flavour. Inspired by a David Lebovitz recipe, I decided to combine my pepper with Jeni Britton Bauer’s dark milk chocolate ice cream from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home. The pairing is reminiscent of chocolate and chilli, a combination that’s been around since the Aztec and Mayan peoples discovered chocolate. Definitely worth making again – maybe Tasmanian pepper berries next time…
Measure 1 cup of full fat milk, removing 2 tablespoons of the milk to make a slurry with 4 – 5 teaspoons of cornflour (cornstarch). Place the remainder in a saucepan with 1 can of evaporated milk, 1 cup of cream, ⅔ of cup of sugar, 2 tablespoons of corn syrup and ⅓ of a cup of bitter cocoa powder. Whisk well until there are no lumps. Bring to boil and let simmer for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat, pour in the cornflour slurry and cook until thick. In a bowl place 65g (2¼ oz) of dark chocolate. Pour the hot milk over the chocolate and whisk to combine. Add 3 teaspoons of coarsely ground black pepper, 2 teaspoons of brandy, ¼ of a teaspoon of salt and (optional) ⅛ of a teaspoon each of guar gum and xantham gum and whisk until smooth. Cool the mixture and refrigerate, preferably overnight, before churning. Freeze for at least 4 hours after churning.
michelle picker cooks 