Mean Mr. (Cinnamon) Custard

This is the best cinnamon ice cream I've ever had. It's creamy, has a strong but not overwhelming cinnamon flavor, and doesn't taste too much like eggs. I halved the recipe because it was too big to fit in my maker.

3 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 vanilla beans, split lengthwise (I used 1 tsp vanilla extract)
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
6 egg yolks
2 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine cream and milk in a large sauce pan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla beans; add beans. Bring just to simmer. Whisk sugar and yolks in large bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in hot cream mixture. Return mixture to same saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until custard thickens and leaves path on back of spoon when finger is drawn across, about 6 min. (do not boil). Strain into large bowl. Whisk in ground cinnamon. (at this point I also added the vanilla extract). Chill until cold, about 3 hours.

Transfer custard to ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer ice cream to a covered container and freeze until firm.

The Salty Adventures of Milkfat and Mr. Pecan

Warning - this recipe has a salty roasted butter taste, different from any commercial butter pecan I've tried.

Butter Pecan Ice Cream Recipe

Basic Sweet Cream Recipe (or your favorite ice cream base)
1/2 c (1 stick) butter
1 c pecan halves
1/2 tsp salt

Melt the butter, add pecans and salt, saute until brown. Separate the butter and pecans and let cool.

Perpare the ice cream base. When the butter is room temp, or as cool as you can get it while still melted, add to the ice cream base. Freeze etc as normal, adding the pecans when the ice cream is almost finished.

When I tried this ice cream straight out of the maker, I was disgusted with how salty it was. After a day in the freezer it mellowed out a bit, and it goes well with angel food cake.

Next time I make butter pecan I plan to add some vanilla, and maybe leave out the salt completely. If I do add salt, it will be 1/8 tsp, not 1/2 as this recipe calls for.

I like this ice cream better along with a cake or bread, to cut the saltiness. I am going to try Welsh Cakes (buttery skillet cakes). Pancakes might be good too, perhaps with a banana thrown into the mix...