Go outside your comfort zone with this black pepper ice cream layered with strawberry chia jam. You might be surprised by how good it really is!

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Let’s try something new today (in more ways than one): instead of a food holiday I am going to put Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla in the spotlight to share some #FoodBloggerLove. I have participated in many virtual blogger events with Camilla and she almost always wins most creative dish, hands down. Not that there is ever a competition but if there was she would win.

People sometimes give me a hard time for not being able to let things be when it comes to recipes and instead always coming up with new varieties, but Camilla is a pro! Heck often times she makes recipes with titles I’ve never heard of and thus lives up to her blog’s mission to inspire her readers to buy that intimidating ingredient and get creative in the kitchen, especially with herbs and spices. So when I was voluntarily tasked with the mission of coming up with a recipe in her honor I knew it had to be something unique and full of spice (not necessarily heat).

I could have recreated one of her own, and seriously considered her recently posted recipe for candy mushroom cap cookies because while I dislike the texture of mushrooms I do enjoy their flavor and to add them to a cookie seems wild yet intriguing.

Instead I decided to share a recipe I have been meaning to make for a long time and it seemed like the perfect time to do it – black pepper ice cream! It’s actually a blend of 4 different ground peppercorns that are used to infuse the base of this ice cream and I thought Camilla would approve because not only is it full of spice, it’s also an unusual place to find that much peppercorn (Camilla herself has added fennel to ice cream before).

Black peppercorn ice cream might sound terribly off-putting until you allow yourself to imagine the aromatics of the peppercorns infused into a creamy rich ice cream. Still a little timid? I also made an easy strawberry jam using chia seeds in order to incorporate something familiar into the ice cream while still trying something new – making jam with chia seeds (inspired by one of Camilla’s many chia puddings)!

The result? While the ice cream alone is exactly as I described it earlier and thus does not need any further adjustments, the added combination of strawberries is also something worth experiencing. The spicy pepper, the creamy ice cream, and the sweet strawberry are all a perfect medley. As an added bonus those flecks of ground pepper resemble vanilla bean so feel free to prank someone.

Four years ago: Homemade Soft Pretzels with Cheddar-Cream Cheese Spread

Five years ago: Cookie Dough Oreo Cake

Six years ago: Pepperoni Pasta Bake

Eight years ago: Butterscotch Haystack Cookies

BLACK PEPPER ICE CREAM WITH STRAWBERRY CHIA JAM

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Yield: 1 quart Prep Time: 20 Hours Cooking Time: 30 Minutes 30 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

ICE CREAM

• 2 cups heavy cream, divided
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 tsp freshly ground black peppercorns
• 2 tsp blend of freshly ground green, pink, and white peppercorns
• Pinch ground allspice (or coriander)
• 6 egg yolks
• Pinch salt

JAM

• 1/2 lb. fresh or frozen strawberries, hulled and sliced
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1-1/2 Tbsp chia seeds

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, warm 1/2 cup of the heavy cream, whole milk, sugar, and pepper, stirring until all the sugar has dissolved. Cover and remove from heat, letting the pepper infuse into the milk mixture at room temperature for 1 hour.
2. Pour the remaining heavy cream in a large bowl and place a mesh strainer on top, set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and set aside.
4. Rewarm the milk mixture but do not boil. Remove from heat and while whisking the eggs, slowly pour the warm milk mixture into the eggs, then transfer back into the saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until the mixture thickens and coat the back of a spatula/spoon. Pour through the mesh strainer and whisk in the remaining cream. Cover and chill mixture overnight in the fridge (also freeze ice cream machine bucket if necessary).
5. Meanwhile, make the jam. In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook the strawberries for 5-7 minutes or until the break down. Use a potato masher (or blend) to mash the berries into desire consistency. Remove from heat and stir in sugar and chia seeds then let rest for 10 minutes. Tightly cover and chill in the fridge.
6. The next day, churn ice cream in ice cream making according to manufacturer's directions. Pour ice cream into a loaf pan or freezer-safe container, alternating with spoonfuls of the jam, then swirl lightly with a knife (or freeze plain and use as topping). Wrap with plastic warp or tin foil and freeze for 6 hours or overnight.

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