Instructions

• Combine the whole milk, sugar, pinch of salt, the broken cinnamon sticks, and 1 cup of the heavy cream in a medium saucepan. Heat gently, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. Cover, remove from heat, and let the mixture steep for 1 hour.
• After steeping, return the saucepan to low–medium heat and warm the mixture until it is steaming and just starting to simmer (do not boil). Use a slotted spoon to remove and discard the cinnamon sticks.
• While the milk mixture is warming, prepare an ice bath: partially fill a large bowl with ice and cold water and nest a medium bowl inside it. Set a fine-mesh strainer over the medium bowl and pour the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream into the medium bowl so it stays cold.
• In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks until smooth. Temper the yolks by whisking and gradually adding a few spoonfuls of the warm milk mixture to the yolks in several additions until the yolks are warmed and smooth.
• Pour the tempered yolks back into the saucepan with the remaining warm milk mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heatproof spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula.
• Immediately remove the saucepan from the heat and pour the hot custard through the mesh strainer into the cold cream in the bowl set in the ice bath. Use the back of a spoon or spatula to help the custard pass through the strainer; discard any solids.
• Stir the combined custard and cream until it cools, then cover and chill thoroughly in the refrigerator, preferably overnight.
• Taste the chilled mixture and add ground cinnamon if desired, stirring to combine. Freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.