Coffee Ice Cream

A little while ago, I won a Starbucks giveaway over on Pennies on a Platter. And what a giveaway it was! I quickly received one of Starbucks’ new jumbo-sized bags of Colombian coffee, two sample-sized bags, and a really cute logo coffee mug.

As my longtime readers know, I love my coffee…but I also love my ice cream! For those of you living in the colder parts of the country, I’m sorry if this seems like a summer thing to you. I’ve always considered ice cream a year-round treat!

This ice cream was very simple to make; it followed pretty standard ice cream protocol. I did have one little snafu, however–I thought espresso powder and ground espresso beans were the same thing. Oops! Though I strained it a couple of times, I still had a considerable amount of espresso grounds in my final product. Fortunately, I’ve found the texture doesn’t bother me all that much, probably because the flavor of this ice cream is so fantastic. Before you make it, just heed my warning–if you want smooth, non-speckled ice cream, use espresso powder, the extract, or a good, strong shot of the real stuff!

Coffee Ice Cream
from Williams-Sonoma
printer-friendly recipe

Ingredients:
3 c. half-and-half (I subbed in 1 c. 2% milk to lighten it up)
1/2 c. light corn syrup
6 egg yolks
1/2 c. sugar
pinch of salt
4 tsp. coffee extract or 3 TBSP espresso powder

Directions:

1. In a 2 to 3-quart saucepan over medium heat, warm the half-and-half, milk (if using), and corn syrup until steam begins to rise from the surface, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat.

2. Meanwhile, in a heatproof mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and salt until blended. Form a kitchen towel into a ring and place the bowl on top to prevent it from moving.

3. Gradually add the hot half-and-half mixture, whisking constantly until fully incorporated.

4. Return the mixture to the saucepan and place over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring slowly and continuously with a wooden spoon or spatula, until the custard thickens and a finger drawn across the back of the spoon leaves a path, 8 to 10 minutes; do not allow the custard to boil.

5. Pour the custard through a fine-mesh sieve set over a clean bowl and stir in the coffee extract, espresso powder, or espresso.

6. Nestle the bowl in a larger one filled halfway with ice and water and cool the custard to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Refrigerate until chilled, at least one hour.

7. Transfer the custard to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer the ice cream to a chilled container, cover and freeze until firm, 3 to 4 hours. Makes about 1 quart.

one year ago: cinnamon-buttermilk muffins and one of my all-time favorite cupcake recipes, almond-scented cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and raspberry filling
two years ago: Cooking Light’s ever-popular raspberry-balsamic chicken and Ellie Krieger’s pumpkin pie muffins