Coffee Ice Cream

Last April, I was on a diet and decided to stop drinking soda and coffee. More than one year later, I am no longer on that diet, but I still do not drink soda. At times, I miss drinking it, especially when I see others opening a new, cold can or bottle of Coke. *shudders* :)

What about the coffee, you ask? Well, I decided last month to start drinking coffee again because I was having trouble staying awake and focusing on my school work.

In the past, when I would study, I would order various, sugar-laden, cold, mixed, froo-froo, coffee drinks, like a frappuccino with whipped cream on top. When I was an undergrad, in fact, I would drink 1 to 2 venti-sized portions of that stuff a day! So, even though I've allowed coffee to come back into my life, I have decided to continue staying away from those cold, sweet, coffee drinks and focus on drinking the hot, plain, simple variety at home.

In the past, any hot drink with coffee would cause me to fall asleep, just like hot milk or chocolate. In fact, I would drink coffee at night just to help me sleep. Anyway, now that I've started drinking regular, hot coffee again, I've noticed that it causes me to be more alert in the mornings, but it wears off later. I guess I will have to drink more during the day, or just eat this yummy, coffee ice cream!
I know this dessert goes against what I stated before about the frappuccino-type drinks, but I've always wanted to try out this recipe, and I won't be making it often. Also, I'm still not spending 4-10 dollars a day at various coffee houses.

I found this recipe in an ice cream recipe book my mother bought for me at a Half Price Bookstore for approximately 4 dollars. Please make this ice cream ASAP! It is amazingly good and refreshing. Make sure you eat it within 2-3 days of making it because the texture changes quickly. I guess you could add honey or if you drink alcohol, you could add a few teaspoons of that to make the ice cream stay soft for a longer period of time.

I added some Ibarra chocolate that was leftover from my Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream and some more instant coffee bean crystals. The crunchiness that comes from those add-ins are perfect. YUM!

Coffee Ice Cream
adapted from Ice Cream!

Printable Version

2/3 cup (150ml) espresso coffee OR 2 tsp instant coffee dissolved in 2/3 cup (150ml) boiling water
2/3 cup (150ml) whole milk
1/2 cup (100g) light brown sugar
5 large egg yolks
1 1/4 cups (300ml) heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract (I added this)

Optional add-ins:
1/4 cup (50g) coarsely ground coffee beans into ice cream just before freezing
1/4 cup (50g) chopped chocolate or Mexican chocolate (I put in the latter)

Combine the coffee and milk, and allow it to cool slightly

In a heatproof bowl, beat the sugar and egg yolks, using an electric (or wire whisk), until thick and pale.

Stir in the milk mixture and place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.

Continue stirring until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon (my spoon was coated from the beginning, so I just cooked the liquid for about 5 minutes).

Remove from the heat; cover, and allow to cool.

Stir in the heavy cream (and vanilla extract) and churn in an ice cream maker, according to the instructions. (I chilled my mixture overnight to ensure that everything would be cold. You could also refrigerate the custard for 4 hours. I don't suggest putting it in the maker at the point indicated in the book because the mixture will still be warm.)

Serve immediately, or transfer to a freezer container; cover the surface directly with waxed paper or foil, and put in the freezer. (I place the churned mixture into two or three covered, Tupperware containers so that the texture of the ice cream won't be affected as much when I take it in and out of the freezer.)