Our Favourite Coffee Ice Cream Recipe

Is there anything better on a hot summer day than a large scoop of coffee ice cream?  Yes!  A large scoop of homemade coffee ice cream.

Making your own ice cream might sound a bit daunting, but it really doesn’t have to be and is so worth doing.

Trust us, it tastes incredible, it’s so satisfying to make, and best of all you know exactly what ingredients you have used to make it.

How to make coffee ice cream

We’ll be honest, if you’re wanting to make ice cream in the traditional way then there is a bit of a process to it. 

First, you have to make a custard.  Then you add your cream, whisk it all together and then freeze and churn, freeze and churn until you get the perfect ice cream to scoop.

You shouldn’t let that stop you, however, as you get the most perfect, creamy, easy scoop, ice cream at the end of the process we guarantee you’ll only ever want to make your own ice cream again.  There’s no beating it!

If you’re a bit strapped for time, however, then fear not!  We have a little bonus recipe at the bottom that is super tasty and takes all of 5 minutes to prep and get in the freezer too.

Ice cream maker vs no ice cream maker

Of course, making ice cream in an ice cream maker is a lot easier.  It does the churning for you so you can just click on go.  That’s not to say it’s essential, however.

Churning ice cream to get just the right consistency isn’t difficult, you just need to take the ice cream out of the freezer every hour and give it a good mix with a fork or a hand mixer, then back into the freezer.  You’ll need to repeat three or four times to get the consistency of your ice cream just right.

Coffee Ice Cream Recipe – The traditional way!

Now for the actual recipe. You really are going to love it.  Let’s dive in…

Ingredients

  •         500ml whole milk
  •         250g caster sugar
  •         2 tbsp Colombian Instant Coffee
  •         6 egg yolks
  •         540ml double cream
  •         1.5tsp vanilla extract
  •         Pinch of salt

Method

  1.       First, we want to make a custard.  Combine the milk, sugar, salt, and coffee in a saucepan and cook over a medium heat.  You want the mixture to steam but not boil.  Once it’s steaming reduce the heat to low and let it keep going.  Stir occasionally.
  2.       In a separate bowl beat the egg yolks.
  3.       Gently pour your hot milk mix from the saucepan over the eggs making sure to whisk constantly as you do.  We don’t want curdled eggs here!  Keep going until you have poured the entire milk mixture in.   Then put the whole mixture back into the saucepan and continue to cook over a medium heat until it thickens (about 5 minutes).

Tip: you may ask, why not just pour the eggs into the saucepan?  Honestly, it just doesn't work as well and it’s hard to get a good consistency for your custard.  So make sure you pour the milk mixture into the eggs, not the other way around.

  1.       Next, strain the custard through a sieve into a bowl. Cover with some cling film allowing it to touch the surface of the custard so you don’t have a skin form.  Then place in the fridge to cool completely.
  2.       Once the custard is cold we are ready to make our ice cream.  Mix the custard with the cream and vanilla, whisking gently to combine.  You’re looking for a nice smooth consistency throughout.
  3.       Now you have two options – place in an ice cream maker and let it do its thing, or place in a tub and manually churn.
  4.       If churning manually you’ll want to put your ice cream in the freezer and leave for about an hour.  Then take it out and give it a good mix with a fork or a hand mixer if you have one.  Then back into the freezer.  You’ll want to do this three or four times at 1-hour intervals, then leave to finish freezing.
  5.       Once you hear the beep on your ice cream maker or your ice cream in the freezer is frozen it’s ready to be eaten.  Enjoy!

Coffee Ice Cream – The quick way!

And now for our little bonus recipe for those days you really just don’t have the time (or the inclination) to go through the full process.  This really is super simple and comes out great!

Ingredients

  •         2 tbsp Colombian Instant Coffee
  •         300ml double cream
  •         180g condensed milk
  •         (optional) 2 tbsp coffee liqueur

Method

  1.       Place all your ingredients in a bowl and whisk together.  Keep going until you get lovely soft peaks forming.
  2.       Place in an ice cream tub and put it into your freezer overnight (or for at least 6 hours)
  3.       And that’s it!  Take it out of the freezer and enjoy.

 

We love both of these ice cream recipes, and we know you will love them too.  Give them a go, and let us know how you get on.

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