Patiently steeping coffee beans in a cream mixture base creates an ice cream infused with coffee flavor.

When I suggested coffee as an ice cream flavor to Jack, he shrugged his shoulders, obviously not impressed. But it’s one of my favorites, and since it seemed like I’d come up with the right egg ratio for the ice cream base, I ignored his indifference and went for it. I could already imagine my creamy cold dessert topped with homemade fudge. The process of steeping coffee beans in a custard base brought the coffee flavor to life. Jack’s response after a sample of the final product? “Wow!” That’s what a cook wants to hear.

Coffee Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups whole coffee beans
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 5 egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Heat cream and milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add coffee beans and sugar and heat until mixture almost boils, about 5 – 8 minutes.
3. Remove from heat, cover and let steep for one hour.
4. Beat yolks and vanilla until the mixture is light yellow and smooth.
5. Strain coffee beans out of coffee mixture. Leave any remaining specks of coffee.
6. Reheat coffee-cream mixture until it almost boils.
7. Add 4 tbsp on hot cream mixture to egg mixture and stir until combined. This will temper the eggs.
8. Slowly add warmed yolk mixture to warm cream back into saucepan. Stir continuously in order to not cook/curdle eggs.
9. Cook entire mixture over low heat until slightly thickened and mixture coats the back of a spoon.
10. Cool completely. I put the mixture in the refrigerator overnight before I use it.
11. Pour into freezer bowl of ice cream machine. Turn machine on and mix until mixture thickens, about 20 minutes.
12. Transfer to airtight container and place in freezer until firm, about 2 hours.