Learn how to make coffee ice cream at home with a simple custard base, heavy cream and ground coffee from your pantry. This post has been sponsored by the Egg Farmers of Canada.
I’ve been making homemade ice cream for years and have shared many of my favourite ice cream recipes on Living Lou. This coffee ice cream though, is without a doubt my favourite (chocolate peanut butter is a close second).
Making your own ice cream is the perfect project for the summer.
Plus, ice cream makers are a super affordable appliance, I’ve been using a similar machine to this Cuisinart ice cream maker (it’s under $100) for almost seven years.
How do you make homemade ice cream?
When it comes down to it, ice cream is a simple mixture of fat, sugar and water. And while you can definitely make ice cream without eggs (I don’t use eggs in my chocolate ice cream recipe), I’ve found that the eggs help make it creamy and rich, just the way ice cream should be.
This mixture is then strained and cooled to room temperature, then cooled in the fridge for at least an hour. They key here is that the base is cool enough to churn and freeze in an ice cream machine.
How do you know when the custard is ready?
I use the back-of-the-spoon test to know if my custard is ready.
To do the back-of-spoon test, place a spoon in the custard mixture, remove it and run your finger through the custard that’s left on the back of the spoon. If it leaves a clear path (the custard doesn’t run back together), then it’s ready and thick enough to be churned into ice cream.
I’m a total coffee junkie, so it was only natural that this was the flavour I wanted to develop for the summer.
Should I use instant or ground coffee for this recipe?
You could really use either. In this recipe I’m using ground coffee because I like the texture that some of the leftover grounds add to the ice cream (when you strain the custard, most of the coffee bits are strained out).
This way you get a little extra flavour and texture without an overwhelming amount of ground coffee.
Homemade Coffee Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 6 egg yolks
- 2 cups heavy cream, 35% cream
- 1 cup 2% milk
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 3 tbsp ground coffee
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
- Have ready a medium stainless-steel bowl sitting on top of another bowl with ice. Place a fine-mesh sieve in the top bowl.
- In a medium heavy-bottomed pot, whisk eggs with cream, milk, sugar, ground coffee and salt to a very low boil over medium-low heat. Cook until mixture has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon–this can take 7-10 minutes. To test if it is ready, place a spoon in the custard mixture and remove it. Run your finger through the custard that's left on the back of the spoon–if it leaves a clear path (the custard doesn't run back together), then it's ready.
- Carefully strain the mixture, do not press through the sieve as this will add too many of the coffee grounds to the mixture. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Chill, covered, until cold, at least 1 hour.
- Freeze in the ice cream maker, following manufacturer’s instructions–this can take about 20 minutes. Transfer to an airtight container, and let it harden in the freezer.
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