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Author:
Franco Salzillo
Did you know vanilla is the most popular ice cream flavor in the world? It’s followed closely by chocolate. Sadly, my favorite ice cream flavor, coffee, did not reach the top ten.
That should change because coffee is part of all our lives more than vanilla. Billions of people enjoy a shot of espresso, a cup of cappuccino or a latte every day, so why not making coffee a popular dessert too?
When I first started experimenting with making my own coffee ice cream, I got frustrated. Mainly because most ice creams call for a custard base, and that was just too much work for me.
If you don’t know what an ice cream custard base is, think of heavy cream and hot milk, with lots of egg yolks and sugar. It’s tasty, but it’s time-consuming and makes a mess.
Then there’s the churning. I do have an ice cream machine, but I know many of you don’t, and for many recipes, you don’t even need it. I looked around for alternative ie cream making methods, for no-churn, custard-less ice cream and experimented with a few.
I still remember a particularly good coffee ice cream recipe from Nigella that was both easy and ended up nicely, which I adapted to my taste and needs.
So here it is, a no-churn, custard-less coffee ice cream easy recipe for you to try at home.
We’ll be using heavy whipped cream for this one, and that’s important because it’s the tiny air bubbles that give the ice cream its soft texture without bubbles. You’ll end up with a block of ice.
Other than that, the second most important ingredient is coffee, and although I always try to use freshly brewed coffee, for this one, I had to give in and use instant coffee. Regular coffee waters down the mixture too much, and the ice cream doesn’t hold. This doesn’t mean you can’t get a decent freeze-dried coffee from your favorite producer and region.
With only four ingredients and some time to let the ice cream set, you’ll have in your hands a smooth, tasty coffee ice cream that can compete with the most popular flavors in the top charts.
Use an electric hand blender and whip the heavy cream until peaks form.
Add rest of the ingredients and whip again until thick.
Gently pour the mixture into a container and freeze
Let rest at last 24 hours and serve straight from the freezer.
Optional: Decorate with any topping (e.g. brown sugar or a sprinkle of ground espresso beans)
