Chocolate Coffee Stout Ice Cream
Since Saint Patrick’s Day is near, there are a lot of recipes floating around for chocolate stout ice cream. I’m sure they’re all delicious, but I really only like Guinness when it’s in cake. I really wanted to try a chocolate stout ice cream, though, and was torn between making it with a beer I don’t like and hoping I’d like it or finding a good substitution for the Guinness. That’s when it hit me – I love coffee stouts, so why not replace the Guinness with a beer I enjoy more? I wanted the coffee flavor to really come through, so I decided to steep coffee beans in warm milk before making the custard. The result, a rich chocolate-coffee ice cream with a hint of stout, was exactly what I was hoping for.
Chocolate ice cream has never been my favorite, but the coffee in this one makes it perfect for me. I can’t resist coffee and chocolate together, and the stout just takes this ice cream over the top. Chocolate is the most prominent flavor, but the coffee and stout both come through very well. I steeped my coffee beans for an hour, but you can reduce that time (no less than half an hour) if you want less coffee flavor. My only complaint about this ice cream is that it melts quicker than others I’ve made, which (I think) has to do with the amount of alcohol in it. Even so, this hasn’t really been a problem (except when trying to photograph it) because this ice cream is so delicious that I have no problem eating it before it melts. If you like chocolate and coffee together, you will love this ice cream.
- YIELD: about 1 quart
7 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup whole milk
½ cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1 cup coffee beans
4 egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream
¾ cup coffee stout
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1
Place the chocolate pieces in a large bowl and set a strainer on top. Combine the milk, sugar, salt and coffee beans in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Once the mixture is warm, cover, remove from heat and allow to steep for 1 hour.
- 2
Uncover and rewarm the coffee mixture. Meanwhile, whisk together the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Slowly pour the warm milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Pour the entire mixture back into the saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir constantly with a heatproof spatula until the mixture is thick enough to coat the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer over the chocolate and press on the beans to extract as much flavor as possible. Discard the beans and stir until the chocolate has melted. Once the mixture is smooth, whisk in the cream, stout and vanilla.
Place over an ice bath and stir until cool, then refrigerate until completely chilled before freezing in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.
What a fabulous combination! Coffee ice cream is my all-time favorite. Adding chocolate & beer would make it even better 🙂 I’d also love to try an ice cream made with a Porter – since it has those chocolate and coffee flavors going on.
I really want to try it with a Porter, too. I actually have a Kona coffee one that I think would be fantastic in this.
This sounds great, esp with the coffee beans!
I love the idea of flavoring something with beer… except I hate beer! But this looks like something I would love!
I am not at all Irish and therefore usually protest St. Patrick’s Day. But this ice cream is something worth celebrating. I’m a huge fan of beer and ice cream. My two favorites got married and had a baby! Love it!
Fabulous! I would also recommend that you try a stout float, which is just ice cream with a stout poured over it. It sounds weird, but it is amazing.
This seriously looks beyond awesome. A few scoops over a BIG fudgey brownie…oh buddy, we’re in business.
Wow this looks and sounds delicious! I’m not a huge fan of chocolate ice cream either, so definitely think I’d love this.
What a delicious sounding combination and a great photograph. My mouth is watering!