Coffee Toffee Ice Cream
You guys know about my fond love of ice cream. And coffee. So it should come as no surprise to you that when I first flipped through Sweet Cream and Sugar Cones that the coffee ice cream immediately caught my eye. Two of my favorite things in one dessert? Heck yes! As I read through the recipe, I was intrigued by the use of finely ground coffee. I’ve made coffee ice cream before, where the coffee beans and milk were steeped together and the beans discarded, but this recipe actually calls for using the coffee grounds after steeping. I was so in.
If you do not like coffee, you will not like this ice cream. However, if you are coffee obsessed like I am, then I’m pretty certain you’ll love it. There are basically two layers of coffee flavor – the first from steeping the beans and the second from the grounds in the ice cream itself. I was admittedly a little concerned about the coffee grounds adding a weird texture, but it totally works. They’re more noticeable than flecks of vanilla bean but not so much so that you have to chew them, if that makes sense.
The ice cream was fantastic on its own, but when you mix in the hazelnut toffee, it becomes this crazy-good dessert that you’ll eat at 10pm even though you’re worried the coffee will keep you up at night. Or maybe that’s just me. I think it would also be fantastic with hot fudge sauce on top or chocolate chunks mixed in. Really, it’s coffee and ice cream. I don’t see a way that it wouldn’t taste good.
- YIELD: about 1 pint
1¾ cups heavy cream
¾ cup milk
½ cup sugar, divided
¼ cup finely ground coffee
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
5 large egg yolks
1 cup finely chopped hazelnut toffee
- 1
Stir together the cream, milk, ¼ cup sugar, coffee and salt in a medium saucepan. Place over medium-high heat. When the mixture just begins to bubble around the edges, remove from heat and cover. Let steep for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cream has a strong coffee flavor.
- 2
In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and remaining ¼ cup sugar. Uncover the cream mixture and return to medium heat.
Whisking constantly, gradually pour about 1 cup of the warm cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon or spatula.
- 3
Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer set over a medium bowl, preferably one with a pour spout. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled.
- 4
Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions. While the ice cream is churning, place your storage container in the freezer. In the last couple minutes of churning, add in the chopped toffee, or quickly stir it in as you transfer the ice cream from the maker to the storage container. Cover and freeze until firm, about 4 hours.
Such a fabulous flavour! Love this!
This ice cream sounds fantastic! The toffee sounds amazing all by itself. NOM. 🙂
As much as I enjoy coffee and ice cream, I never considering blending ice cream with my coffee grounds. Smashtastic! My wife and I are always wondering what to do with our brewed coffee grounds. I feel liberated. Thanks for sharing.
Coffee fanatic IN DA HOUSE. And the best part is that the.boy HATES coffee…so I’d get this all to myself.
Oh my goodness what a yummy ice cream. The grounds would probably be like those candy coffee beans. Perfect.