It’s after Labor Day, which, if you’re old school like me, means “put those white shoes away!”
It’s also supposed to be a time to ease into fall. Am I right? I’m laboring <– see what I did there? – to bring you another entry into my “Cooking with Coffee” series.
You can see the other recipes here: Espresso Coffee Cake and Espresso Cupcakes.
Here in So Cal, it’s still 90+ degrees almost daily, so without apologies, today I’m bringing you a favorite coffee ice cream recipe using Cafe La Llave. Trust me when I tell you that you’re going to love it.
CAFE LA LLAVE ESPRESSO ICE CREAM
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 5 egg yolks (yolks only!)
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 to 4 shots Cafe La Llave decaffeinated or regular espresso (¼ to ½ cup)
- A note about the espresso: I like using the fine ground espresso brick and making the coffee in a regular moka pot, but you can certainly also use the Nespresso style capsules if you have that type of espresso maker. FULL DISCLOSURE: I personally prefer the decaf espresso, which the Cafe La Llave brand makes to perfection. The ice cream flavor holds either way.
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a medium saucepan, heat the cream, milk, sugar and salt over medium heat; whisking to dissolve the sugar (this should take about 4 to 5 minutes).
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks.
- Gradually pour about 1 cup of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolk bowl, while continually whisking. Do this carefully to temper the eggs. (You’re not cooking them.)
- Add the tempered egg yolk mix back into the pan while whisking until it just comes to a simmer.
- Remove the pan from the heat, then add the vanilla extract and espresso.
- Pour the ice cream base through a fine mesh strainer and chill completely – about an hour should be fine.
- Spin in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
We own a Breville Smart Scoop Ice Cream Maker that I got for Eric to celebrate our 30th anniversary last year, but that’s not important right now. Anyway, we love it and use it a lot, but you can use any ice cream maker. It doesn’t have to be fancy.
- Use between 2 and 4 shots of espresso (regular or decaf) depending on how strong you like the coffee flavor in the ice cream. I think about 3 shots is ideal.
- This recipe will yield about 1 quart of ice cream.
I got the cute re-usable silicone (white with red lid, but they have other colors) StarPack Ice Cream Containers from Amazon.
Please sit back and enjoy your espresso ice cream. Also, stay cool. You’re welcome.
Leave a Reply