Saturday, July 25, 2015

No-churn coffee ice cream

I haven’t been in the kitchen a lot lately. Easy and quick dishes are all I’m making these days (with a few exceptions) and the same goes for desserts.




It’s been so hot here that all we want to eat is ice cream and even though I prefer the traditional ice creams, meaning with eggs, milk and cream and using an ice cream machine to churn them, I have been making no-churn ice creams by the bucket load.


Apart from the strawberry one I shared with you last year, I have been making chocolate, caramel, and coffee no-churn ice creams, with the latter being by far my favorite. I love its flavor even though I’m not a huge coffee drinker; it’s so weird.




It's creamy, super smooth and rich with a strong but not overwhelming flavor of coffee. It’s sweet without any hint of milkiness from the sweetened condensed milk that some dislike, and it reminds me a lot of frapuccino. Have you ever had one of those?


The magical thing about this ice cream is that you can eat it straight from the freezer as it stays creamy and soft even after being in there for days. There are two reasons why this happens. First, the low water content of the ice cream which prevents the formation of ice crystals and second, the addition of alcohol in the form of the coffee liqueur.




It may be calorific, decadent and perhaps not the ideal ice cream for those who want to have a summer beach-body, but sometimes it’s fun to splurge on desserts and foods that make you happy. And this makes me reaaaaly happy.




P.S. If you’re a traditionalist when it comes to ice cream, then you may want to check out my other coffee ice cream which I serve with almond and orange biscotti, or if you’re in the mood for a refreshing granita, check out my coffee granita with coconut whipped cream.







No-churn coffee ice cream
Slightly adapted from Nigellissima by Nigella Lawson

No fancy coffee needed for this ice cream. No beans or grinding your coffee; just some good quality, strong espresso powder.

Serve it with this hot chocolate sauce that stays soft on top of the ice cream or with this chocolate sauce/”magic shell” that gets hard when it hits the ice cream.


Yield: around 850 g

Ingredients
300 ml cream, full-fat (35%), cold
180 g sweetened condensed milk
8 g (2 Tbsp) instant espresso powder
30 ml (2 Tbsp) coffee liqueur (I used Kahlua)
Pinch of salt

Special equipment: stand or hand-held mixer


Preparation
In the bowl of your stand mixer (or in a large bowl), add all five ingredients and using the whisk attachment (or a hand-held mixer) whisk on high speed until soft peaks form when you lift the whisk and the mixture is airy and fluffy like light whipped cream.


Empty the mixture into a container suitable for the freezer, cover it and freeze for at least 6 hours before serving.

As mentioned in the body of the post, this ice cream stays soft even after being in the freezer for days, which means you can serve it straight from the freezer.

You can keep the ice cream in your freezer for a week.

Enjoy!




15 comments:

  1. Oh Magda, you are reminding me of the years i spent eating gallons of coffee flavor Haagen -Dasz by the bucket. This is a great recipe! Cant wait to try it. Love coffee, in any shape or form. been curtailing my cooking too, the heat is just not conducive to it here either!

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    1. Thank you Joumana! It is a great recipe, especially if you love the flavor of coffee in desserts.

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  2. Magda - as you may recall, I have never had coffee or tea, and only chocolate. Is that a personality defect, or should I consider it a strength? Anyway, without coffee in the house, do you think I could pull this off with good cocoa powder and a chocolate liqueur? I think it should work, and I will try it this weekend!

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    1. Hmmm I did not remember that. But whenever you mention it, my heart breaks for you just a bit! lol Perhaps it would work with the cocoa, why don't you try it? Good luck! xx

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  3. I love coffee ice cream, and this version looks beautiful. I, too, usually go the egg yolk custard route when making ice cream, but I have been eyeing the simple no churn method for a while now. This looks like the perfect excuse to try it out!

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    1. Hi Lindsey. These no-churn ice creams are growing on me. I refused to make them, or eat them, a few years ago but now I find the beauty in them :)

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  4. making ice cream tends to me a last minute impulse thing for me, so no-churn ice cream sounds great! and coffee ice cream- can never go wrong.

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    1. It is so easy and quick, perfect for such occasions when you want something at the last minute. Thanks, Heather!

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  5. Made this over the weekend. So quick and easy and delicious! Thank you!

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  6. Pinned, even if we are heading towards cold weather!

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  7. I would love to make this ice cream but I can't find anywhere instant espresso powder (I live in Italy) and heard it's not the same as instant coffee like Nescafe

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    1. You can use ground espresso coffee (from espresso coffee beans).

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    2. But will it dissolve ?
      What did you use ?

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    3. Use finely ground and it will dissolve.

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