Creamy Coffee Ice Cream
A rich and velvety Creamy Coffee Ice Cream made by steeping whole coffee beans in warm milk and cream, creating a smooth, deeply flavored custard base ideal for any coffee lover.
8 Servings
Ingredients
For the Ice Cream Base
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups whole coffee beans decaf or regular, depending on caffeine preference
- Pinch of salt
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream divided
- 5 large egg yolks
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon finely ground coffee sifted through a mesh sieve
Instructions
Steep the Milk Mixture
- In a medium saucepan, combine the whole milk, granulated sugar, whole coffee beans, salt, and 1/2 cup of the heavy cream. Heat the mixture over medium heat until warm and steaming, ensuring it does not reach a boil. Once warmed, cover, remove from heat, and allow the mixture to steep for 1 hour at room temperature.
Prepare the Ice Bath and Strainer Setup
- Pour the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream into a medium metal bowl. Set the bowl over a larger bowl filled with ice to create an ice bath. Place a fine-mesh strainer on top of the metal bowl and set aside.
Temper the Egg Yolks
- Reheat the steeped milk mixture over medium heat until warm and steaming again. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Slowly pour a small amount of the warmed milk mixture into the yolks while whisking continuously to prevent curdling. Gradually incorporate more of the warm mixture until the yolks are fully tempered. Return the yolk mixture to the saucepan.
Thicken the Custard
- Cook the custard over medium heat, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula. Ensure the spatula scrapes the bottom of the pan as the mixture heats. Continue cooking until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula, and a line drawn through the coating remains clear. This process takes approximately 8–10 minutes.
Strain and Cool the Custard
- Pour the custard through the prepared strainer into the metal bowl set over the ice bath. Press the coffee beans in the strainer gently to extract additional flavor, then discard the beans. Stir in the vanilla extract and the finely ground coffee until fully incorporated. Continue stirring until the mixture is cooled.
Chill and Freeze
- Transfer the cooled custard to the refrigerator and chill thoroughly. Once chilled, freeze the mixture in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions until it reaches a soft-serve consistency. Transfer the finished ice cream to a freezer-safe container and freeze until firm.
Notes
This Creamy Coffee Ice Cream is naturally gluten-free as written. To ensure it remains fully gluten-free:
- Confirm that your vanilla extract is certified gluten-free, as some brands include additives derived from grain alcohol.
- Verify that your coffee beans and finely ground coffee are produced in a facility that does not process gluten-containing ingredients to avoid cross-contamination.
- If serving with toppings, avoid gluten-containing mix-ins such as cookie crumbs or flavored syrups not labeled gluten-free.