Espresso Ice Cream

This is a delicious ice cream with a very intense coffee flavor. Definitely not meant to be eaten as a midnight snack. I will be making a double batch next time. There was not nearly enough to share properly.

Edited to add: After chilling the mixture and before putting it in the ice cream maker, I've found that it's good to put the mixture through the fine-mesh sieve again. It helps to cut down on the amount of ground coffee beans in the actual ice cream. The original recipe made the ice cream a little too crunchy for our liking, so this extra step helped with that a lot.

I've also started omitting the Kahlua since I felt like it was a little too intense of a flavor. I don't miss it at all.

Espresso Ice Cream
Courtesy of Ina Garten (The Barefoot Contessa)



3 cups half-and-half
6 extra-large egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
Pinch salt
2 1/2 tablespoons ground espresso coffee beans, decaffeinated or regular
1 tablespoon coffee liqueur (recommended: Kahlua)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 ounces (1/2 cup) chocolate-covered espresso beans, chopped

Heat the half-and-half until it forms bubbles around the edge of the pan and steam starts to rise. Meanwhile, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the egg yolks, sugar, and salt until mixed. Slowly add the hot half-and-half until combined. Wipe out the pan and pour the mixture back into the clean pan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for 5 to 10 minutes, until it's thickened and the cream coats the back of the spoon.

Pour the cream through a fine-meshed sieve into a bowl. Add the ground espresso beans, coffee liqueur, and vanilla and refrigerate until completely chilled.

Pour the espresso cream into an ice-cream freezer and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions. Mix in the chopped espresso beans, spoon into a container, and allow to freeze for a few hours. Soften slightly before serving.