Cup of (Frozen) Joe

Over the weekend of July 4, Aaron and I took part in one of my family's summer traditions and made some homemade ice cream. Since Aaron was here only for the weekend, I let him be the deciding vote in what type of ice cream we made. Unsurprisingly for anyone that knows Aaron, he went for the coffee ice cream. Luckily, I like coffee ice cream, so I entered into its creation happy with the prospect.

All in all it was fairly simple to make. Some whole milk and heavy cream were heated over the stove along with coffee grounds, then let to sit for a few minutes so the coffee could infuse. The recipe called for the coffee to be strained with cheesecloth and, not having any, I tried coffee filters. This failed miserably, and messily thanks to yours truly. Approximately one tablespoon got through the filter before it stopped completely. I next used a mesh sieve, which was not as fine as it needed to be, but worked more or less. A few stray ground got through, but they were small enough not to be very noticeable.

While the cream and coffee mixture cooled a little, I whipped up egg yolks and sugar, then slowly added the warm cream mixture to the eggs. This was strained again to remove any egg that cooked and some more of the grounds. This mix went into a glass bowl and was placed on top of a pot with some simmering water. Let the custard-ization begin!

While Aaron watched Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest on ESPN, I stirred and stirred and stirred this mix over the water, waiting for it to thicken. The recipe said it would take 10-15 minutes for it to thicken and coat the back of the spoon. 30 minutes in Aaron and I decided a thin coat was a coat nonetheless and set it in the fridge to cool for an hour.

A little more than an hour later, and after some regular stirring to keep a skin from forming, into the ice cream maker bowl it went. We let it churn for 20 or so minutes while we watched some Food, Inc. then into the freezer it went to chill a few hours.

Later that evening, it was ice cream time! As per the recipe, I whipped some whipping cream (imagine that!), scooped the ice cream into coffee mugs, dollop of whipped cream on top with a sprinkle of cocoa powder. Voila, frozen coffee!

This coffee ice cream, more than any other I have tried, tastes like a person made a cup of joe with some cream and sugar and threw it into the freezer. There is no question what type of ice cream this is. It was not too sweet, very creamy, and had a wonderfully smooth texture. Definitely not for people who are so-so on their adoration of coffee flavor, or who like their morning coffee with 8 sugars and 3 creams, as one of my coworkers does. Will I make it again? For Aaron and other coffee lovers, yes, but probably not if it is just me eating it.