A Bold Look at Coffee Ice Cream

Ok, so not the best post title ever but what else was I going to do? A Speculative Look at Sumatra? Java, a Judicious Review? There are so many varieties of coffee on the market, different roasts, bean varietals, grinds, preparation methods that it makes for an interesting ingredient to play with when making ice cream. Is there a distinct difference between an ice cream made with Starbucks Via and say one made with a concentrate using fresh ground sumatra beans? What about preparation methods? Let the coffee grinds/beans steep in cream overnight? Filter the grinds or leave them in the finished product? So many questions and hopefully just as many answers.

Over the next few weeks I'll be trying out a number of different coffee recipes- some with grinds, some without; some with fresh ground coffee, some with instant coffee. You name it, I'll give it a shot!

Ingredients

Nutritional Info
Serving Size 1/2 cup Servings 8
Calories 200
Fat 10g
Sat Fat 5g
Carbs 22g
Sugar 22g

• 2 cups half n' half
• 1 cup milk (2% or whole)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 5 egg yolks
• 2 packets of Starbucks® Via Bold

Equipment

• Medium sauce pan
• Mixing bowl
• Sieve/ mesh strainer 
• Measuring Cups 
• Measuring Spoons 
• Whisk

Start by pouring two packets of Starbucks® Via into a bowl along with 5 egg yolks and the sugar. Its not going to look that appealing but it will get better.

Pour one cup of half n' half and one cup of milk into the sauce pan, bring to a light simmer. Once the milk and cream have begun to simmer, pour half of the pans contents into the bowl containing eggs, sugar, and coffee. Whisk as you pour so that the eggs to not cook.

Pour the contents of the mixing bowl back into the sauce pan along with the remaining 1 cup of half n' half. Whisk it all together and bring back up to a simmer.

Once the custard mixture thickly coats the back of a spoon, remove from heat and pour through a mesh sieve into a fresh mixing bowl.

Much like the Apple Cider Sorbet, it is very important to use a sieve. In my case, I overcooked the custard so it was a bit clumpy. After letting the custard chill in an ice bath for about two hours, it was ready for the machine. Mine took about 20 minutes in the ice cream machine and came out to a firm consistency.

In the end, I thought the Via® ice cream came out with a firm but yet smooth consistency. That may seem contradictory but it's not. The finished product froze to a consistency that would hold up well on a waffle cone and not melt all over the place. Most all of the grounds dissolved into the milk and cream but left just a bit of texture, almost like drinking a cup of coffee from a french press. The flavor was rich, tasting of a strong latte- the kind that makes you happy to be up early in the morning. Looking at other recipes coming up, I'm interested to see how the textures and taste profiles compare. Perhaps a Kenyan AA coffee will be next? It's sweet, fruity, maybe could even be a sorbet!?

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