Coffee Ice Cream

Easy, home-made Coffee Ice Cream recipe

This Coffee Ice Cream is rich and delicious with a strong coffee flavour. I think that it is the ice cream equivalent of a creamy cappuccino. It has a certain sophistication, although it is very easy to make, and is a good make-ahead dessert for a dinner party or family meal.

This is a very simple recipe, using only four ingredients, all of which you are likely to have in your store cupboard. The coffee flavour comes from instant coffee granules which, perhaps surprisingly, produce a strong, rich and sophisticated coffee flavour. Seriously, no one who eats this ice cream believes that it is made with coffee granules!

Coffee ice cream

Why make your own ice cream?

There are many fantastic brands of ice cream available in the shops so why bother making your own? First off, if you make your own ice cream, you can ensure that it contains only wholesome ingredients such as milk, cream and fresh fruit. Secondly, you can also experiment with different flavour combinations. I am always looking at ways that I can use other recipes in an ice cream – for example Lemon Curd Ice Cream or Cranberry Ice Cream (which uses Cranberry Sauce!) And thirdly, I think it tastes better!

Coffee ice cream

What do you need to know about making Coffee Ice Cream?

  • Although you can make this recipe without an ice cream maker, it is a lot easier if you have one. You can buy a basic ice cream maker fairly cheaply.
  • It is best to start this recipe the day before you eat it. This will mean that once you have made the basic custard, it will have time to chill down before you put it in the ice cream maker the next day.
  • You can also make this ice cream well in advance if that is more convenient. I generally make double the quantity and keep it in the freezer where it will last for up to three months.
  • Although coffee can be quite an adult flavour, children seem to love this ice cream even if they don’t like drinking coffee or have never tried it. However, if you use regular instant coffee granules, it will contain caffeine so you do need to be aware if you are serving it to young children or to adults who, unlike me, are not regular coffee drinkers and may not have a high caffeine tolerance. If you want to make a no-caffeine version, simply use decaffeinated coffee granules.
  • As with most home-made ice creams, it helps to remove the container from the freezer about ten minutes before serving as this will make it easier to scoop.
  • This recipe produces a very rich Coffee Ice Cream which means a little goes a long way. Keep the portions small – people can always have seconds.
  • This ice cream is pretty good served straight. However, if you want to add a bit of decoration, good options are chocolate chips, curls or flakes (particularly dark chocolate) or chopped toasted nuts (particularly hazelnuts or walnuts). I have also been known to pour a couple of tablespoons of coffee-flavoured liqueur, such as Kahlua, over my bowl. However, I would avoid serving it with whipped cream as the ice cream itself is rich and very creamy.
  • You can serve Coffee Ice Cream on its own. However, it also goes well with other ice cream flavours in particular vanilla, chocolate or any nut-based ice creams such as hazelnut or walnut. It is also good with any chocolate-based dessert – we often serve it with warm Chocolate Brownies which is truly a match made in heaven.

Loved this recipe? Check out the Recipe Index?

Coffee ice cream
Other home-made ice cream recipes

I am a great home-made ice cream enthusiast. I make it in the summer, of course, but am happy to eat it in winter too! Some of my other recipes are listed below.

Loved this recipe? Check out the Recipe Index?

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
Coffee ice cream

Coffee Ice Cream

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 1 review
  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 10
  • Cook Time: 10
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 6 to 8 1x
  • Category: ice cream
  • Cuisine: English

Description

This rich and creamy, home-made Coffee Ice Cream is made from only four ingredients.  


Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 85 g caster sugar
  • 425 ml double cream
  • 5 teaspoons of instant coffee granules

 

Coffee ice cream


Instructions

  1. Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar in a bowl until the mixture looks paler and resembles a mousse.
  2. Put the cream and coffee granules in a saucepan and heat gently. Do not allow to boil – it will be the right temperature when you are just about able to bear to dip a finger in it.
  3. Pour the cream into the bowl containing the egg yolks and sugar, whisking all the time.
  4. Transfer the combined mixture into a bowl set over a pan of simmering water or, ideally a double-boiler, as you need to reheat it very gently.
  5. The mixture will gradually thicken until it looks like a custard (which is what it is).  Stir regularly to make sure it does not stick while it is thickening.
  6. Remove the thick custard from the heat and transfer into a bowl. 
  7. Allow to cool to room temperature and then transfer to the fridge to become thoroughly chilled.
  8. When you are ready to make the ice-cream, transfer to your ice-cream maker and use according to your machine’s instructions.  If you do not have an ice-cream maker, you can place the mixture in a freezer-proof container, put in the freezer for several hours until half-frozen.  Whisk the mixture and then return to the container and replace in the freezer until totally frozen.

Coffee ice cream


Notes

If you want to make a caffeine-free version of this ice cream, you can use decaffeinated coffee granules.

Remove from the freezer ten minutes before serving to ensure that it is easy to scoop.

This ice cream will keep for up to three months in the freezer.

Loved this recipe? Check out the Recipe Index?

This recipe has been shared to:

Latte Cake

Latte Cake – a mild coffee cake topped with Salted Caramel

I make a lot of coffee cakes – everyone in my household loves coffee cake – but this Latte Cake with Salted Caramel drizzle is a bit different. It has a slightly milder coffee flavour and the salted caramel of the drizzle cuts through the sweetness of the icing.

The inspiration, and main taste consultant, for this cake is my daughter. Whenever we go for coffee, she always chooses a Salted Caramel Latte, hot in winter and iced in summer. She suggested that the flavours that she likes in her drink would also be good in a cake. And this cake shows she was right!

As with many of my cakes, this is a very straightforward, basic loaf cake recipe which has allowed me to play with the flavours. The cake is a mild coffee flavour, topped with coffee buttercream. The thing that makes it particularly good is the salted caramel drizzle that goes on top. This gives a real punch of sweet and saltiness which lifts the whole cake. One of the things that I love about cooking is the way very simple additions or twists to a recipe can transform it into something much, much better.

Home-made Salted Caramel

If you have never tried making your own Salted Caramel, I would really encourage you to give it a go. It is really quick and easy and is so much more delicious – sweet, creamy, buttery – than any shop-bought, pre-made versions. It is clearly not the healthiest recipe but I firmly believe that everyone needs a treat every now and then and a little goes a long way. As well as using it as a cake drizzle, Salted Caramel is great as a sauce with ice-cream or spread over the top of a cheesecake.

Get creative with those loaf cake flavours!

This Latte Cake is one of many loaf cake recipes that I cook regularly. They are so quick and easy to make and you can get really creative with the flavours! On other pages of this blog you can find recipes for Earl Grey Cake, Cherry and Almond, Lemon DrizzleBlood OrangeLime and CoconutRum and Banana and Ginger and Pear.

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
Latte Cake with Salted Caramel

Latte Cake

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews
  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 30
  • Cook Time: 45
  • Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Yield: 1 loaf cake 1x
  • Category: Cake
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: English

Description

This easy Latte Cake has a mild coffee flavour and is topped with a salted caramel drizzle.  Inspired by Salted Caramel Lattes in coffee shops everywhere!


Ingredients

Scale

For the cake:

  • 75 ml milk or cream 
  • 3 teaspoons instant coffee
  • 175 g butter
  • 175 g light brown muscavado sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 175 g self-raising flour

For the icing

  • 125 g butter
  • 125 g icing sugar
  • 2 teaspoons instant coffee
  • 2 teaspoons hot water

For the caramel:

  • 125 g butter
  • 250 g light brown muscavado sugar
  • 125 g double cream
  • Salt to taste

Instructions

  1. Set your oven to 180 degrees centigrade or Gas Mark 4.
  2. Grease a 450 g loaf tin and line the bottom with baking parchment.
  3. Warm the milk or cream to scalding point.  This is when you gently heat it and then stop heating just before it boils.  Add the 3 teaspoons of instant coffee and stir to combine.  Allow to cool slightly while  you get on with the rest of the cake.   
  4. Cream the butter with the sugar.  (I usually soften the butter for about 30 seconds in the microwave first as it makes it much easier!)
  5. Gradually add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture.  If it looks as if it is going to curdle, add some of the self-raising flour.
  6. Once the eggs have been incorporated add the rest of the self-raising flour.
  7. Finally, add the milk or cream and coffee mixture and stir to combine.
  8. Spoon the cake mixture into your prepared loaf tin.
  9. Put the tin in the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
  10. Remove the cake from the oven.
  11. Leave the cake in the tin on a cooling rack to cool completely before removing.   
  12. While the cake is cooking, make the icing by mixing  creaming together the butter and icing sugar.    Mix the 2 teaspoons of instant coffee with 2 teaspoons of hot water and then add to the icing mixture.   Stir to combine.   When the cake is cool, spread the icing over the top.
  13.  While the cake is cooking, make the salted caramel by melting the butter in a small pan and then adding the muscavado sugar.  Heat gently until the sugar is dissolved.   Add the double cream and continue to heat for another two or three minutes.  Remove from the heat and add salt to taste.   Allow to cool slightly before drizzling over the icing.

Loved this recipe? You may also like the following recipes. Or checkout the Recipe Index.