How Do You Take Your Coffee? Frozen Please!

About a month ago I picked up some Italian Roast coffee at Trader Joes for L, and realized with horror that I had picked up decaf, just as the tattooed clerk put into into my reusable shopping bag. Now, we are of the mindset that drinking coffee sans caffeine is really as pointless as driving a car across the street to the neighbor's house. Somehow I managed to miss the caution orange lid and several bright orange "decaf" warnings on the label, and being the anti-confrontational mouse that I am, I didn't have the heart to ask the bounceresque employee to remove it from my bill. And so it's sat in my cupboard for over a month, mocking my intelligence. As a former Starbucks employee, I know that Italian roast is what gives their sinful Frappucinos such rich coffee character, so what better to star in a late night coffee treat? Problem solved.

Cafe Amaretto Chip Ice Cream



1 3/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup 1% milk
1 cup sugar (reduce to 3/4 cup if you use mildly flavored coffee)
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups decaf dark roast coffee beans (I use Italian Roast)

5 egg yolks
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp chocolate extract
1/4 tsp espresso powder
1/2 tsp almond extract

1/4 cup chocolate shavings (use a vegetable peeler to make rough shavings)


Combine first 5 ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to just below a boil and remove from heat. Let steep for one hour.



Strain the coffee beans out of the mixture. Reheat it to just below boiling. Meanwhile, whisk together egg yolks extracts and espresso powder until pale and frothy. Temper the eggs by slowing drizzling in hot cream mixture while whisking furiously. Return to pan and let cook over medium heat until it thickens enough to coat a spoon without running.



Let cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin from forming. Chill thoroughly. Freeze as directed in your ice cream maker. Add the chocolate shavings in the last 5 minutes of churning. Let set in freezer overnight.





OK - I admit, I'm becoming a homemade ice cream addict. This is turning into quite the binge. Interestingly enough, it's the process of making the ice cream I like most, as the 3 half eaten quarts in my freezer will attest. There's something miraculous about turning relatively runny eggs and cream into a thick custard and then swirling it until it's Arctic cold. And I take distinct pleasure in this defiance of the elements. It has already hit 100 today, but in my kitchen the AC is cranked up and the ice cream is churning. This is, in my opinion, the most fun way to keep cool (that is, until I can finance the big in-ground pool for the back yard).


2nd entry for You Scream, We Scream...