Cooking With Gourmet Coffee

Ingredients

6 large egg yolks
2 cups whole milk
2 cups whipping cream
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup dark-roasted coffee beans, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons rum
1 teaspoon vanilla
About 1 cup dulce de leche (recipe follows; see notes) or purchased caramel sauce

Ingredients:

Coffee Ice Cream:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup coffee beans, roasted for 10 minutes at 400 degrees F and crushed
• 8 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup sugar
• Espresso Brittle:
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 Tablespoons espresso beans, crushed with a rolling pin or chopped in a food processor to medium-fine crumbs
• 1 oz. (2 Tablespoons) butter
• Pinch salt

Preparation:

To Make Coffee Ice Cream:
In a medium saucepan, heat the cream, milk, and crushed coffee beans to just under a boil. Remove from the heat and let stand at least 1 hour for the beans to infuse their flavor. (You can make the espresso brittle while the beans steep.)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. Pour the cream mixture into the egg yolks, whisking until well blended. Return this mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens slightly, enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve and chill.

Freeze in an ice cream machine following the manufacturer’s instructions. When frozen but still soft, transfer the ice cream to a stainless-steel bowl and swirl in the chopped brittle with a spatula. Cover the ice cream tightly with plastic wrap and freeze. Garnish with the remaining shards of brittle, when serving, if you like.

Yield: 1 quart

To Make Espresso Brittle:
Line a baking sheet with kitchen parchment and spray the parchment with nonstick cooking spray or grease it lightly.

In a medium heavy-based saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Heat over high heat, swirling the pot occasionally (don’t stir it) for even color, until it turns light amber. Add the crushed espresso beans (don’t worry if the sugar seems to foam), swirl them around in the caramel, and continue to cook until the caramel turns brown. Remove the pan from the heat.

Carefully whisk in the butter and salt (the butter will sputter). Immediately pour the brittle onto the prepared baking sheet, quickly tilting the baking sheet to get the brittle to flow into a thin layer (be careful — the brittle is very hot). As it cools and slows down, use a metal spatula to spread it into an even thinner layer. Let cool. Chop two-thirds of the cooled brittle into small pieces by sealing it in a plastic bag and smashing it with a mallet or rolling pin. Sift the crumbs in a strainer if you don’t want the powder. Break the remaining brittle into shards and use them to garnish bowls of the ice cream.

Yield: about 1 cup espresso brittle

Feel free to use just about any kind of coffee grounds here, but I think the vanilla flavor tastes right at home in this custard-based – meaning it contains egg yolks – ice cream. I’ve seen similar recipes for coffee ice cream in which the cream is steeped with whole coffee beans, but I think using grounds, and then straining them, gives the ice cream a much fuller coffee flavor. For an unforgettable summer dessert, serve this in small, chilled bowls with a warm chocolate sauce (see Warm Mocha Sauce), plain shortbread cookies, and coffee – naturally. Homemade ice cream can freeze up pretty firm if you make it several hours ahead, so if that’s the case just soften it slightly by transferring it to the refrigerator 15 to 30 minutes before serving.

1 1/2 cups heavy cream or whipping cream
1 1/2 cups light cream or half-and-half
3/4 cup sugar
2 level tablespoons ground coffee
4 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1. Combine the heavy cream, light cream, sugar, and ground coffee in a medium-size saucepan. Stir over medium heat for several minutes, without boiling, until the sugar dissolves. Cover and set aside to steep for 15 minutes.

2. Line a sieve with cheesecloth and strain the cream through it. The cheesecloth will catch most of the grounds, but don’t be concerned if some of the fine flecks make their way through.

3. Stir the egg yolks in a medium-size bowl. Gradually stir about 1 cup of the warm cream into the yolks, then transfer the yolk mixture and the remaining strained cream back to the saucepan. Gently heat the coffee custard over medium-low heat – stirring virtually nonstop – until it is thick enough to coat a spoon, about 5 minutes. Do not boil. Remove from the heat, pour the mixture into a shallow bowl, and stir in the vanilla. Set aside to cool, then cover and refrigerate 2 to 3 hours, or overnight.

4. Transfer the chilled mixture to your ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Makes 6 to 8 servings