Chocolate-freckled coffee and rye whisky ice cream

coffee rye whisky ice cream

I’ve been obsessed with making ice cream for the past year or so, ever since one of our friends kindly gave us her ice cream maker. I grew up in an ice-cream loving household; birthday cakes were often boxes of ice cream decorated with candy (even though more than half of us are lactose intolerant).

I’d hemmed and hawed for a couple summers about getting an ice cream maker — was it worth the space? Would I really use it? And now that I have one, I honestly can say I only regret not having one sooner!

(Side note: Yes, there are lots of “no churn” ice cream recipes out there. And ways to get around not having an ice cream maker. If you can’t or don’t want to invest in a machine, might I suggest you explore semifreddo recipes? They have a beautiful smooth and mousse-like texture, and aren’t as sweet/heavy compared to typical no-churn recipes involving sweetened condensed milk and whipped cream.)

Once you find some base recipes you like, homemade ice cream is all about experimenting and creating your own flavors. Try flavoring the base with an infusion or addition, add a mix-in or three, or both! For this chocolate-frecked coffee and rye whisky batch, I infused the dairy with whole coffee beans, mixed in a little rye whisky before churning, then added in some melted chocolate at the end of churning to create chocolate “freckles.” So. Delicious. I can’t wait to make this one again!

A few notes:

  • The base here is adapted from my go-to Philadelphia-style (eggless) ice cream base from Salt and Straw. It’s super easy to make, but it does require xanthan gum, corn syrup/glucose, and milk powder. I don’t recommend skipping these ingredients because they work together to create a beautifully smooth, non-icy ice cream that lasts well in a home freezer. I can easily source all three ingredients at my local bulk food stores and supermarket.
  • There are a lot of ways to flavor ice cream with coffee, but what I particularly liked about this cold infusion method was that the coffee flavor is super clean and not bitter at all. (You also don’t end up with a brown-colored ice cream that screams “COFFEE” which I thought was kind of nice.) I recommend weighing out the coffee beans before you add them, and then weighing them after they’re strained out. The coffee beans will inevitably soak up some of the liquid, so you’ll want to replace it before churning. Weighing the coffee beans will tell you exactly how much liquid to add back.
  • For best results, use fresh coffee beans. They don’t need to be super fancy or single origin, but fresh beans will impart the most flavor. I like to use an espresso roast, but use whatever you like.

One last note: my cookbook, Baked to Order, is now available for pre-order! It comes out November 17, 2020, and contains 60 sweet and savory recipes, with variations for every mood and craving. I can’t wait to tell you more about it in the coming months, but in the meantime please find more info on the Baked to Order cookbook page. Thank you so much for your support!

Chocolate-freckled coffee and rye whisky ice cream

Makes about 1 quart/liter

Ingredients:

  • 100g (½ c) granulated sugar
  • 15g (2 Tbsp) milk powder
  • ¼ tsp xanthan gum
  • ¼ tsp kosher salt
  • 330g (1 1/3 c) whole milk, plus more as needed (divided)
  • 40g (2 Tbsp) corn syrup or glucose
  • 113g (1/2 c) whole coffee beans
  • 330g (1 1/3 c) heavy cream, plus more as needed (divided)
  • 30-45g (2-3 Tbsp) rye whisky
  • 90g (1/2 c) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
  • 1 1/2 tsp neutral vegetable oil

Method:

  1. Make the coffee ice cream base: In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, milk powder, xanthan gum, and salt. Whisk in 330g milk and the corn syrup.
  2. Heat over medium, whisking constantly, until the mixture is steaming and slightly thickened and the sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes.
  3. Remove the saucepan from the heat, add the 113g whole coffee beans, and cover. Infuse in the warm milk for 5-10 minutes. Pour the milk mixture and coffee beans into a heatproof container and stir in the 330g heavy cream. Cover and transfer to the refrigerator to infuse for 12 hours.
  4. Churn the ice cream: When you are ready to churn your ice cream, strain out the coffee beans with a fine mesh sieve. Weigh the coffee beans and subtract 113g — this is how much liquid was absorbed by the beans, and how much liquid you need to add back to the strained base via the rye whisky and extra milk/cream. (My beans weighed 213g, so I needed to add about 100g of liquid back. I added 40g of rye whisky, 30g milk, and 30g cream.)
  5. Churn the base according to the instructions for your machine, until the mixture has the texture of soft serve (for my machine this is about 20-25 minutes). While the ice cream is churning, melt the chocolate and oil together in the microwave or over a double boiler. During the last minute of churning, drizzle in the melted chocolate in a thin, steady stream.
  6. Transfer ice cream to a freezer-friendly container (a loaf pan works well). Cover with parchment paper, pressing it to the surface of the ice cream so it adheres, then cover with a lid. Freeze until firm, at least 6 hours. Ice cream will keep for up to 3 months.  

Mango ice cream

mango ice cream

Last week I asked my 4-year-old whether he preferred chocolate or vanilla, and he replied “mango.” This is coming from a kid who really likes chocolate, so you can imagine just how deep his mango love runs. At any rate, mango desserts reign supreme in this household — whether it be mango cake, mango pudding, or this creamy and delicious mango ice cream.

This is a Philadelphia-style, or eggless ice cream. The base is super easy to make and comes together in under 10 minutes (assuming you use canned mango puree — more on that in a second). I gravitate towards Philadelphia-style ice cream when fruits are involved — as much as I love custard bases, the eggy richness tends to dull fruit flavors a bit. Not here — the mango is fresh and present!

A couple of notes:

  • I am all about using canned mango puree (or pulp). It’s super smooth and relatively cheap, and the flavor is really consistent. I’ve made a lot of mango puree over the years and it’s just not my favorite thing to do — you have to strain it to get it super smooth, and if your mangoes are a bit “meh,” the flavor of your final dessert will be lacking as well. I get my mango puree from our local Asian supermarket. Alphonso and Kesar varieties are the most common here, and both work great. Make sure you’re getting pulp or puree, not juice.
  • Of course, if you’re swimming in fresh mangoes and want to make your own, that’ll work too — just dice, blend in a food processor, and make sure to strain it for the best texture. You might have to add a little sugar to taste if your mangoes are not super sweet.
  • This ice cream base is adapted from one of my favorite ice cream cookbooks from Salt & Straw. It does ask for a few “special” ingredients — namely milk powder, corn syrup, and xanthan gum. These all help create a nice, smooth texture and increase shelf-life. I can get all these ingredients from my local supermarket, but they are all fairly easy to find online as well.
  • Note that this recipe makes a good amount of ice cream, about the max my 1.5 quart Cuisinart ice cream maker can handle. If your ice cream maker has a smaller capacity, you may want to churn in two batches or reduce everything by 1/4 to 1/3.

Mango ice cream

Makes a generous 1 quart/liter / Base recipe adapted from Salt & Straw

Ingredients:

  • 100g (½ c) granulated sugar
  • 15g (2 Tbsp) milk powder
  • ¼ tsp xanthan gum
  • ¼ tsp kosher salt
  • 330g (1 1/3 c) whole milk
  • 40g (2 Tbsp) corn syrup
  • 330g (1 1/3 c) heavy cream
  • 330g (1 1/3 c) mango puree (I prefer canned)

Method:

  1. Make the mango ice cream base: In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, milk powder, xanthan gum, and salt. Whisk in the milk and corn syrup.
  2. Heat over medium, whisking constantly, until the mixture is steaming and slightly thickened and the sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Pour into a heatproof container and whisk in the heavy cream and mango puree. Refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours or up to 3 days.
  3. Churn the ice cream: Churn the chilled base according to the instructions for your machine, until the mixture has the texture of soft serve (for my machine this is about 25 minutes). Transfer to a freezer-friendly container (a loaf pan works well). Cover with parchment paper, pressing it to the surface of the ice cream so it adheres, then cover with a lid. Freeze until firm, at least 6 hours. Ice cream will keep for up to 3 months.