Description
This fudge ripple coffee ice cream is my ideal coffee-forward ice cream; think double vanilla bean espresso custard rippled with a dark chocolate fudge sauce.
Ingredients
Scale
Custard
- 90 g (5 large) egg yolks
- 480 g (2 cups) heavy cream + 300 g (1 1/2 cups) milk OR 760 g (3 1/4 cups) homemade nut milk (see below)
- 150 g (1/2 cup) honey (sub with 100 g granulated cane sugar or 90 g coconut sugar)
- 1/2 tsp ground vanilla or vanilla bean paste
- 1/2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 40 g espresso
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Fudge Sauce
- 36 g coconut sugar (sub with granulated cane sugar)
- 36 g honey
- 18 g cocoa powder, sifted
- 1/4 tsp ground vanilla or vanilla bean paste
- 1/4 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 50 g water
- 1/2 oz chopped unsweetened dark chocolate or unsweetened dark chocolate wafers
Instructions
Custard Base
- Whisk the egg yolks in a small bowl and set aside.
- Add the milk and cream (or homemade nut milk) to a pot, along with the honey, vanilla, and salt. Heat over medium heat until hot to the touch or 120°F.
- Scoop about 1/2 cup of the milk mixture out, and, whisking constantly, stream it into the bowl of egg yolks. Repeat this twice more to temper the eggs. Then, whisking the milk mixture constantly, stream in the tempered eggs. Switch to a rubber spatula/large wooden spoon, and stir constantly (I typically stir the mixture every 10 seconds) until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon — temperature should be ~178°F.
- Remove the custard from the heat and strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl or pitcher. Then place the custard base in an ice bath, stirring constantly until cool. Once cool, whisk in the espresso and vanilla extract. Cover the base with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Fudge Sauce
- To make the fudge sauce, combine the coconut sugar, honey, sifted cocoa powder, vanilla, salt, and water in a small pot. Bring to a soft boil over medium-high heat, stirring with a spatula. Once boiling, take off the heat and add in the dark chocolate. Let sit for 1 minute to allow the chocolate to melt in the sauce, then whisk well. Strain the sauce through a fine mesh strainer into a small jar with a lid, and refrigerate overnight.
Churn & Freeze
- Pour the chilled base into your ice cream bowl and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Mine takes about 20 minutes to churn up – it should be the consistency of soft serve.
- Layer the ice cream into the container, starting with the ice cream, then drizzle over a spoonful of the fudge sauce; repeat this process. Swirl the ice cream gently with a small spoon or knife – don’t overswirl the ice cream or the fudge sauce will bleed too much into the ice cream, and there won’t be clear delineation between the two. Place a parchment round on top (this helps prevent crystallization), and freeze for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.
Notes
Make the homemade nut milk by blending 4 cups (910 g) of water with 1 1/2 cups (215 g) of raw, unsalted cashews and 1 cup (140 g) of raw, unsalted almonds on high for 1 minute and 30 seconds, or until super creamy and smooth. It’ll yield 760g of milk, which is how much you’ll need to make this recipe. Strain into a nut milk bag and store in a glass jar. It’ll keep well for 5-6 days, so feel free to make this ahead of time.