Guys? I made ice cream. Without an ice cream maker or anything fancy. In my college dorm kitchen, armed with only a few humble ingredients, I made ice cream.
It all started a few days ago, when my good friend Cassie and I made the Most Sinful Food You Will Ever Eat (aka Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars). We had great fun using up bits of this and that from my baking cupboard, but after all was said and done and we were licking the melted chocolaty caramel off of our fingers, I realized that I had a few eggs and nearly a whole cup of cream leftover. And not much else. And having been to the store once already and spent money from my slim budget, I needed a plan that would only use the "normal" baking items I already had.
I thought about quiche, then remembered the whole crust thing and nixed that idea. I thought about frittatas and then realized that they don't use cream (I've obviously never made a frittata). I thought about fluffy scrambled eggs but quickly realized that such a dish wouldn't use my whole cup of cream. So, as usual, my mind wandered from the savory to the sweet, and I suddenly wondered what exactly goes into a simple ice cream.
A quick tutorial from David Lebovitz enlightened me and reassured me that I could indeed make a ice cream using what I had in the fridge, and not using an ice cream maker or any other high-tech gadgetry. So I thought I'd shoot for vanilla, since I don't have much in the way of flavoring, but soon remembered that I only had about a teaspoon of vanilla left, which I need for the shortbread that's coming soon. Enter the coffee.
I have always loved coffee ice cream, even when I was a little girl and didn't like anything about coffee. Add caramel and oreos and call it Mud Pie and I like it even better. Living on a college campus, coffee is one "flavoring" I always have instant access to, so I set out to find a recipe that incorporated already-brewed coffee and the few other required ice cream ingredients. Here, my friends, is the fruit of my labors.
After comparing several recipes to get a general idea of how to make a custard-cream base and where to go from there, I compiled this simple-as-it-gets recipe of my own. This is a great thing to make if you just have some leftover cream, because all the other ingredients are things you would normally have on hand. You can either use an ice cream maker if you have one, or make it using the freezer method in my directions. Finally - an ice cream for those of us without the high-tech equipment!
What you'll need
1 cup cream
1/2 cup milk
2 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 cup coffee
What you do with it:
Before you start: Pick the dish you're going to use if you're opting for the freezer method. It can be a bowl or a shallow baking dish, but it needs to be pretty sturdy. I used a metal 7x7 pan. Choose your dish and put it in the freezer to chill.
1. Combine the milk and cream in a medium saucepan and heat over meduim heat until scalding. Give it a stir with a rubber spatula now and then to keep it from sticking to the pan and burning.
2. Meanwhile, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and salt until lemon-colored. Remove the milk/cream mixture from heat when just scalding and slowly add it to the egg mixture, stirring constantly. This is very important, because if they eggs aren't being mixed they will scramble, and that's no fun at all.
3. Return the whole mixture to the saucepan and continue heating it over medium-low heat until it thickens. We're not talking like pudding-thick here, but it should coat the back of a spoon, and then if you run your finger along the spoon it shouldn't fill back in. You'll need to stir occasionally at the beginning of this process, and then constantly toward the end to ensure that the eggs don't scramble. This could take up to 20 minutes.
4. Remove the custard from heat and stir in the coffee. Then chill the whole thing over an ice bath to at least room temperature.
5. Pour the custard into your baking dish/bowl and put it in the freezer. After about 45 minutes, take it out and stir it with a whisk or hand-held mixer, breaking up all the ice chunks. Put it back in the freezer.
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| After 45 minutes |
6. Continue to stir every 30 minutes, mixing all of the ice cream together and breaking up any icy particles. If you're using a square baking pan, you may want to use a knife to get the more frozen cream out of the corners and sides before mixing. Altogether the ice cream should take 2-3 hours to freeze, depending on how deep your container is.
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| After 75 minutes |
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| After 105 minutes |
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| Ready to eat! |
When you've determined it's ready, scoop it into a bowl or mug and enjoy!
*Note: You can easily double this recipe; this only makes about 2 cups and is a half of the original recipe I used.
*Another Note: This ice cream is best eaten immediately. I only had a small batch which was quickly devoured, so I can't speak on what the texture is like if it's stored for very long. It was starting to get fairly hard though, when I determined it was ready. In the end this is a great way to use up extra cream when you've got an afternoon at home and can stir frequently. Start it in the afternoon and it should be ready in time for dessert!
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