Espresso Ice Cream

I was watching barefoot contessa the other day and she made this espresso ice cream with chunks of dark chocolate and chopped espresso beans..... I immediately got right in my car and headed to the store to by the ingredients. which are.....

for the creme anglaise:
3 cups of half and half
6 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
a pinch of salt

flavor
2 1/2 tablespoons ground espresso
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon kahlua
chopped chocolate covered espresso beans, and/or chopped dark chocolate, and/or chopped newtons mint cookies

you will also need some sort of an ice cream maker device. it seems like the neighbors always have things like ice cream makers.

to make the creme anglaise:

in a sauce pan scald the half and half. heat it until small foamy bubbles form on the sides of the pan and its steaming.

in kitchen aid cream the eggs yolks with the sugar and salt

at this point its time to add a little bit of the hot half and half to the eggs while stirring vigorously. this will temper the eggs and allow the rest of the hot cream to be added without curdling the eggs.


now that the mixture has been combined put it back on the stove in a clean sauce pan on med low heat.

its really important to stir this constantly or it will curdle and get chunky. you do not want to boil it.

what you are doing is heating it up slowly to thicken it. it should take about 5-10 minutes.

when it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon run your finger on the spoon, the line you make through the custard shouldnt fill back in. 

you can strain it now to make sure there arent chunks. or just run with it.

add the espresso, vanilla, kaluha 

put the mixture into a clean container and chill it (preferably over night).

when its fully chilled now you can throw it in the ice cream maker.

right before its done churning (when its still soft and smooth) chop up the remaining ingredients and throw them in to combine them.

the final step is to put it into containers and freeze them. 

anything good takes time and making homemade ice cream is no exception. enjoy!