coffee ice cream

I made a batch of ice cream last week that was supposed to be a special surprise for Dad (Butter Pecan) that didn't turn out.  I was pretty bummed because I couldn't figure out what went wrong.  It was my first time using my new KitchenAid ice cream attachment, so it could have been that I messed that up.  It was probably that my base wasn't done properly though.  So, I decided to try a something different and get back on the old ice cream horse.  I tinkered around with a couple of different recipes and came up with this one.  Really nice strong coffee flavor (if you like that sort of thing - and well, yes I really do:)

Coffee Ice Cream (makes about a quart)

2 cups heavy cream

2 cups whole milk

roughly 2 cups whole coffee beans (doesn't have to be exact - this is for the steeping part)

1 ounce espresso

3/4 cup granulated sugar

6 egg yolks

large pinch of salt

dark chocolate - chopped roughly from a block, as much or little as you like

Combine the milk and cream, heat until bubbles form around the sides and take off heat.  Stir in coffee beans and cover.  Steep for 30 min to 1 hr - do it to preferred taste.

Strain out coffee beans and discard them and add the ounce of espresso.  Heat again gently until the bubble form, meanwhile whisking together the sugar and egg yolks.  Temper the egg mixture with a little of the heated milk mixture.  Pour all contents back into pot and cook over med-low heat until the mixture coats the back of a spoon - 5 to 7 minutes.  Remove from heat and strain through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl situated on an ice bath.  Cool completely and chill in the refrigerator for at least a couple of hours. 

Process in ice cream maker and add in the chocolate bits at the very end.  Freeze.  Yum.