A Nice Cuppa

I have acquired a rather discerning palate for ice cream. Truth be told I???ll eat just about any kind ??? from the rich, highly caloric variations to the chemically produced, artificial non-cream ice creams that allege diet-friendliness. But at the end of the day I am most fond of the homemade kind, largely due to my experiences living in Switzerland where dairy products are revered as art (as far as I???m concerned the Swiss can take back Klee; the country???s greatest artist is truly the Cow.)

Harboring this love of dairy as I do, it seemed natural to furnish my first apartment after college with my very own ice cream maker. I???ve since nearly worn the thing into submission ??? much to the delight of friends and family who partake in its offerings. And now that the weather is getting warmer, it???s the perfect time for me to put on my Christopher Kimball hat and start experimenting with ice cream recipes in my ???lab??? (otherwise known as my kitchen).

There are few things more satisfying than a scoop of freshly made ice cream shoveled into a sugar cone. But one thing at least equally satisfying is a freshly brewed cup of aromatic coffee. So it stands to reason that if you put the two together, you???ve pretty much created an edible sort of heaven.

This was my mission at hand this morning as I set out to create the perfect homemade coffee ice cream. I decided I???d alternate ingredients three ways and file the recipe that worked best.

First variable: the eggs. I generally steer away from using too many eggs in my ice cream because I find they can create a rather cloying taste and gummy texture. But, when used in moderation, they produce a perfect custardy thickness. So I opted to experiment with one egg, two eggs, and three eggs.

Second variable: the flavoring agent, which I varied from instant espresso powder to using single-serve coffee pods (like tea bags ??? but with coffee, natch) to infuse the heavy cream. This produced an interesting result when I hit one of the pods while stirring and it exploded into rivulets of coffee grounds swirling around in the white brew (not the desired effect, although I must say it looked kinda cool).

Final variable: Cream ??? the very namesake and vital part of the equation. I tried different ratios of milk, half-and-half, and heavy cream.

The recipe below was my favorite: a lightly sweet, sensibly creamy, intensely coffee-flavored concoction with a taste just complex enough to startle and please the tongue.

If you???re feeling saucy, toss some ground up chocolate sandwich cookies into the custard as it???s churning in the ice cream maker.

Yum.

Coffee Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 ?? cups heavy cream
1 ?? cups milk (I used skim; you don???t have to)
4 coffee pods (I used Douwe Egberts medium roast)
Pinch salt
1 egg
?? cup sugar

Combine heavy cream and milk in a heavy saucepan. Add coffee pods and salt. Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until coffee pods infuse cream, about ten minutes; the mixture should look like coffee with a lot of milk.

Meanwhile, whisk egg with sugar in a medium bowl until well blended. Once cream is adequately infused, pour in a slow and steady stream into the egg mixture, whisking while you pour (use a strainer to keep the pods out).

Immediately pour the egg-cream mixture back into the saucepan and return to the stove. Cook on medium-low, stirring slowly but frequently, until mixture thickens and reduces by about a quarter. This will take about ten to fifteen minutes. Make sure to watch the heat and don???t allow the mixture to boil or the egg will curdle (and no one likes scrambled eggs in their ice cream).

When the mixture has thickened (it will just coat the back of a wooden spoon), strain it into a clean bowl and allow to cool. Place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard and place the bowl in the refrigerator. Cool for at least four hours and as long as overnight.

Churn in ice cream maker according to manufacturer???s instructions.