Chocolate Covered Espresso Bean Ice Cream.

Originally I was going to post some tacos today but this coffee ice cream cannot wait.

So, my homemade ice cream journey has had its fair share of bumps in the road. Living in Italy we were spoiled by gelato, to the point where the store bought ice cream we grew up loving no longer satisfied us. (Okay, me. My husband is less particular.) However there was one little dilemma. They did not make my favorite ice cream flavor (chocolate peanut butter) in gelato form. To rectify this, my friend Beth gave me an ice cream maker and told me to get to work.

Well, I tried. However, not one recipe I tried produced satisfying results. Chocolate ice cream was drab. The pistachio ice cream I made was an insult to pistachio’s everywhere. (I won’t even allow pistacchio gelato to be in the same sentence). I was feeling really discouraged. I just accepted that homemade ice cream may not be a reality for me.

 

How wrong I was. After realizing I most likely had all of the ingredients in the house I decided to make some ice cream. A leap of faith and a few hours later here we are. Have you ever had chocolate covered espresso beans? This is exactly what it tastes like. Rich coffee flavor, crunchy “chocolate” and specks of coffee dot the creamy ice cream base.

I was hoping for a creamy chocolate ribbon, but A.) I didn’t research how to make it at all and B.)Elected to only use was I already had in our house, so instead ended up with sharp chocolate shards that are actually super satisfying. Rather than melting chocolate with cream, I used Ghiardelli Dark Candy Coating disks. After popping them in the microwave I drizzled the “chocolate” into the ice cream while it mixed, where it solidified the second it hit the frozen cream.  So good you guys. I have no regrets. I definitely think chocolate chips melted with warm cream would work well also.

Now that I have potentially figured out how to make ice cream, I can’t wait to try new flavors. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Let me know below, or on my instagram @processotopeaches. Go!

• Servings: 1 huge serving to like 6 reasonable servings
• Time: 1 hour active, 8 hours to freeze
• Difficulty: Easy
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Intense coffee flavor with pleasant fragments of chocolate make for an ice cream sure to satisfy even the pickiest of ice cream palates.

Inspired by: TheKitchn

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup coffee grounds (I used a dark french roast)
• 6 large egg yolks
• 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup chocolate candy coating OR chocolate chips

Directions

Pour your whole milk and heavy cream into a medium pot along with your coffee grounds. Bring to just barely boiling then cover and turn off the heat. Let coffee “brew” for ten-fifteen minutes. The longer it steeps the stronger it may be.

While that is happening, whisk your egg yolks and sugar together until the mixture loosens and becomes a paleish yellow. I was surprised by how thick it was at first but don’t worry it thins out.

After your “coffee” has finished steeping and cooled a bit, take about 1 cup and VERY SLOWLY drizzle it into your egg yolks. This is called tempering the yolks. By adding a little of the warm mixture to your eggs, you slowly raise the yolk’s temperature and prevents you from scrambling your eggs. Repeat twice and then add your egg mixture to your milk/coffee in the pot you used to steep.

Place the ice cream base back on the stove over low and slowly cook while stirring. You want it to thicken. It is done when the mixture coats the back of a spoon and you can draw a line through it with your finger and the line stays put.

Pour your custard through a fine mesh sieve and then place in the fridge to chill. The original recipe says to do so for a minimum of 3 hours but I was impatient and put it in the mixer after one hour. It was fine

Put in your ice cream maker per manufacturer directions. Once your ice cream has reached soft serve consistency melt your chocolate candy coating and pour into your ice cream while it mixes. You can eat it in this stage (my favorite) or freeze overnight for a scoopable consistency.

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Chocolate+Turkish Coffee Cookies

Long time no talk! I have still been cooking and baking and taking terrible photos, but haven’t made time for the blog. Then I blinked and it was April. So I’m back, blurry photos, good eats and all.  Let’s jump right in.

Near my office is an excellent coffee shop that has very tasty drip coffee and some afternoons I swing in for a pick me up. The counter is always covered in various muffins, cakes and breads. One particularly dreary day I popped in, ordered a Turkish coffee and a giant double chocolate cookies. The primary reason I go to this coffee shop verses the many others within walking distance is that their baked goods are baked IN HOUSE, DAILY.  The bakers arrive in the wee hours of the morning to prep the treats for the day. And you can taste it guys. I rarely eat cookies/cakes ect while I’m out because I am usually disappointed. Not here.

So, I got my Turkish coffee and giant chocolate cookie. Bite of cookie, sip of coffee. Repeat. The spices in the coffee went so well with the chocolate, I knew I had to make a cookie combining the two flavors.

 

So I did.

My cuticles suck..

Intense chocolate flavor with a chewy, brownie-like texture accented by a hint of coffee and warm spices. It is everything I never knew I wanted out of a cookie, and my 2 year old loved them too. These may have replaced the classic chocolate chip cookie as my new go to cookie recipe.

Bake these and have them for your breakfast with some coffee. I won’t tell anyone.

• Servings: 12-15 cookies if you eat 1/3 of the dough like I did.
• Time: 45 minute active, 3 hours+ to chill dough
• Difficulty: Easy
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Inspired by: Turkish Coffee and Sally’s Baking Addiction Double Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup softened salted butter (I always use salted butter, if you are watching your sodium, unsalted will work too!)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons espresso or strongly brewed coffee, chilled
• 1 teaspoon anise seed (not the flower/star pods)
• 1 teaspoon cardamom
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 60% cacao baking bar, chopped (or whatever chocolate you want, I liked how the darker chocolate went with the coffee and spices)

Directions

In a large bowl or mixer, add your softened butter and sugars. If you are using a bowl, beat butter ad sugar together until light and caramel colored. If you are using a mixer (like I did) use the paddle attachment and beat until you reach the same consistency. While you are beating your butter, combine your flour, anise, cardamom, baking soda, flour and cocoa powder in a different bowl.

Once your butter and sugar are properly mixed,add your egg, vanilla and coffee, then stir  to combine. Once those are incorporated, gradually add your dry ingredients, throwing your chopped chocolate in last. Cover your bowl with plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator anywhere for 3 hours to overnight. I did overnight.

Pre-heat your oven to 350° F. When you are getting ready to bake, set the dough out on the table until it is soft enough to scoop and roll into balls. For me, it took about an hour.  Roll dough into ping pong size balls and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes, until edges are set but it still looks a little soft in the middle. Take out, let cool on the tray for one minute, and then transfer to a cooling rack to finish.