My first interest in creating food came not as a well-meaning bride or young mother, but much later. I watched Emerill Lagasse prepare unbelievable meals on late night television as I was falling asleep, and I was hooked. This means two things.
1.) I was trained by a chef.
2.) I am lucky to be alive.
However, Emerill's recipe for Coffee Ice Cream, using stevia rather than sugar, is a winner. If you are worried about what kind of dessert you can serve with a late afternoon Christmas dinner, maybe this is just what the (Maximized Living) doctor ordered.
Enjoy.
Ingredients
- 2 cups organic heavy cream
- 2 cups organic whole milk
- Stevia to equal the sweetness of 3/4 cup of granulated sugar (See the blog on Stevia)
- 2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
- 6 egg yolks
Directions
Combine the cream, milk, stevia, and coffee in a medium, heavy saucepan. Stirring gently, bring to a heat point just before a boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat.
Beat the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Whisk 1 cup of the hot cream into the egg yolks very slowly in a steady stream. This will temper the egg yolks so they do not scramble when they are added to the hot cream mixture.
Gradually add the egg mixture, again in a slow, steady stream, to the hot cream. Cook over merium-low heat, stirring, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon and reaches 170 degrees F. on an instant-read thermometer, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain through a fine mesh strainer into a clean container. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing down against the surface to keep a skin from forming. Chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
Remove from the refrigerator and pour into the bowl of an ice cream machine. Freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. After the ice cream is made, transfer to an airtight container. Cover tightly and freeze until ready to serve.
My ice cream maker delivers a soft-serve consistency ice cream in approximately 30 minutes. I would love to tell you exactly how long to freeze the finished product before serving, but hubby and I nearly finished the batch at this soft serve point. Therefore, there wasn't enough left to estimate a required time in the freezer compartment of your refrigerator. If you like the idea of a soft serve consistency, you could certainly have the ice cream machine running while you finish your dinner. I have often done this with frozen yogurt during summer meals.
