No churn coffee ice cream

This fabulous no-churn coffee ice cream is so creamy and full of rich coffee flavour, you won't believe you don't need an ice cream churner to make it!

With its sweetened condensed milk and rich coffee flavour its reminiscent of Vietnamese iced coffee cà phê sữa đá. Unlike Vietnamese iced coffee, this no-churn coffee ice cream is made with cold brew coffee, giving it a richer, less bitter coffee flavour and includes a secret ingredient to keep it scoopable straight from the freezer. No leaving it out on the bench to soften up is needed! You can also make this coffee ice cream without a machine.

I've been keen to make a coffee ice cream recipe for a while. Coffee is one of my great love in life, second only to ice cream, and you know, my kids and all :D.

A number of years ago I spent three months travelling around South East Asia, including Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia (you can read about my travels). Vietnamese ice coffee was a regular morning fix, especially in the absence of my regular latte or coffee maker of my own, and a damn sight better than cheap instant coffee, yuck!

🥘 Ingredients

Coffee: I use ground, medium roast, Crema coffee mix made with Arabica beans. The medium roast is rich and smooth. If you prefer a bold coffee flavour you could use an espresso blend and experiment with different coffees. You could also try a robusta blend, however, this will have harsher, more bitter notes. It's also an excuse to support your local roasting house, many of which offer home delivery.

Sweetened condensed milk: this is not the same as evaporated milk. Sweetened condensed milk has lots of things in it that help keep the ice cream smooth and delicious.

Thickened cream: it needs to be about 35% fat, otherwise you risk your ice cream being icy.

Milk: needs to be full cream or around 4% fat. If you use skim or no-fat milk you risk your ice cream being icy

The optional secret ingredient.

The secret ingredient is Vodka! The vodka reduces the freezing point of the ice cream, making it scoopable straight from the freezer. It's not enough to taste it or really have any effect on you. Don't overdo it or your ice cream won't freeze. You can substitute the vodka with any other neutral 40% alcohol or with a flavour that will complement the coffee.

🔪 How to make the no-churn coffee ice cream

Make the cold brew coffee first, then assemble the ice cream.

To make the milk cold brew coffee

Add the coffee and milk into a jug and stir well. Cover and refrigerate overnight for at least twelve hours and up to eighteen hours.

Line a strainer with a doubled-over piece of cheesecloth. If you don't have cheesecloth you can use another other suitable material. A new clean chux wipe works well. Put the lined strainer over a bowl and strain the coffee milk mix. Gently press down on the coffee with a spatular, then gather up and squeeze the material to get the coffee milk out.

You should have about ½ a cup (125 ml) of darkly coloured, very strong coffee-flavoured milk.

Hot tip: If you don't have time to make cold brew coffee milk you can gently heat the milk and coffee in a saucepan, then let it cool completely before straining OR you can heat up half cup half a cup of milk and dissolve in about four teaspoons of good quality instant coffee. Either way it won't have the same wonderful smooth full bodied flavour as the cold brew and will have more bitter notes. Allow to cool in the fridge completely before moving onto the next step

To make the ice cream

Add the cream and sweetened condensed milk to a bowl. Using electric hand beaters or a stand mixer, beat until soft peaks start to form. Slowly add the coffee milk mix, about one-third at a time, beating well in between until peaks just start to form. Try not to add the last couple of sludgy slips at the bottom.

Once all the coffee milk is mixed in add the vodka or neutral spirit if using. This is entirely optional. The alcohol helps to reduce the freezing point of the ice cream and it is scoopable straight from the freezer. Blend until soft peaks start to form again.

Transfer to a container, cover and freeze overnight or until firm.

💭 Storage

This ice cream is best eaten within a couple of days of making it. It will keep in the freezer for several weeks after this but may develop an icy texture over time.

💭 To serve

Remove from freezer, scoop and enjoy! This ice cream is scoopable straight from the freezer. If you have omitted the alcohol you may need to leave it in the fridge for five to fifteen minutes to make it soft enough to scoop.

Fabulous on its own, or with whipped cream and some chocolate-coated coffee beans. Delicious!

Looking for more no-churn ice cream recipes? Why not try my easy no churn vanilla ice cream or no churn Nutella ice cream. Or when you're feeling more adventurous check out my traditional ice cream recipes.

Have you made this recipe? Tell me how it went in the comments below and tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can see your delicious creations! #KCAEIC @KCAEIC

📋 Recipe

No churn coffee ice cream

Author: Sarah Brooks

This fabulous no churn coffee ice cream is so creamy and full of rich coffee flavour, you won’t believe you don’t need a ice cream churner to make it!

5 from 9 votes

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Prep Time 30 mins

Cook Time 0 mins

Chilling time 4 hrs

Total Time 4 hrs 30 mins

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American, Vietnamese

Servings 6 serves (⅔ cup each), approx.

Calories 303 kcal

Equipment

• electric hand beaters
• cheese cloth or other clean material for straining

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup plus 2 flat tablespoons (40gms) medium roast ground coffee,
• 1 can (14ox or 395 gms) sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cups (500ml) thickened cream
• ¾ cup (185mls) full fat milk
• 1 shot (30mls) vodka or other neutral 40% alcohol *optional

Instructions

 

• Add the coffee to the milk in a jug, still well and cover
• Leave in the fridge overnight to cold brew, at least 12 and up to 18 hours.
• To strain the coffee line a strainer with a place a piece of cheese cloth or other suitable clean material. Place the strainer over a bowl and strain the coffee milk mix. pressing the coffee and then squeezing the cloth to get out as much coffee milk as possible
• You should have about ½ of very strong cold brew coffee milk.
• Add cream and condensed milk to a bowl. Beat with electric hand beaters until soft peaks start to form.
• Slowly add coffee milk mix, about a third of it at a time, beating well in between additions
• Try to ovoid the last few sips in the bottom which will be full of sediment.
• If using, add the alcohol and beat in well until soft peaks start to form again.
• Tip into a container and freezer until set or overnight.
• Remove from freezer, scoop and enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 303kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 3gFat: 29gSaturated Fat: 19gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 93mgSodium: 33mgPotassium: 120mgSugar: 4gVitamin A: 1208IUVitamin C: 0.5mgCalcium: 89mgIron: 0.1mg

Nutritional Disclaimer

Nutritional information is an estimate based on an online database. The nutritional content of ingredients may vary by brand. If you require accurate nutritional information, you should calculate this based on the specific brands and products you are using.

Keywords: easy ice cream, iced coffee, no churn ice cream, vietnamese ice coffee

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