This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission.
Do you like coffee? Do you like rich creamy ice cream? If you said yes to those questions (and I’m guessing you did!), then this is the Coffee Ice Cream treat recipe for you!
A rich homemade custard ice cream base that’s made with real whole coffee beans!
We appreciate your support
Please let me know if you have any questions about this recipe. I read all the comments myself and I try to help as soon as I can. I have readers from all levels of comfort and experience in the kitchen on my site, and I’ve tried to answer some of your questions already in the post. But if I’ve missed anything, please feel free to leave a comment and ask.
Whole coffee beans
Using whole coffee beans gives a nice bold coffee flavor, and brewing the coffee beans in the milk helps to ensure a creamy smooth consistency to the ice cream.
If you use regular brewed coffee in ice cream, the water that was used to brew the coffee will turn into ice crystals.
And, ice crystals in your ice cream translates to an icy treat. Not what we want in this smooth ice cream. Using whole coffee beans also allows you to choose your flavor.
Want a bold rich straightforward flavor? Use a dark roast like French roast.
Can I use a flavored coffee bean?
Want a flavored coffee like French vanilla, hazelnut, or toffee? Grab a bag of one of those fun flavors.
You can also make this Coffee Ice Cream with decaffeinated beans.
I know so many people who are bothered by caffeine, and decaf beans will help make sure there are no late night jitters after you eat this dessert treat.
I also love that using whole coffee beans allows them to be easily removed from the milk after infusing their flavor. Just strain them out, easy peasy.
Mix ins
Want to add some fun mix ins to your coffee ice cream?
Chop up some chocolate covered espresso beans and toss them in
Toffee pieces – they even sell toffee
Caramel drizzle – try my Salted Caramel Sauce or Mocha Caramel Sauce
Brownie pieces
And for a fun twist of coffee desserts, check out my Vietnamese Coffee Gelatin Squares with Vanilla Bean Cold Foam.
How to add mix-ins
For mix-ins like these, simply add them when the ice cream is just about done mixing in the machine.
Layer & swirl mix-ins
Or, use the layer and swirl method. Remove one-third of the finished soft ice cream from the machine, and spoon it into a freezer safe container.
Ice cream tub
Remember my favorite container is (affiliate link) this insulated ice cream tub.
Cover the ice cream with one-third of the sauce or jam. Repeat, making layers with the remaining ice cream and sauce.
Place the layered ice cream in the freezer to firm it up before serving. As you scoop, it will look like swirls.
Kitchen tools you may need
Note: these are affiliate links
Love Coffee?
Here are some other coffee treats!
Mocha Candied Almonds, Coffee Ice Cream Drumsticks, Mocha Caramel Sauce, Brownie Cookies with Mocha Frosting, Mocha Fudge, Salted Caramel Coffee Truffles.
Let’s Connect
If you like seeing my recipes subscribe via email in the upper right.
Or, connect with me on your favorite social media channel for recipes, photos, & much more:
Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter!
And find my shop on Amazon for recommendations on cool tools
If you try this recipe,
please come back & leave a comment below letting us know how it goes.
Share a picture & tag @lifecurrents on Instagram.
Or you can upload a “tried it” photo (I would love to see)
via the pin.
Coffee Ice Cream Recipe
Coffee Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups milk
- ¾ cup whole coffee beans
- ¾ cup sugar
- 3 large egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Combine the milk and coffee beans in a heavy medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Lower the heat, cover, and keep warm for 20 minutes.
- While the coffee beans steep, beat the sugar into the egg yolks in a medium mixing bowl, until they’re thickened and pale yellow. Beat in the flour and salt. Set aside.
- Remove the coffee beans with a skimmer or slotted spoon, or pour milk through a strainer catching the coffee milk on the other end. If some of the milk has evaporated, measure it out and add more fresh milk to make 1 & 1/2 cups of milky coffee. Slowly beat the warm milk into the eggs and sugar. Pour the entire mixture back into the pan and place over low heat. Stir constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon until the custard thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Be careful not to let the mixture boil, or the eggs will scramble. Remove from heat, and pour the hot coffee custard through a strainer into a large, clean bowl. Allow the custard to cool slightly, and stir in the cream and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate until cold or overnight.
- Stir the chilled custard, and freeze in your ice cream machine, according to manufacturer’s instructions. When finished, the ice cream will be soft, but ready to eat. For firmer ice cream, transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze at least 2 hours.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
Angela
Oh wow, this ice cream looks so perfectly creamy and delicious!!! Must try asap!! I will have a very happy hubby for this one for sure!!
Sherilyn
I have made coffee ice cream before by steeping whole beans. I’ve reused beans up to three times with no noticeable detriment to batches 2-3. If I wanted to double this recipe, could I use the same amount of beans and double the other ingredients? Would the steeping time need to increase? I’m wondering if there’s a way to streamline the process when making a larger quantity.
Debi
Sherilyn, I’ve never doubled the recipe on this before. My ice cream machine isn’t big enough to do a double batch. I would guess that if you double the rest of the ingredients and not the beans the coffee flavor would be lighter. I wouldn’t think you would need to increase the steeping time. If you try any of that, let me know. I’d love to her how it turns out. I might suggest that you take a look at my no churn coffee ice cream: https://lifecurrentsblog.com/coffee-toffee-ice-cream/ if you want to double the batch. There’s no machine needed so you don’t have to worry about it fitting in a machine. And, I don’t steep beans in the other recipe.
Roxanne
It tastes perfect! I added an extra egg yolk because I wanted a creamier custard and I layered in some chocolate fudge sauce that I made on the stove while my custard was cooking. This is by far the fluffiest creamiest ice cream I have ever made, and the coffee flavor is perfect — none of the muddiness of filter brewed coffee. Excellent work Debi!
Gale
So glad I made this. Easy to make. Nice directions. The coffee flavor was amazing. Thick and rich. Creamy. So impressed by this recipe.