Coffee Ice Cream

Hey faithful readers! Happy Labor Day weekend!

We have a big weekend planned since it is Tim's birthday tomorrow. What are we doing? Tim says "working" LOL! There is a big tax deadline looming on September 15th so we are celebrating his birthday this weekend instead of tomorrow. We celebrated last night and went out to dinner and shopping while Mom kept the Munchkins. Thanks Mom!

Tim loves ice cream-and who doesn't? I've made two great ice cream desserts and have a review of some Halo Top ice cream that Anna and I tried so it will be Ice Cream Week here on the Just Keep Talkin' blog.

First up for the over 21 crowd is no churn coffee ice cream by Nigella Lawson. RUN, do not walk, to your grocery store or sit down and order the espresso powder and make this. It is AMAZING!! I stumbled across this recipe while Google-ing "what do I do with leftover sweetened condensed milk". The recipe calls for 4 ingredients and surprisingly, I had all 4 on hand! That never happens. I made up a batch yesterday and it is like heaven on a spoon.

You need:

2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream, cold
2 tbl. espresso powder
2 tbl. Kahlua or Kapali coffee liqueur

About the espresso powder-this is very finely ground (more fine than instant espresso coffee) espresso used in baking. Instant espresso coffee would be a little gritty. I got mine, as seen on the left, on a super sale from Williams Sonoma this spring. Through Labor Day, they are offering 20% off and free shipping. King Arthur Flour offers the espresso powder too. 'Round here, you might try Publix or Harris-Teeter, or a fancy-schmancy grocery store like Whole Foods, The Fresh Market, etc. I doubt the local Wal-Mart would have it.

So to make the ice cream, pour the sweetened condensed milk in a bowl and add the heavy whipping cream. Whisk or use an electric mixer to blend. Add the espresso powder and liqueur and mix. Pour into a container and freeze. The alcohol keeps it from freezing into a solid brick you can't scoop into, plus the alcohol taste is slight. The ice cream has a really creamy and smooth texture.

Excuse the janky photo but here is
what the finished product looks like!

I found variations on Nigella's website here and will be making some of these soon. The banana/coffee/coconut sounds interesting, I may try that version next.

Stay tuned for a cookies and cream ice cream cake recipe, made in a 6" springform pan. It's freezing as we speak, I hope to serve it at lunch today as Tim's birthday cake.

Have a great weekend!
Until next time,
Melissa