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Homemade Coffee Ice Cream

Homemade coffee ice cream made as a dense custard base with an intensely roasted espresso flavor. The custard is cooked to 175F, chilled for 4 hours, then churned into a deeply mahogany, scoopable texture.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
chilling + freezing 4 minutes
Total Time 39 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 430
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Heavy cream
  • 2 cup heavy cream
Whole milk
  • 1 cup whole milk
Granulated sugar
  • 0.75 cup granulated sugar
Egg yolks
  • 5 egg yolks
Instant espresso powder
  • 2 tbsp instant espresso powder
Whole coffee beans (optional, for steeping)
  • 0.25 cup whole coffee beans optional
Vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
Salt
  • 0.25 tsp salt

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 Dutch oven
  • 1 ice cream maker

Method
 

Steep and dissolve the coffee
  1. Combine heavy cream, whole milk, and whole coffee beans (if using) in a saucepan and heat until steaming, about 175°F to 190°F. Steep for 15 minutes, then strain out the beans.
  2. Whisk instant espresso powder into the warm coffee cream until fully dissolved, making sure no dry granules remain.
Cook the custard base
  1. Whisk egg yolks and granulated sugar until the mixture looks pale and slightly thickened.
  2. Slowly whisk the hot coffee cream into the egg yolk mixture to temper, keeping the stream steady.
  3. Return everything to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the custard coats the back of a spoon, about 175°F.
Chill, churn, and freeze
  1. Strain the custard, then stir in vanilla extract and salt until smooth.
  2. Cool completely over an ice bath, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin from forming.
  3. Refrigerate at least 4 hours until very cold.
  4. Churn in an ice cream maker, then freeze until firm.

Notes

For the silkiest texture, cook only to the spoon-coating stage at 175°F and keep stirring so the custard doesn’t scramble. Refrigerate leftovers up to 3 days; freeze for up to 2 months (thaw in the fridge 10–15 minutes before scooping). For a dairy-light swap, use half-and-half or evaporated milk in place of part of the heavy cream, but expect a softer churn and slightly less dense mouthfeel.