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5 from 2 votes

Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream

Lots of coffee with chicory and some sweetened condensed milk make this Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream taste exactly like you’re eating the delicious drink.
Prep Time 16 hours 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 17 hours

Ingredients

Instructions

Night Before

  • Combine 1 cup heavy cream and 1 cup whole milk in a bowl. Add 1/3 cup coffee grounds and mix. Cover and store in the fridge overnight.
  • In another bowl, pour 1 cup heavy cream. Add 1/3 cup coffee grounds, stir, cover, and store in fridge overnight.

Day Of

  • Strain the heavy cream, milk, and coffee grounds mixture into a medium sized saucepan through a fine mesh strainer covered in a couple layers of cheese cloth (this can go a little slow-running a spoon around the grounds at the bottom can speed the process up a little).
  • Strain the 1 cup heavy cream into a medium bowl through a fine mesh strainer covered in a couple layers of cheese cloth and set aside. Place the fine mesh sieve (cleared of cheese cloth and coffee grounds) over the bowl and set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks until smooth.
  • Add the sweetened condensed milk and salt to the saucepan with the cream and milk and heat on medium, stirring to combine. Continue cooking and stirring often until the mixture begins to thicken and bubble around the edges (about 3 minutes). Make sure it doesn't start to boil though.
  • Lower the heat to low and measure out one cup of the hot milk mixture and slowly pour it into the bowl with the egg yolks, whisking constantly. This is to prevent the eggs from cooking. Slowly pour the combined egg yolks and milk back to the saucepan, stirring constantly as you do so. Turn heat to medium-low.
  • Continue cooking until the mixture thickens (about 4 to 5 minutes). To test, dip a wooden spoon in and check to see if you can draw a clear line with your finger. The line should stay as it is and not loose its shape.
  • Pour into the fine mesh sieve over the reserved heavy cream and stir together.
  • Fill a sink with ice and cold water and put the bowl in it, bringing it to room temperature (about 15 minutes).
  • Cover and chill for at least 4 hours.
  • Place a loaf pan in the freezer. Transfer chilled custard to an ice cream maker and follow the directions of the manufacturer (this can take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes in my experience)
  • Once done, quickly transfer the ice cream into the frozen loaf pan.
  • Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4 hours before serving.
  • Let the ice cream sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

I've included all the waiting time in the prep. There is only about 10 minutes of active cooking.
Adjusting the amount of coffee doesn't affect how the ice cream turns out so don't worry.
When straining out the coffee grounds, squeeze the cheesecloth to get out all the liquid.
If you don't have an ice cream machine, try the freeze and stir method: Put a large stainless steel or glass bowl in the freezer for 24 hours. Pour the mousse into it once it’s set for 4 hours and beat it with an electric mixer. Put back in the freezer for an hour and repeat. Keep this up until you get the consistency you want.
If you want to sprinkle roasted coconut on top of your ice cream, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spread the sweetened or unsweetened coconut (whatever you prefer) on a small baking sheet. Bake, stirring occasionally, until just beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool.
Author: Megan Wells
Course: Desserts