Coffee Ice Cream Too!

Continuing on with the ice cream experimenting, I next attempted my second favorite flavor: coffee ice cream with fudge swirl and chocolate covered almonds (AKA Starbucks' Java Chip). I guess I should disclose that the ice cream is the only thing I actually made: the almonds and chocolate fudge are store bought. Next time, I'll make my own chocolate. This was good, of course, but it wasn't MINE.

I ran into an issue with this recipe and the entire Ben & Jerry's ice cream book: they use raw eggs. I was nervous. Very very nervous. But after asking around (and the fact that these recipes are tried and true), I went for it and it's fine.

Another issue that haunted me was the swirl... The recipe calls to "fold" it in as the very last stage however, it also says to chill the chocolate so it's not exactly pliable. It was a big clump so I kept cutting and folding and soon it became mostly-mocha ice cream. I've heard some people layering the ice cream and fudge in the storage container itself so when you scoop in, distinct stripes of chocolate you get! Will try that next time...

COFFEE ALMOND SWIRL
Adapted from Ben & Jerry's

2 large eggs
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups heavy or whipping cream
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons espresso powder
3/4 cup chocolate covered almonds (halved)
1 cup cold fudge sauce


1. Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more. Add the cream, milk and 2 tablespoons of the coffee and whisk to blend.

2. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer's instructions.

3. After the ice cream stiffens (about 2 minutes before it is done), add the remaining 1 tablespoon of coffee and 3/4 cup almonds, then continue freezing until ice cream is ready. Remove the dasher and fold in fudge sauce with a spatula.