My Black Coffee Ice Cream recipe is the real deal — no namby pamby coffee flavor here! This homemade coffee ice cream recipe will satisfy your wildest caffeine cravings.
I don’t know about you guys, but the flavor of coffee ice cream always disappoints me. It’s never bold enough. To me it always tastes like that cup of coffee I accidentally poured waaaay too much cream into. Yuck. So I set out to make myself some of the real deal. I call it Black Coffee. It’s about as black as you can get it without leaving out the cream altogether, in which case you wouldn’t have ice cream 🙂
This is a simple ice cream recipe, no eggs or custard to worry about. I don’t find the extra steps add all that much, especially if you eat your ice cream the same day it’s made. I use a base of half and half, which cuts down on the calories a little. Every bit helps!
How did I do it? How did I cram so much caffeinated flavor into this ice cream? There are two secrets…one is powdered (instant) espresso. I used a hefty 6 tablespoons of it. The second secret might be a little more controversial. I used 2 tablespoons of extra dark unsweetened cocoa powder. It add color, richness, and blends with the coffee to emphasize the flavor. Yes, technically I should have mentioned that in the title, but really I don’t think the ice cream ‘reads’ as chocolate, it just brings out the essence of the coffee.
Its very similar to the way many chocolate recipes include a bit of coffee or espresso to bring out the chocolate flavor, only this time, it’s all about the coffee!
Which ice cream machine do I recommend?
I get asked all the time about what machine I use. I use and recommend Cuisinart. I’ve had my machine for years without any issues, I think because there are no fussy electronic parts to break down ~ it’s a simple motor that turns the freezer bowl for churning the ice cream and it works quickly and perfectly every time.
- The machine I use, and it’s the base model. It works great for ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sorbets, and makes all of them in about 2o minutes. Click HERE or click on the image for more info.
Reader Rave ~
“This is sooooo delicious! Probably the best I’ve ever made. Such amazing flavors. Instead of half & half I used Heavy Cream. My husband and I couldn’t stop licking the bowl, spatula & churn even before it went into the freezer to finish. If I eat this late at night I may need some Irish whiskey with it to help me sleep!!” ~ Dina
Black Coffee Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 2 cups half and half
- 6 Tbsp espresso powder , or instant espresso
- 2 Tbsp dutch process cocoa powder, Hershey's Extra Dark Cocoa Powder
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Put one cup of the half and half in a saucepan over medium heat and stir in the espresso, cocoa powder, and sugar. Heat and stir just until everything gets dissolved.
- Remove from heat and let cool. Add remaining half and half and vanilla and refrigerate until cold.
- Pour the mixture into your ice cream machine and process according to its instructions.
- Spoon the soft ice cream into a container and freeze.
- Homemade ice cream is best eaten the day it is made.
Nutrition
Need more caffeine? I’ve got you covered ~
- Irish Coffee Cheesecake Squares
- Turkish Coffee Shortbread
- Cardamom and Coffee Dirty Blondies
- Coffee Chocolate Chip Cookies
- The Hummer Cocktail
Thanks for pinning this Black Coffee Ice Cream!
You have no idea how bad I NEED this ice cream right now! It looks incredible!
Oh my – looks wonderful and I just love how easy it is to make! The cocoa’s got to bring out that coffee flavor. Sounds like a great balance.
I’m with you, coffee ice cream is never strong enough, nor is most coffee unless I make it myself. This sounds delicious, and I have lots of espresso powder on hand, so I’ll be trying it.
You know I want to make this (for coffee milkshake too), but no ice cream maker….I am sure you have a “fix” for this, yes?
I’m always wishing for bolder coffee ice cream, so this pretty much looks like frozen perfection to me!
What a gorgeous post! Thanks.
I always love coffee ice cream, this looks so yummy!
Dear Sue – This looks absolutely delicious! I can only imagine what a milkshake with this ice-cream would taste like. A girl can dream!
This ice cream would make this coffee lover very, very happy.
This looks and sounds delicious, Sue and I love the addition of the cocoa powder!
Thanks Jennifer — I always add a little coffee powder to chocolate desserts to bring out the chocolate flavor, so I figured the opposite would work, too!