I’m about to say something that I never thought I would.
I am thrilled that it is hot outside.
You see, because the thermometer has hit over 80 degrees, I can finally make ice cream without looking like a crazy person. Unlike when I make this treat in the dead of winter, none of my family members will cast bewildered glances toward the kitchen when they hear the ice cream maker running. Although that certainly doesn’t stop me.
Am I the only one who craves ice cream during the winter? In January, whenever I excitedly propose heading out for ice cream, people look at me like I just said Rebecca Black is the next Mozart. My family politely refuses offers of fro-yo, just because you have to stave off frostbite by wearing mittens to hold the cardboard bowl. You should have seen the looks in my tiny cousins’ eyes when I doled out peppermint ice cream on Christmas Eve.
I don’t get it. There is never a bad time for ice cream in my world. After all, a wind chill factor of 17 degrees finally solves the dilemma of a melty waffle cone!
However, some purists believe that frozen treats strictly belong to warm weather and while I tend to question the validity of their claims as well as their sanity, I can appreciate the merits of their point of view. Cold ice cream on a hot day is pretty darn nice. In fact, the heat does a lot to help transform a regular bowl of ice cream into that perfect, slightly softened consistency, making for optimum creaminess and yum-osity. Living in a city in which, many times, it feels like you’re soaking in a hot tub on the sun, ice cream is a delight.
Coffee ice cream, in particular, is spectacular. While I’ve consumed many a carton of the store-bought stuff, I’ve never tried it homemade. Let me tell ya, it is well worth the effort. Freshly churned coffee ice cream tastes completely different than mass produced. It also really takes on the flavor of whatever beans you use, so I definitely recommend using your favorite. Personally, I heart Indonesian beans for their smoothness and low acidity, but if you find that variety slightly oily, you can always go with African or Latin American beans—whatever you like!
The point is, homemade coffee ice cream is utterly divine and should be eaten as often as possible. If it weren’t so entirely ill-advised, I would advocate an all-coffee-ice-cream-all-the-time diet. But then people would gain a lot of weight and I would get sued by the FDA, so never mind. Make yourself a batch of this ice cream and enjoy it responsibly, alternating with plenty of exercise and leafy greens.
You can find the recipe I used over at the eternally mahvelous Simply Recipes. All I did in my version was irresponsibly alter the milk-to-heavy-cream ratio, but hey, it’s homemade ice cream. Go big or go home.
I am also thrilled about the warm weather (more because I hate wearing lots of clothes) but I eat ice-cream all winter too…Just not you know, outside. My apartment is always a balmy 23 degrees (celsius) perfect for ice-cream in winter. The only time I've "had" an ice-cream maker was at work though (hours of fun!) and now I don't work in a kitchen T_T Maybe time to invest?
Two of my favorite things combined..coffee and ice cream.
Our weather in LV has been a bit a chilly lately but I would love to make this when it starts to warm up. Yum!
My boyfriend is just like you… he wants to stop at Coldstone when it's snowing out! This ice cream sounds great, and hopefully it will be warmer here soon so everyone can agree ti's time to indulge!
I just looooooove ice cream with coffee – and chocolate pieces in it 🙂
@Sasa: Yay!! Welcome to the club! If you do end up in the market for an ice cream maker, I can't say enough good things about the Cuisinart gel canister ice cream maker. You just pop the bowl in the freezer the night before, pour in the cream, and let it go. Heaven, I tell you. 😀
@Kristen: Coffee and ice cream are kinda two of the best things ever, I must say. 😀
@Dana: It can never, ever be too cold for I cream! hehehe Thanks!
Oh man…your coffee ice cream looks so good!! Do you have any idea how difficult it is to look at your pictures and not be able to reach out and take a bite? 🙂
By the way, in Kentucky, it's never too cold for ice cream.
In fact, most Kentucky families are raised up on snow cream. If you've never had it, you have to try it. You just mix together fresh snow, sugar, cream/milk, and pure vanilla extract, and enjoy every single bite!!
You can collect the snow by putting a large bowl on your porch or by taking fresh snow off the top of your car before you clean it.
Anyway, maybe you should consider moving to Kentucky so you can enjoy ice cream in the cold weather months without anyone looking at you crazy. 🙂
OOooooo I like the sound of your all-coffee all ice cream diet. Just add chocolate and my life would be complete. Wonderful photos.
I love that last photo of the ice cream scooper and leftover ice cream. Wow.
I seem to crave ice cream in the colder months also, lol I would love to be on an ice cream diet, lol
you can't beat homemade and yours look perfect for our Texas Summers!!
have a great week
sweetlife
Homemade ice cream is definitely my favorite to make in the summer time. Coffee ice cream is always a good choice and happens to be my middle sons all-time favorite so I make it often. I will have to check out the recipe. Your pics are beautiful, especially the last one :o)
I am not the biggest fan of ice cream, but your pictures make me want to devour a gallon of this stuff! Bravo.
Need to try and make ice cream. I've never done it before:(
Ice cream is most definitely all season dessert. I sometimes to get cravings for something cold in winter too. I love the sound of coffee ice cream, it looks super creamy.
I'm not a huge icecream fan, but your pics make icecream inviting and even a little sexy!! 🙂
That bit where it's going melty … *goes all misty eyed*
This looks incredible! I'm signing up to this diet. (Though can I cheat and have the occasional sandwich? I just love sandwiches.)
Just found your blog when I did a search for penne with roasted red pepper sauce … dear me, now a coffee ice cream recipe too? Guess I'll follow you around!
I'm already thinking that my Green Mountain French Toast coffee beans may be going for a far greater cause than morning coffee! Wahoo!
I am ready for homemade ice cream now 🙂 Coffee flavored sounds fantastic! You could eat this for breakfast…right? 🙂
who said ice-cream is just for summer?
I'm happy about the weather too. It has been such a long winter. Yee for the Spring and home-made ice-cream.
Thanks for sharing Koci
I will definitely be investing in the cuisinart ice cream maker you mentioned in a previous comment. This looks sooo good. I love making ice cream, but rarely eat it for some reason!
I crave ice cream all year round, and I've been dying to make coffee ice cream ever since I got my machine. After seeing yours, I really just need to already. So delicious!