Coffee Toffee Ice Cream

I really love my ice cream maker. I have not bought ice cream at the grocery store since I bought it. I have gotten a lot of email and comments about my ice cream maker so I figured that I would answer them here as well. I have this Cuisinart one and I really like it a lot. It is on the lower end of the spectrum as far as price. I think that I got mine for $65 using a Bed, Bath, and Beyond coupon. There are way more expensive machines out there, but I wanted to see how much I really would make ice cream before I invested in a good one. And honestly, I really don’t think that I need to. This machine is perfect for me. This ice cream maker can make 2 quarts of ice cream and can finish a batch in about 25 minutes. The only thing that I would consider doing is to buy another bowl. After you make a batch of ice cream, you need to let the bowl refreeze for 24 hours before you can use it again. I would like to make a few flavors at a time so I will buy another bowl at some point.

This ice cream recipe changes the way that I think about ice cream recipes. I really cannot be bothered to make a custard and temper eggs and do the whole bit. This recipe does include an egg, but it is not a big deal at all. The other ingredient that I thought was strange was cornstarch. You sort of make a pudding and it reminded me of the day that I made William Chocolate Pudding. Same principle. The ice cream that resulted was so crazy good that I think that I will base all of my new flavors on this one. It was the creamiest and most luscious ice cream. I wish that I had a bowl of this right now.

In the July edition of Southern Living, there is an article on ice cream making and this is where this recipe started from. Thank you Southern Living for the inspiration.

3/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 Tablespoons instant coffee
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (or extract)
6 Heath Bars chopped

** makes 1 Quart **

In a saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, salt, and coffee.

Slowly whisk in the milk and cream.

Cook over medium to medium high heat stirring constantly until thickened. It takes about 10-15 minutes. The mixture needs to come to a bubble so the cornstarch can reach full thickening power.

Meanwhile, in another bowl, whisk your egg yolk.

Add the vanilla bean paste.

Add a very small amount of the hot cream mixture to the egg yolk whisking constantly. Gradually add the rest being careful to not scramble the egg yolk.

It looks so good now, just wait until we add the Heath Bars.

Cover the ice cream with plastic wrap, having the wrap touch the surface so a skin does not form. Chill for a few hours, overnight if possible.

Freeze the mixture according to the directions used for your ice cream maker. A few minutes before the end of the freezing time add almost all of the Heath Bars. Leave a few for garnish.

Transfer the mixture to another container and garnish with the remaining Heath Bars. Freeze for at least two hours before you serve it. Or not. You could eat it just like this.

Oh my.