Drippy, Delicious Coffee Ice Cream

I have been obsessed with iced coffee lately. It’s refreshing, and delicious, and loaded with caffeine, so it’s gotten me through some LOOONG days in the last few weeks. #iknowimusingcoffeeasacrutchidontcare #donttrytotakemycoffeeawayorillhurtyou  #coffeeitswhatsfordinner

Anyhoo, this ice cream is like the best iced coffee ever, but thicker… and creamier… and with less caffeine—which is good when you’ve already had like three giant iced coffees in one day and you are super hyper and a little crazy and it makes you type really long run on sentences like this and that’s pretty much how I talk after having that much coffee too except for it’s a lot faster than you are probably actually reading this which is a good thing because then I’m super productive and awesome until I pass out from lack of oxygen because I forget to breathe and…

Hey, what happened?

#iknowidrinktomuchcoffeegetoffmybackaboutit

Of course, if you enjoy flavored coffee, you can enhance this ice cream with all sorts of sugar-free flavored syrups, like chocolate, hazelnut, cinnamon, vanilla, even coconut! YUM! But it’s just as good simply flavored with coffee beans. I will say this: Use a decent coffee to start with, and the flavor of your ice cream will be that much better.

Now, for a behind the scenes look at how things work over here at the IBIH studios (read: my kitchen)...

Let me preface this story by saying that taking pictures of ice cream is HARD, people. Now I know why food stylists cheat and use mashed potatoes instead of the real thing for ice cream photographs. The window between one or two seductive drips down the side, to a hot mess of melted sludge is really, REALLY small!

It doesn’t help that my five-year-old son has horrible timing when it comes to interrupting me with VERY IMPORTANT matters that require my immediate attention.

Him: (rushes in from outside) “MOM! I need you!!!”

Me: (looks up, quick scan to ensure no bleeding, goes back to taking photos)  “What’s going on?”

Him: “I’m digging for gold outside and I need a HUGE box to put all of my gold in!!!”

Me: (distractedly) “Really? A huge box?”

Him: “Yeah, HUGE! I’m going to find a LOT of gold and have a LOT of money!!!”

Now the ice cream is already starting to melt all over the place, and I’m weighing my options: Crushing the kid's dream of striking it rich and tell him I’m busy, or get him a box so he’ll go outside and start mining, hopefully resulting in more uninterrupted time for me to finish the photos.  And possibly he’ll actually find a ton of gold so I can hire a maid and a nanny. What? It could happen…

Me: *sigh* “Ok, let me find you something.”

Him: “I also need a big drill, Dad’s is too small. I’m going to go on the computer and order one.”

Me: “No you aren’t, use a shovel from the shed.”

Him: *sighs* “Fine, I guess I could use a shovel…”

Me: “Here’s a container to put your gold in.”

Him: “That’s WAY too small, Mom. I’m going to find LOTS of gold and then I’m going to buy LOTS of legos!”

Me: “Way to dream big, kid.”

Him: *disgustedly* “This isn’t a DREEEAAM, MOM, it’s for REAL!”

Me: “Uh huh, here ya go.”

Him: *takes huge box, goes outside*

2 minutes pass

Him: *wanders back inside* “Gold mining is hard. And very, VERY dangerous. I’m going to pretend the pool is the Atlantic Ocean instead, so I can explore THE DEEP.”

Me: “Sounds like a plan”

Him: “But first, can I have some ice cream?”

Me: “Sure, here…”

Him: “Ewwwww… how come it’s all melted and gross looking?”

Me: “Gee, I don’t know.” *rolls eyes, bangs head on table repeatedly* “Here’s a straw, now pretend it’s a shake…”

True story.

LOW-CARB COFFEE ICE CREAM

Yield: 6 servings

Serving size: 1/2 cup

A decadent low carb and sugar free coffee ice cream recipe

Ingredients:
2 cups organic heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup almond milk (vanilla, unsweetened)
1/4 cup good quality coffee beans
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup granulated sugar substitute
1/4 tsp xanthan gum (optional but helps consistency)
1/8 tsp salt

Instructions:

Combine the coffee beans, heavy cream, and almond milk in a medium bowl. Soak for 2 hours, or overnight if you want a stronger flavor. Heat the cream, milk, and coffee beans in the microwave for 2 minutes. Strain out the beans. Return the cream mixture to the bowl and add the Splenda, vanilla, salt, xanthan gum (if using) and egg yolks. Stir well. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir. Microwave for another 30 seconds, stir. Microwave for another 30 seconds, stir. At this point it should be slightly thickened (if not, microwave 30 seconds longer). Pour it through a sieve to remove any lumps, then chill in the freezer for 30 minutes or the refrigerator overnight. When the custard is chilled, run it through an ice cream maker following the manufacturer’s instructions. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, try this method using ziplock bags, ice, and salt to freeze your custard mixture.

Note:

Using organic heavy whipping cream when you can find it will greatly decrease the amount of carbs in this recipe. Not all HWC are created equal—some contain starches to thicken them, which results in higher carbs so be sure to read your labels!

Approximate nutrition info per serving: 359 calories, 35g fat, 1g net carbs, 2g protein