Boozy Ice Cream - Coffee Flavoured Ice Cream with Alcohol

Close up of coffee flavoured ice cream in a pot.

5 from 1 vote

Boozy Ice Cream - Coffee Flavoured Ice Cream with Alcohol

This boozy ice cream is coffee flavoured ice cream with alcohol included. It features Baileys, coffee liqueur and vodka so could easily be called espresso martini ice cream. It's pure joy.

Prep Time20

Churning20

Total Time40

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: British, Worldwide

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings:

Calories: 355kcal

Author: Jane Coupland

Equipment

Ice cream churner or a large freezer-proof bowl and electric beaters

Ingredients

3 tablespoons Ground coffee or 2 tablespoons instant coffee
250 ml Whole milk
100 g Light brown sugar
4 Egg yolks Large, free-range
250 ml Double cream 48% fat content
100 ml Baileys Irish Cream
40 ml Coffee liqueur such as Kahlua
20 ml Vanilla vodka
Pinch sea salt

Instructions

Make the custard base

Put the milk, sugar, salt and ground coffee into a pan and heat gently to dissolve the sugar. Stir frequently with a wooden spoon and do not let it boil. When the sugar has dissolved remove the pan from the heat and leave everything to infuse for 1 hour.
3 tablespoons Ground coffee, 250 ml Whole milk, 100 g Light brown sugar, Pinch sea salt
Strain the coffee-infused milk through a nut bag or some muslin cloth. You can use a fine-meshed sieve but some of the ground coffee may seep through. Reheat the coffee-infused milk in a clean pan.
Use electric beaters to whisk the egg yolks until pale and thick (2-3 minutes) then pour the warmed coffee milk over, stirring as you do so.
4 Egg yolks
Cook the custard base over low heat, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon, until it has thickened sufficiently to coat the back of the spoon. Transfer it to a heat-proof bowl and lay a piece of food wrap directly over the top of the custard. Leave to cool for 60 minutes.
Stir in the cream, vodka, coffee liqueur and Baileys. Cover and chill the custard for at least 6 hours (preferably overnight).
250 ml Double cream, 100 ml Baileys Irish Cream, 40 ml Coffee liqueur, 20 ml Vanilla vodka

Churning in a machine

Ensure that your ice cream churner is prepared as per manufacturer instructions. In some cases (mine included) the bowl of the ice cream machine must be put in the freezer for 24 hours prior to churning.
When ready to churn give the custard base a stir then pour it into the ice cream churner and churn until thick and frozen (around 20-30 minutes).
Scoop the ice cream into a freezer-proof container and put it in the freezer to firm up for at least 6 hours. Cover with parchment after 3 hours to prevent freezer burn.

Churning by hand

Pour the custard base into a large freezer-proof bowl, cover it and put it in the freezer for 1-1½ hours. The centre will be soft and slushy but the edges should be beginning to freeze. Use electric beaters to beat the ice cream until the ice crystals are uniform (2-3 minutes). Cover again and place it back in the freezer.
Repeat this process 6-8 more times at ¾ – 1-hour intervals. The more times you can repeat this process, the better your ice cream will be.
When your ice cream is thick and smooth it is fully churned. You can now transfer it to a freezer-proof container and freeze for several more hours until firm. Cover with parchment to prevent freezer burn.

Notes

Do not wait until the point of churning to add the alcohol unless it has also been stored in the fridge. Room temperature alcohol will increase the temperature of the custard base, making it more difficult to freeze fully.
If you are churning your ice cream by hand it’s wise to start first thing in the morning and set a timer to remind yourself to churn every hour until it is ready.
When churning by hand avoid leaving the ice cream too long between churns otherwise it will become icy.
If churning in a machine keep it running until the ice cream reaches a relatively firm soft scoop stage.
This homemade coffee flavoured ice cream is best eaten within 2 weeks.
I do not recommend adding more alcohol. The recipe already contains plenty and produces a firm ice cream that is scoopable straight from the freezer. As alcohol lowers the freezing point of the custard base, if too much is added the ice cream will not freeze properly.

Why didn't my ice cream set?

There are several reasons why homemade ice cream with alcohol fails to set. Either:

The custard base was insufficiently chilled before it was added to the ice cream churner.
Too much alcohol was added.
The bowl of the ice cream churner was not fully frozen.
There was too much custard base for the size of the machine.

If you suspect reason 1 or 3 then return your custard base to the fridge then clean the churner bow and refreeze it for 24 hours (or as long as the instruction manual recommends). Then proceed to rechurn the ice cream.

If too much alcohol was added then make a little more of the custard base (without adding further alcohol) and mix it in. Ensure that your ice cream maker can handle the volume of liquid you pour into it.

If the volume of custard is too much for your machine to handle you may be better attempting to rechurn it by hand. (Then remember to make slightly less next time).

Nutrition