Croissants and Coffee Ice Cream
Serves 622 mins prep5 mins cook
Creamy custard coffee ice cream infused with roasted coffee beans and chunks of crispy buttery croissants. Total time includes prep and cooking, 8 hour chill of custard, 30 minute churning in ice cream machine, and 4 hour minimum freezing before serving.
0 servings
What you need
tbsp salted butter
tbsp granulated sugar
oz coffee beans
oz heavy cream
tbsp espresso powder
tsp fine sea salt
oz egg yolk
Instructions
32 **If you're ice cream maker has a tub that needs to be frozen for churning, go ahead and place it in the freezer now. Crispy Croissants 2 Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. 1 Slice fresh bakery croissants in half lengthwise, and then cut into 1/2 inch chunks. 3 Place the croissant pieces in a medium sized bowl, then toss with melted butter and sugar to evenly coat. 4 Spread the pieces on the parchment paper lined tray in an even layer. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, stirring halfway until nicely golden and toasted. 5 Let the croissant bites cool completely before adding to the ice cream. If you enjoy large chunks of croissants keep them big, or cut the toasted pieces down into smaller pea-sized bites. Discard any loose flakes. Coffee Ice Cream 18 Option: Infuse the Coffee Beans into the cream and milk. 7 Preheat oven to 325℉ (160℃). Place whole coffee beans on a baking tray and roast for 3 minutes. 8 Slightly crush the roasted beans or place them in a food processor for a couple spins. Keep the beans in large pieces, avoid processing into a powder. 9 Heat heavy cream, milk, and salt in a medium saucepan on medium-low heat, until steaming. Remove from the heat and toss in the crushed beans. 10 Give the beans a stir, loosely cover saucepan with a tea towel and let steep for 1 hour. Additionally, once cooled the mixture can be placed in the fridge overnight, covered with plastic wrap for a longer infusion of the coffee to the cream mixture, but not required. 11 Strain the coffee beans from the milk mixture using a metal sieve, then add the coffee infused liquid back to the saucepan. You can leave the beans in and sift them out at the end, but I prefer doing it before making the custard. 19 Make the Ice Cream Base 13 Place a large sized bowl next to the stovetop fitted with a metal sieve. Also, prepare a second larger bowl with ice water and place it in the fridge. 12 In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk, cream, honey, milk powder, instant coffee, and salt. Stir with a whisk while heating to 45°C (113°F). The instant coffee will dissolve as the mixture heats, turning to a nice coffee with cream color. 22 ***If you are skipping the roasted whole beans, simply add the 4 tablespoons of instant espresso coffee powder. If you are using roasted whole beans, ONLY add 1 teaspoon espresso powder for color. 14 Once it reaches 113℉ (45°C), whisk in the sugar. 24 Continue whisking while you slowly pour in the beaten egg yolks in a small stream. This is an easier way to temper the eggs without adding additional steps. 15 Swap to a silicone spatula, and continue to stir until the mixture reads 180℉ (82℃). It will thicken enough to coat the back of the spatula and you can easily draw a line through the coating with your finger. 16 Immediately remove pan from heat, and pour the liquid through the metal sieve into the clean bowl. Any leftover coffee pieces or thickened egg will be caught by the sieve. 17 Stir in the vanilla. Place the bowl in the ice bath and stir until the mixture has cooled to room temperature or 50℉ (5℃). 20 Rest the Ice Cream Base 21 Place a sheet of plastic wrap directly onto the custard to prevent a skin from forming in the fridge. Set the bowl in the fridge and chill for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight. Churn, Assemble, Freeze 31 Remove the ice cream base from the fridge and give it a quick stir. Pour into your ice cream maker and churn according to the machine's instructions. Most machine's churn for about 30 minutes until the ice cream has thickened to the consistency of soft serve. 26 Spoon 1/3 of the soft serve ice cream into a frozen or chilled freezer safe container. Sprinkle with croissant chunks and spread them around with a spoon. 27 Repeat with remaining ice cream, adding as much or as little of the croissant chunk as you like. Enjoy right away or freeze for a more scoopable texture. 28 Place a piece of parchment paper directly onto the ice cream surface to prevent ice crystals. Cover the container with plastic wrap, or if you're using an ice cream storage container simply cover with the lid. 29 Freeze ice cream for about 2-3 hours or until solid. 30 Place ice cream in the fridge for 15-20 minutes to slightly soften before scooping.View original recipe