No-churn coffee ice cream easily made at home with only three ingredients: cream, condensed milk and instant coffee! I feel like the the whole no-churn ice cream trend has died out a bit since it was a big thing a few years back, and I honestly do not understand why. An ice cream machine is a fantastic appliance to have, but I understand not wanting to invest money into something you'll use once every other year.
I am a food person, making food is my hobby (this is why I have a food blog in the first place), yet I do not own an ice cream maker. The fact that I live in a country where the average summer temperature is below 20C might be the main reason behind this, let's be honest. But, honestly, the few times around when I decide to make homemade ice cream I'm more than happy with no-churn.
No-churn ice cream is so convenient, and you can count on the fact that a can of condensed milk will always be there in my pantry. As for the flavour: coffee ice cream is delightful. In this recipe I'm using instant coffee, which is a favourite ingredient of mine when making coffee flavoured desserts as it adds pure coffee flavour without adding any liquids to the equation. An absolute winner of an ingredient, if you ask me.
Ingredients & equipment
- Whipping cream (35% fat minimum)
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Freeze-dried instant coffee
For detailed quantities, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
To make no-churn coffee ice cream you will need an electric mixer to whip the cream to hard peaks. A spatula to fold in the condensed milk. A saucepan or the microwave to warm up the cream to dissolve the instant coffee in.
How to make no-churn coffee ice-cream
1. Separate 100 ml of cream and warm until almost boiling. Stir in the instant coffee until melted. Set aside to cool down to room temperature (you can use an ice water bath).
2. Start whipping the rest of the cream (that needs to be fridge-cold) and when it starts to come together pour in the small coffee flavoured portion. Stop the mixer when it reaches hard peaks.
3. Fold in the condensed milk by gently incorporating it with upward motions with a spatula. Transfer mixture to a freezer safe container and let set for a minimum of 5 hours, or overnight.
No-churn coffee ice cream tips
The reason why we are dissolving the instant coffee in a small portion of the cream is because in order to dissolve instant coffee we need a rather high temperature. Cream that has reached boiling temperature will not whip. So if we were to heat the whole batch of cream in order to dissolve the coffee in, the risk is that the high temperature might affect all of it. By only heating a small portion, we ensure that the rest of the cream stays whippable.
To up the coffee flavour (and experience) I recommend you use this ice cream to make affogato. Affogato is an Italian dessert made with a couple of scoops of ice cream and a shot of espresso poured in. While the choice of ice cream flavour to go in affogato is personal, you should choose flavours that belong to the "creme" section of a gelateria, not "frutti" - basically, the flavours that are not fruit-based, like cream, egg yolk, chocolate, hazelnut, coffee.
Being made with sweetened condensed milk, this coffee ice cream is quite on the sweet side, so it will wonderfully balance a shot of unsweetened espresso!
Related deliciousness
Here are some more recipes if you're in the mood for more no-churn ice cream flavours, or more desserts with instant coffee! We have a coffee-flavoured panna cotta and a delightfulcoffee mousse on a chocolate brownie base. As for the ice cream department, may I present you Earl Grey tea flavoured ice cream, or hazelnut ice cream. Both no-churn, of course. Click on the pictures below to access more recipes!
If you tried this recipe, let me know your thoughts in the comments. If you're planning to try it another time, pin this recipe to Pinterest. Please consider subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Instagram and on Pinterest.
No-churn coffee ice cream
Equipment
- Electric mixer
- Bowls
- Freezer
Ingredients
- 500 ml cream
- 395 g sweetened condensed milk
- 3 tablespoon instant coffee
Instructions
- Separate 100 ml of cream and warm until almost boiling. Stir in the instant coffee until melted. Set aside to cool down to room temperature (you can use an ice water bath).
- Start whipping the rest of the cream and, when it starts to come together, pour in the coffee flavoured portion. Stop the mixer when it reaches hard peaks.
- Fold in the condensed milk by gently incorporating it with upward motions with a spatula. Transfer mixture to a freezer safe container and let set for a minimum of 5 hours, or overnight.
