June 2007
Coffee, Almond, Fudge Swirl Ice Cream
By Chef Deb Steinfeld

Special equipment: ice cream maker

2 eggs
¾ cup plus 2 TBS sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
3 TBS espresso powder
¾ cup whole almonds, toasted
1 cup ganache made with 8 oz. of bittersweet chocolate and 6 oz. of heavy cream, well chilled

In a bowl, whisk the eggs until they form a thick ribbon, about 2 minutes.  Whisk in the sugar slowly, about 1 tablespoon at a time, continuing to whisk until all the sugar has been completely incorporated, about 1 more minute.  Pour in the cream, milk, and the freeze-dried coffee and whisk until combined.

Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze following the instructions for your machine.  When the ice cream has stiffened but is not quite done, add the toasted almonds.  Continue to freeze until the ice cream is done.  Remove the ice cream from the machine and very quickly fold in the ganache with a rubber scrapper to give the ice cream a swirl effect. You probably won’t use all the ganache.  Save the extra ganache for ice cream topping. If the ice cream is too soft, freeze for a few minutes until firm enough to fold in the ganache.  Once the ganache has been added, freeze ice cream until completely set.

To make ganache:

Bring heavy cream to a boil. Turn off heat and pour over chopped chocolate. Stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is smooth.