Two things that have helped with my anxiety (deep for a recipe post, I know…) are ice cream and cutting caffeine completely out of my life. Unfortunately, the lack of caffeine means that I have to be very careful about anything coffee flavored. Beers, candy, liqueur and, yes, coffee ice cream all can contain residual caffeine that messes up my day. So I decided to make my own dessert, caffeine free. Here’s a fun recipe for my favorite rich and creamy decaf coffee ice cream. (Note: You can make this with regular, full-caffeine coffee, and I’m sure it’s just as tasty!)

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When it comes to ice cream, I like having a go to vanilla base. I use this to build all the fun flavor ideas that I develop. My strawberry sundaes started from here, and I wanted to use a similar base with this coffee ice cream. My base is adapted from Joy the Baker’s book Homemade Decadence. I use it so often, that book basically falls open to the right page!

What You Need to Get Started

The challenge with coffee ice cream is how to get the coffee flavor. I saw many recipe that used coffee grounds, reduced coffee, or other techniques. I didn’t want to add a lot of work. Ice cream is already pretty labor intensive. So I decided to try infusing the milk with coffee. It worked perfectly, and the materials needed are pretty cheap.

How to Serve Decaf Coffee Ice Cream

Try this coffee ice cream smothered in hot fudge, as part of a mudslide milkshake, or on top of some banana boats or mini skillet cookies!

Personally, I like to drizzle it in warm caramel sauce and top with a squirt of whipped cream. It tastes just like a caramel macchiatto! Or just eat it by itself, because it’s that creamy and wonderful. Even my coffee hating husband loves the stuff.

Print Recipe
5 from 3 votes

Rich and Creamy Coffee Ice Cream

Enjoy a bold and rich coffee flavor, infused into this rich and smooth ice cream, using a simple brewing technique and an ice cream maker.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Chilling Time12 hours
Course: Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8
Calories: 230kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Whole or 2% Milk
  • 1 tbsp Ground Decaf Coffee
  • 2 cups Heavy Cream
  • 5 Egg Yolks
  • 3/4 cup Sugar, separated

Instructions

  • Heat the milk in the microwave for 2 minutes, until hot but not scalded. Add the coffee grounds to a pourover coffee system and pour the milk over the coffee grounds to brew as you normally would with water.
  • In a medium saucepan, add the coffee-infused milk, cream, and half a cup of sugar. Heat on medium high, stirring constantly but gently until the sugar is dissolved. Continue heating and stirring occasionally, until it just begins to boil. Turn off the heat.
  • In a medium heat-proof bowl, whisk the five egg yolks with the rest of the sugar for about 2 minutes until they have paled slightly and the sugar is fully incorporated.
  • Whisking the eggs constantly, slowly ladle the hot milk mixture into the bowl with the eggs. Once most of the milk has been added, add everything back into the pot.
  • Heat on low, stirring the custard constantly but gently for 10 minutes, until it has thickened enough to coat a wooden spoon. Transfer the mixture to a glass bowl and cover with plastic wrap, touching the top of the custard.
  • Allow the custard to chill for at least four hours. Churn according to your ice cream machine's instructions. Transfer the ice cream to a freezer safe container and chill overnight to harden slightly.

Notes

  • You can absolutely use fully caffeinated coffee in this recipe, but it will contain residual caffeine. Each serving will have about 1/8 the caffeine of a cup of coffee.
  • The higher quality coffee you use, the better the flavor will be. You can even use flavored coffee beans for a fun twist!
  • Every ice cream maker is different. I use a KitchenAid Ice Cream Attachment. If you are using something different, your results may be harder or softer ice cream than mine.

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17 thoughts on “Rich and Creamy Decaf Coffee Ice Cream

  1. This sounds absolutely incredible. Adding it to my “must make” list immediately! I am such a sucker for anything coffee-related, and while my husband won’t be joining in on this treat (he’s keto) it just means more for me! 😉

    1. Thank you! I agree on being a sucker for anything coffee. I love the flavor so much! My sister is keto as well. I should ask her for some tips on how to convert some of my recipes so more people can enjoy them. For now though, less to share!

    1. Thanks! Limiting caffeine is a great idea but can be difficult. I hope you get to enjoy this as an evening snack!

  2. OMG you’re speaking to my soul! Now I’m craving this. Since I’m pregnant, I do still have my daily caffeinated coffee but gosh, I love coffee ice cream – I need to try your decaf recipe!

    1. Haha thanks! I love that it being decaf means not having to worry about it at all. I hope this ice cream fills your craving.

  3. Just made this and it is soooo good. I only do decaf also and it tastes fantastic. Yum! I needed something to use up extra egg yolks and this came up in a search. Excited to check out your other stuff.

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