Ice Cream Sunday: Crunchy CoffeeToffee Ice Cream

Coffee flavor ice cream.

Yum

Buttercrunch toffee.

Double yum.

Homemade buttercrunch toffee.

Triple yum.

Toasted almonds wrapped in toffee and chocolate.

Quadruple yum.

Need I say more?

Not really, but I want to add that this homemade buttercrunch toffee comes out softer than the other toffee I’ve made. I was a bit hesitant to add such a hard candy to the ice cream (my teeth don’t enjoy the bite of cold), but the toffee is actually on the softer side. This ice cream explodes with a sensation of coffee, caramel toffee, crunchy nuts, and sweet chocolate. Oh my.

Crunchy CoffeeToffee Ice Cream

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INGREDIENTS

Ice Cream

• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons espresso

Buttercrunch Toffee

• 1 cup toasted almonds, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp. water
• 4 tbsp. butter, salted or unsalted, cut into pieces
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp. light or dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/8 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup semisweet or bitter chocolate chips, or 3 oz. chocolate, chopped
• optional: coarse salt

DIRECTIONS

Ice Cream

1. Using an electric mixer, whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
2. Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, until completely blended.
3. Add cream, milk, and espresso powder (either add powder as is, or dissolve it in a bit of hot water). Whisk until blended.
4. Transfer the ice cream base to a covered container and refrigerate for several hours–even better to refrigerate overnight.
5. Transfer ice cream to an ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s instructions.  In the last couple minutes of churning the ice cream, add the crumbled toffee. Store ice cream in an airtight container in the freezer.

Buttercrunch Toffee

1. Spread almonds on a jellyroll pan and bake in oven at 350 degrees F for about 7 minutes, until toasted. When cooled, coarsely chop, then spread out 1/2 the almonds on the jellyroll pan.
2. Measure vanilla and baking soda in separate bowls; have them ready to add to toffee.
3. Fit a small, heavy-duty saucepan with a candy thermometer; add water, butter, sugars, then mix together.
4. Cook mixture over medium heat, stirring as little as possible. When mixture reaches 300 degrees F (150 degrees C), remove the pan from the heat and immediately stir in the baking soda and vanilla. Mix just until combined; do not overstir.
5. Right away, pour the hot toffee mixture over the almonds on the baking sheet. Using as little movement as possible, spread the toffee over the almonds.
6. Scatter the chocolate pieces over the toffee, and wait two minutes to allow them to melt. Using a spatula, spread the chocolate into an even layer, the scatter the remaining almonds on top, pressing them into the chocolate. Sprinkle with coarse salt, if desired.
7. Cool completely, until chocolate is firm. You can speed up the cooling by placing the toffee in the freezer for 10-20 minutes.
8. Break into coarse chunks when ready to use in ice cream. You will only need about half the batch for the ice cream.
9. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks. Can be stored frozen as well.

SOURCE: ice cream: adapted from Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book; toffee: adapted from The Perfect Scoop

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