HOW TO MAKE COFFEE ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Freeze the bowl overnight (15 hours minimum). Place the ice cream bowl from the KitchenAid stand mixer ice cream attachment in the freezer the night before you plan to make ice cream. (If you forget, you can make the base and refrigerate it overnight while the bowl is freezing, and churn the ice cream the next day.)
• Prepare an ice bath. Fill a large bowl with ice cubes and some water. Place a smaller bowl on top of the water, and fit a fine-mesh strainer inside the smaller bowl. Keep this close by while you make the ice cream base.
• Infuse the half-and-half with coffee. Place the half-and-half and coffee in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium. Remove from the heat, cover, and steep for 10 minutes.
• Whisk the yolks and sugar until pale lemon-yellow colored. Place the yolks and the sugar in a medium bowl. Whisk until combined - at first the mixture will be very thick and dark yellow, then it will smooth out and lighten to a pale lemon-yellow color.
• Temper the egg-sugar mixture with 1 cup of coffee milk. Scoop out about 1 cup of hot coffee mixture (no need to be exact). Slowly pour it into the egg-sugar mixture while whisking. This warms the eggs and prevents them from curdling in the next step.
• Pour the tempered egg-sugar mixture into the coffee mixture. Slowly pour the tempered egg-sugar mixture into the saucepan with the remaining coffee milk.
• Cook the ice cream base until thickened. Return the saucepan to the stove and place over low heat. Stir the mixture slowly but constantly with a rubber spatula, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the saucepan, until the base has thickened enough to coat the back of the spatula and registers 170°F with an instant-read thermometer.
• Strain the ice cream base into the bowl of the ice water bath. Pour the ice cream base through the strainer to remove the coffee grounds and any bits of egg that may have curdled.
• Chill the ice base completely. Leave the ice cream base over the ice water bath, stirring occasionally, until completely chilled. This will take about 20 minutes. Alternatively, cover bowl of base with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 3 hours or up to overnight.
• Churn the ice cream at slow speed, takes 20 to 30 minutes. If using the KitchenAid ice cream attachment, fit the bowl onto the stand mixer. Fit the ice cream dasher (paddle-like attachment), into the bowl, the fit the motor onto the dasher. Turn the mixer onto low speed, then pour the base in. (If using a different ice cream maker, follow the churning instructions for your particular machine.) Churn until the base has thickened to a consistency somewhere between a very thick milkshake and soft-serve ice cream. In most ice cream makers, this takes about 20 minutes - check the instructions for your particular machine.
• Freeze until hardened, about 4 hours. Transfer the thickened ice cream to a freezer container. Press a piece of wax paper, parchment paper, or plastic wrap against the surface of the ice cream to prevent ice crystals from forming and freeze until solid, at least 4 hours.
• Storage: The ice cream will keep in the freezer for about 2 weeks before becoming icy.