Coffee Stracciatella Ice Cream

July is National Ice Cream month! Do you know about Stracciatella (pronounced stra-chuh-tay-la)? Stracciatella is ice cream with irregularly-sized shavings of chocolate added. The chocolate shavings offer a slightly crunchy texture and eliminate the difficulty of biting through frozen mini chocolate chips. Stracciatella is usually make with a vanilla ice cream base, but other flavor bases can be used. Today I’ve decided to make one of my favorite flavors, coffee.

Also, this ice cream recipe is made in the Philadelphia-style so it contains no eggs - it’s a little easier to make than custard-style ice cream, and you won’t end up with a bunch of leftover egg whites to use up. Plan ahead - for best flavor and texture, this ice cream base should be refrigerated overnight before processing in an ice cream maker.

Be sure to use high quality, flavorful ground coffee. A medium to coarse grind is fine - it’ll be strained out of the ice cream base before churning.

Be sure to use really good chocolate too. I’m a dark chocolate fan, but milk or bittersweet work fine - just use whichever one you prefer.

In commercial settings, melted chocolate is drizzled into the ice cream during the churning process, but I find I get better results at home with shaved chocolate.

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• Xanthan gum https://amzn.to/3iv8htm

• ice cream machine https://amzn.to/2D8TeFv

• ice cream storage containers https://amzn.to/2VKh152

• ice cream scoop https://amzn.to/3gn8j4y

• deli containers https://amzn.to/3gsYeDl

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Coffee Stracciatella Ice Cream (Stracciatella al caffe)

makes 1 1/2 quarts

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 cups (705g) heavy cream

• 1 cup (230g) milk

• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar

• 1/2 cup (167g) light corn syrup

• 1/4 teaspoon (2.4g) fine salt

• 1/2 cup (40g) ground coffee

• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5ml or 2g) pure vanilla extract

• 3/8 teaspoon (.08g) Xanthan gum (optional)

Directions

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream, milk, sugar, corn syrup, and salt to a gentle simmer.

2. Remove from heat and stir in the ground coffee (and optional xanthan gum, if using); allow coffee to steep in the milk/cream mixture for 30 minutes.

3. Strain ground coffee grounds from the mixture, pressing to get all the liquid from the grounds; discard coffee grounds.

4. Pour coffee infused ice cream base into an airtight container and chill in the coldest part of your refrigerator for at least 12 hours (24 hours is better - can be made several days in advance).

5. Churn the ice cream base in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions; adding shaved chocolate during the last minute or two of churning.

6. Transfer to ice cream to an airtight container and store in the freezer.

Notes

• This ice cream freezes very hard - allow to soften at room temperature for 10-15 minuets for easier scooping, or microwave in 10-second bursts until soft enough to scoop (30 seconds in my 900w microwave).

• Other stracciatella flavor bases to consider: vanilla, matcha, chocolate, banana, cherry, mint, hazelnut, etc.

• To make chocolate shavings, use a sharp vegetable peeler to shave the sides of a chocolate bar. My kitchen was warm on the day I shaved my chocolate so I ended up with a bunch of chocolate curls, but they completely break apart during the churning process so don’t worry if your chocolate doesn’t curl.

Keto Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

It seems like just about everyone is trying to reduce their carb intake these days, which can put a damper on eating some of your favorite foods, like ice cream.  But today you're in luck because I've come up with an awesome chocolate ice cream recipe that has only 5 net carbs per 1/2-cup serving (leading national brands have 17 to 25 grams).  When I served it to my oldest daughter, she said she would never have guessed it was low-carb.  That makes this recipe a winner in my book!  Plan ahead - the base should be made the day before you plan to serve and the mixture should be processed in your ice cream maker 30-90 minutes before serving (see below).

IMPORTANT:  Because this ice cream contains no sugar (which helps to keeps the texture soft and scoopable), it's best served either soft-serve style right out of the machine, or freeze for 1 hour for a slightly firmer texture.  If allowed to freeze longer than 1 hour, it will freeze solid like ice, which actually would be fine if you want to pour the mixture into freezer pop molds (just omit the dark chocolate baking chips from the recipe).

Start by whisking together the milk, half and half, egg yolks, and sifted cocoa powder.  Those things that look like lumps of cocoa are actually cocoa powder covered bubbles - keep whisking.

Soon the mixture will look like this.  Heat over medium high heat, stirring constantly, until it boils.

Boil mixture for 1 minute, being careful not to allow the mixture to overflow.

Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and powdered erythritol (Swerve).

Strain the mixture through sieve.

Chill mixture overnight.

Approximately 30-90 minutes before serving, pour mixture into ice cream machine and process according to manufacturer's instructions.  This recipe is best served "soft-serve style" right away or freeze for 1 hour for a slightly firmer texture.

For longer storage, freeze mixture in ice pop molds.

Enjoy! 

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• Swerve Confectioners sugar substitute https://amzn.to/3B9MSzB

• Lily's dark chocolate premium baking chips (sweetened with stevia) https://amzn.to/2MBrjxn

• excellent quality dutch-processed cocoa powder https://amzn.to/3B8TBtA

• the best pure vanilla extract https://amzn.to/3ovS9fE

• 2-quart electric ice cream maker https://amzn.to/2Kq4IHC

• flat whisk https://amzn.to/3srCOhn

• 3 quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan https://amzn.to/2lLAtM8

• stainless sieves https://amzn.to/3soFRH3

• ice cream scoop https://amzn.to/2MEmdR5

• freezer-safe ice cream containers https://amzn.to/2lHTOOt

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Keto Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

makes twelve 1/2-cup servings (5 net carbs per serving)

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole milk

• 2 cups half and half (not fat-free)

• 1/2 cup dutch processed cocoa powder, sifted

• 6 large egg yolks

• 1 cup powdered erythritol sweetener (aka Swerve confectioners)

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup Lily's dark chocolate premium baking chips (sweetened with stevia)

Directions

1. In a 3-quart, heavy-bottom saucepan over medium high heat, combine milk, half and half, cocoa powder, and egg yolks, stirring constantly until the mixture comes to a boil; continue stirring and cook for 1 minute, being careful not to let the mixture boil over.

2. Remove from the heat and stir in the powdered erythritol and pure vanilla extract.

3. Strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve; cover well and chill overnight.

4. Process in your ice cream maker following the manufacturer's instructions.

5. When ice cream is done churning, serve immediately or transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for 1 hour for a slightly firmer texture.

Nutritional stats per 1/2-cup serving: 120 calories, 10g fat, 5g net carbs, 4g protein.

Notes

• You can make your own powdered erythritol (swerve confectioners) by grinding granulated erythritol in an electric coffee grinder, a small food processor, or a nutribullet.

• Because this ice cream contains no sugar (which helps to keeps the texture scoopable), it's best served either soft-serve style right out of the machine, or freeze for 1 hour for a slightly firmer texture. For longer storage, omit dark chocolate baking chips and freeze in ice pop molds.