Coffee Heath Bar Ice Cream

My absolute most favoritest (yes I meant to say that) of all candy bars growing up was the Heath Bar. To this day I have what one might call “self control issues” when confronted with them, or any English toffee for that matter. (You know those cute little crunchy toffee bars in a box of See’s? Same thing.) So when my young friend Audrey (our summer intern) came by this week to help me with some cooking and mentioned she had been making a homemade version of Ben and Jerry’s Coffee Heath Bar Crunch, my brain practically short-circuited, the synapses were so lit up with their version of a happy dance. Here’s Audrey’s recipe, a classic custard base, infused with coffee, churned and then mixed in with broken up Heath bars before freezing. Enjoy!

Coffee Heath Bar Ice Cream Recipe

• Yield: Makes a little more than a quart.

The "via" instant coffee packs at Starbucks work great for this recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 1/2 cups cream
• 1/3 cup white granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
• 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• Pinch of salt
• 4 egg yolks
• 4 ounces of Heath bars or other English toffee

Method

1 Combine the milk, 1 1/2 cups of the cream, sugar, brown sugar, instant coffee, espresso powder (if using), vanilla and salt in a medium saucepan. Heat the base until it begins to steam, whisking continuously.

 
 

2 When the base begins to steam, pour one- half cup out of the pan and into the egg yolks, whisk immediately. When completely combined, add the yolk mixture back into the rest of the of the base, and heat until the mixture reaches 170°F, or until it coats the back of a spoon.

3 Remove immediately from heat and pour through a fine mesh sieve. Add in the remaining cup of cold cream and let chill for several hours, preferably overnight.

4 Hit heath bars (still in their wrappers) repeatedly with the back of a wooden spoon, until they are thoroughly crushed. (You can also put the toffee into a plastic or paper bag and do the same.) Place heath bar pieces into a container and freeze while you churn the ice cream.

5 Pour the base into an ice cream maker and churn according to your ice cream maker manufacturer's instructions. Remove ice cream and stir in heath bar pieces.

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