I recently ventured back to ze old hometown that is Albany for a whirlwind stay. Among other things my dear father tried to fatten me up like a pig for slaughter with humongous servings of ice-cream each evening. Due to his cholesterol levels he can no longer eat it, so it was ‘my daughterly duty’ to consume all that was left in his freezer before departing. One evening I queried as to whether he had yet tried my blindingly easy coffee ice-cream. ‘No?’ he responded with a puzzled expression. Turns out I’d never posted the recipe! From last summer. Oh dear. So here we go Dad, I know you’re not meant to eat ice-cream any more, but if you’re going to break the rules this is where you should do it!

No churn ice-cream is a genius invention. There’s no messing around with ice-cream makers, or if you’re still in the dark ages like moi, pulling the tub out of the freezer every few hours to beat the living daylights out of it. 4 ingredients. 2 steps. 6 hours of patient waiting and voila! Serve yourself a big bowl of the creamiest ice-cream going around. A hit of espresso prevents a creamy-to-the-point-of-being-sick scenario – think of that time (or let’s be honest every time) you chose to eat twice as much cheesecake as you should have…it’s that kind of sick we’re trying to avoid. And successfully do so! What’s more is you don’t have to be a coffee addict to relish this dessert. Yes, it’s superbly smooth with a distinctly delicate coffee flavour but it’s also sweet, creamy and all things flowers and smiley faces. Time to get on board peeps!

I’m not going to lie, there’s still a degree of elbow grease involved. You’ve gotta whip the cream, condensed milk and espresso powder into soft peaks. Use an electric mixer if you’re feeling a touch lazy, however it’ll only take you 8 minutes tops by hand. And tone those guns in the process. Bonus! Watch the espresso powder make pretty patterns in the cream as they dissolve. It’s hypnotising. Reached the soft peak stage? Okay! Time to fold in, gently now, the chopped dark chocolate (think 62% or above) with roasted almonds. A chocolate with hazelnuts would work too. Come on, we don’t run that tight a ship around here. You’re simply looking for a bit of crunch to contrast with the smoothy-smooth ice-cream.

Scoop the whipped ‘custard’ into an 800ml airtight container and pop in the freezer. 6 hours later pull it out (and that does mean 6 hours, not minutes), grab a spoon and dig in. No dignity required.

The ice-cream is distinctly firmer after about the 12 hour mark. No stress, it’s no less creamy – just takes a little more effort to scoop out of the container! The plus side is that it’ll melt far more slowly in your bowl. And let’s not kid ourselves…unless you make a double batch it’s unlikely there’ll be much left after the first round!

Ignore the terribly unhealthy list of ingredients (at least it’s short, right?) and allow yourself to indulge. In contradiction to what’s just been said, a small scoop goes a long way with this ice-cream. You don’t need much to be satisfied! Whip it up for guests and they’ll think you’re a culinary genius for making the most delicious ice-cream ever from scratch. They don’t need to know how easy it was…it’s our secret, okay?

No Churn Coffee Ice-Cream with Dark Chocolate & Almonds

Makes 500ml.

Ingredients
300ml thickened cream
200ml light condensed milk
2 tbsp espresso powder/instant coffee granules
50g dark chocolate with almonds, chopped

Method
In a large bowl whisk together the thickened cream, condensed milk and espresso powder until soft peaks form.

Fold in the chopped chocolate.

Carefully transfer to an 800ml capacity or similar airtight container.

Freeze for at least 6 hours before serving.

Source: Adapted from http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/ONE-STEP-NO-CHURN-COFFEE-ICE-CREAM-5550

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