No-churn Chocolate Coffee Ice Cream

This no-churn recipe makes it possible for me to make ice cream without an ice-cream machine. This is a one-step, no-fuss and foolproof recipe what requires very few ingredients: heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, instant espresso powder and espresso liqueur. Nigella Lawson knocks it out of the park with this creation. No eggs to be tempered with and no custard to be made. Condensed milk is used as the cream base, then aerated by the whipped cream. That's it. You do need a freezer to chill the cream mixture. The only real work, if you can call it that, is whipping up the heavy cream to a soft peak. With a mixer or a whipping siphon, even whipping cream can be outsourced.

I consider this a core stripped-down recipe from which many variations can take shape as there are ice-cream flavors around. Nigella Lawson has at least six similar recipes: pina colada, pomegranate, chestnut, margarita and bitter orange. The common ingredient is the heavy cream. Some of these other recipes use confectioner's sugar instead of condensed milk. I thought the addition of alcohol is needed to prevent the ice cream from turning hard and icy, and to enhance a rich and smooth texture. Looking at Nigella's other recipes, even alcohol can be skipped. In those cases, fruit juices are used to punch up the flavor. This no-churn ice cream is so easy to do and takes so little time to put together. It encourages experimentation.

For a twist, I added some grated bitter sweet chocolate, very generic, to fold into the cream mixture for some added texture. But that's entirely optional. The finished ice cream is so incredibly buttery and silky, giving any premium ice cream brand a run for your money.

It'd be great fun to experiment with some exotic fruits, nuts, herbs or to reach deep in the liqueur cabinet to come up with some unique flavor of your own. How does Fernet-Branca ginger ice cream sound? Stay tuned.

This homemade ice cream has an incredibly creamy texture