Cà Phê Sữa Đá (Vietnamese Coffee) Ice Cream

I have a confession: Story time!

I live above a Vietnamese restaurant (lucky me!) And that has only encouraged my addiction to Vietnamese coffee.
I go so often that they know my order: Iced Coffee— Black.

What makes Vietnamese coffee so distinguishable is that it’s made from Robusta beans, as opposed to Arabica, which is what is most commonly used in coffee shops in North America. However, Robusta beans contain 2x more caffeine than Arabica beans, and they are a lot more bitter.

Typically people will mellow out the bitterness with an addition of sweetened condensed milk. Even then, it’s sure to get you a lil jittery! Which is why these restaurant owners raised some reasonable concern for my well-being after a number of black coffee orders.

But what I haven’t told them… is that I go upstairs… and I make Cà Phê Trứng.
A whipped, egg yolk and sugar topping that goes perfectly on top of a strong black coffee.

They don’t have it on their menu, so I guess I’ll just have to untruthfully be perceived as a “badass” that likes black coffee.

But! I love the flavour so much, I wanted to ice cream-ify it: Cà Phê Sữa ĐáIce Cream! OR if you also make the egg topping: Cà Phê Trứng Ice Cream.

This recipe uses Vietnamese Instant Coffee, I don’t recommend using just any instant coffee, as the taste is different (although, yes it will still work!)

Let’s make it!

Recipe:

Special Equipment:

ice cream machine (Cuisinart Ice 21)
sieve

Cà Phê Sữa Đá Ice Cream:

300ml 2% milk
250ml heavy cream
12g Vietnamese Instant Coffee (or more depending on how strong you like it)
3 egg yolks
100g granulated sugar
1g salt

One day before making: Make sure to store your ice cream basin in the freezer for at least 24 hours. Or prepare your equipment according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Place a medium pot on the stove top. Add your milk, heavy cream, half the granulated sugar, salt, and the instant coffee. Set the heat (or flame) to the lowest setting. Bring it the point where the milk is steaming but not bubbling.

In a medium bowl, add the egg yolks, and the remaining sugar.
Using a whisk, beat the egg, & sugar until smooth and thick.

We are going to use the hot milk to temper the egg yolks.

While whisking the eggs, add a splash of the hot milk to the bowl. Whisk until combined. Gradually add a little more of the hot milk and whisk in with the egg yolks.
Proceed to pour the remainder of the milk into the bowl, gently whisk to incorporate.

Transfer the mixture back to the original pot and place over low heat on the stovetop.

Use a spatula and stir it constantly. Allow it to slightly thicken. This might take about 5 minutes.
When it’s ready, the custard should coat the back of the spatula and there will no longer be micro-bubbles in the custard base. Promptly remove from the heat once the proper thickness is achieved— careful as overheating will cause the mixture to curdle!

Pour the custard through a sieve and into a large bowl, catching any lumps of egg that might have formed. Discard what remains in the sieve.

Cover the smooth custard with plastic wrap so that the surface is in contact with the cling film (this prevents a “skin” from forming in the fridge) and place the bowl in fridge for 4-6 hours, or better yet, overnight!

To Churn:

Once your custard base has been left to chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight, you can start to churn it.

Transfer the ice cream base into your prepared ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

I churned this batch in my Cuisinart for about 15 minutes. When it’s done it should be super thick!

Store your ice cream in pint containers. This should make about 2 pints worth. Store in the freezer.

To enjoy at best consistency: After storing in the freezer, please remove the pint and place on the counter to soften for at least 10-15 minutes before serving.
Best method for a great looking scoop, is placing a spoon in hot water first!

Make the Trứng Topping right before eating (see recipe below).

Trứng Topping:

2 egg yolks
10g granulated sugar
30ml sweetened condensed milk
cocoa powder (optional)

Fill a medium sized pot with about 1 inch of water and bring it to a simmer.

In a heatproof bowl, add the egg yolks, sugar and sweetened condensed milk.

Place the bowl over the pot of boiling water, to create a bain-marie— the bottom of the bowl should not be touching the water. We will heat it indirectly with steam.

Use a whisk to beat the eggs and sugars together until light and pale in color. After about 5 minutes the sugar should be full dissolved, and the egg mixture should be warm to the touch.

Remove the bowl from the heat, and continue to beat the egg yolks and sugar together until the mixture has doubled in volume. It should be pale, and flow off the whisk in ribbons.

Use right away, (as it does not keep well).