Malted Coffee Choc Chip Ice Cream

London is at its very best with blue skies and a temperature above 20 degrees. Thankfully, we’ve been blessed with both this bank holiday weekend and I already know the vibes in the city will be immaculate. Parks will be full, bbq’s will be lit, there’ll be endless chat about how good the weather is, and copious amounts of ice cream will be consumed.

Making your own ice cream might seem like too much hassle to go through but I promise you, it’s always worth it. Being able to customise it to your own taste, add in your favourite mix-ins and have a freezer full of your favourite flavours is a 10/10 experience. Whilst there is a time and place for a quick no churn ice cream recipe that uses condensed milk and minimal equipment, sometimes only a proper, custard based scoop will do. I use a Magimix Gelato machine and I mostly love it because you don’t need to pre freeze the bowl beforehand and it churns a batch pretty quickly. If you’ll be making ice cream even semi regularly, I’d say it’s a worthwhile investment. I’ve also owned the KitchenAid attachment and this is a much more affordable option that creates great ice cream too.

Today, I come to you with a malted coffee choc chip ice cream. A flavour that combines some of my favourite things in desserts. We infuse our custard with whole roasted coffee beans for a flavour that is pronounced but not too harsh. We then add some malted milk powder, aka Horlicks, for a creamy, slightly toasty and nostalgic edge. I absolutely adore a little crunch in my ice cream and find the snap of cold chocolate intensely satisfying so I had to include this too.

If however, the thought of making ice cream from scratch is still completely unappealing, then do check out the Vittles Ice Cream Guide on where to get the best scoops in London. That version is from 2024 but Ruby Tandoh has very recently written an updated version, exclusively in print that’s available to pre-order now. I’ve already ordered mine!

Whatever you get up to this weekend, enjoy!

Benjamina x

The skimmed milk powder might seem redundant here but it works to improve the final texture of the ice cream, absorbing excess water and preventing iciness. So it’s definitely worth buying a tub if you can and it’ll keep for a while once opened.

serves 6-8

450ml whole milk
300ml double cream
60g whole roasted coffee beans
3 tbsp skimmed milk powder
4 tbsp malted milk powder
1/4 tsp salt
100g egg yolks (from approx 5 large eggs)
130g caster sugar
40g milk chocolate
40g dark chocolate

Amarena cherries, optional serving suggestion

1. Add the milk, cream and coffee beans to a saucepan. Heat gently until steaming and then remove from the heat. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes to allow the beans to infuse.

2. Strain the beans from the milk and keep them to one side - we’ll add them back again later. Pour the strained milk back into the pan and reheat until hot to the touch, but not boiling. Whisk in the milk powder, malted milk powder and salt until dissolved.

3. In a separate bowl, add the yolks and sugar. Whisk straight away until well combined.

4. Pour a big ladle of the hot milk onto the eggs, whisking while you pour. Slowly add in the rest of the milk and then pour everything back into the saucepan.

5. Cook the custard gently over medium low heat, stirring constantly to make sure the bottom doesn’t catch. Once the custard has thickened a little, just enough to coat the back of a spoon, remove from the heat and pour through a sieve into a shallow container. To get the custard to cool quicker, you can pour the mixture into a bowl sitting in another bowl filled with ice water.

6. Once cooled down, add the coffee beans back into the custard, cover and chill in the fridge for at least 4 - 6 hours but ideally overnight. If you’re using an ice cream machine with a removable bowl, be sure to freeze it overnight.

7. The next day, strain the coffee beans out of the custard and pour the mixture into your ice cream machine. Churn according to the manufacturers instructions. In the last 5-7 minutes of churning, gently melt the milk and dark chocolate together. Let it cool down a little before pouring it into the ice cream whilst still churning. It will harden as it hits the cold ice cream and then break up into smaller pieces.

8. Scoop the ice cream into a loaf tin and wrap well with cling film. You could also use a shallow plastic container. Freeze for at least 4 hours or until firm enough to scoop.

9. Serve in a coupe or glass, alongside some Amarena cherries if using.