Texture Of Coffee Ice Cream

Our answer

Nigella's One-Step No-Churn Coffee Ice Cream (from NIGELLISSIMA) is a combination of whipped cream and sweetened condensed milk. The two are whisked together, along with espresso powder and some liqueur, to a light mixture that is then frozen. The air whisked into the mixture plus the sugar in the condensed milk help to give the ice cream its soft texture.

If the ice cream texture is "chewy" we suspect that it means that there is not enough air in the mixture. Whilst this could be due to over-whisking, where the mixture will eventually collapse and air will be lost, usually you would see the mixture separate or split if it is whisked for too long. We suspect instead that not enough air was whisked in in the first place. If you are using whipping or heavy cream then you may find it easier to whisk the cream to soft peaks first and then whisk in the remaining ingredients. Whipping cream has a lower fat content than double cream and when combined with the condensed milk sometimes the fat content is not high enough for the mixture to whisk up properly. Make sure that you freeze the mixture immediately after whisking so that as much air as possible is retained in the mixture. Also return the left over ice cream to the freezer as quickly as possible when you are serving it. If the ice cream melts and re-freezes some of the air is lost and the texture will be firmer.