Happy Day Before Fourth of July! To celebrate, here's a dessert you can make tomorrow morning and serve before fireworks start. Or forget about July 4 and serve Mocha Latte Fudge Swirl whenever you want! It might become your new favorite coffee ice cream recipe.

Frozen Latte Coffee Ice Cream
This tastes like a frozen latte in ice cream form, which is probably why the original version was named "Mocha Latte Ice Cream." I'm sure it's wonderful when made as directed, but I've made changes to it through the years and have swirled in things like brownies, chocolate chunks and fudge sauce. Nuts are also an option, but I've never added them to coffee ice cream. The ice cream is also good served as-is without any add-ins.
Fudge Sauce
Any type will do, but this is a great excuse to whip up one of the many homemade recipes that exist on the Internet or try a new ready-made brand. Just make sure to add it at the end so it will be swirled through rather than incorporated. Since posting, this recipe is my go-to easy homemade fudge sauce. You can make all of it or just part of it for the ice cream.
Espresso Powder vs. Coffee Crystals
Espresso powder is the best choice for this ice cream, but if you'd like to cut the caffeine you can use decaf instant coffee crystals. If the brand you use has large crystals, use 3 tablespoons. Some of the new brands are more finely ground and you can use as little as a tablespoon. But if you can handle the caffeine, this is really good with instant espresso powder. I use King Arthur brand.
Recipe

Mocha Latte Fudge Swirl Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 2 large egg yolks
- ¾ cup sugar (150 grams)
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch (16 grams)
- 1 pinch of salt
- 3 tablespoons instant coffee crystals or 1 tablespoon espresso powder
- 2 cups whole milk (16 oz or abou 228 grams)
- 1 cup heavy cream plus an extra tablespoon (8 ½ oz or about 240 grams)
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons Your favorite fudge sauce (optional)
- 2 oz brownie, cut into chunks (optional)
Instructions
- Mix the egg yolks, ¼ cup of the sugar and ¼ cup of the milk in small mixing bowl and set it next to the stove.
- In a large saucepan, combine remaining sugar, cornstarch, coffee crystals and salt and whisk until evenly mixed. Gradually add the remaining 1 ¾ cup milk.
- Set the pan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Gradually pour about a cup of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly, then pour the egg mixture into the saucepan. Continue stirring or whisking the mixture until it starts to thicken (almost as thick as gravy, not as thick as pudding) and reaches a temperature of 183F on a candy thermometer.
- Pour the hot custard mixture into a bowl. For quicker cooling, pour into a large glass dish. Gradually pour in the 1 cup of cold heavy cream, then stir in the vanilla. Put the mixture in the refrigerator for about 2 hours or until it is thoroughly chilled. You can chill it overnight if you like.
- When chilled, pour into your ice cream maker and process as directed by the manufacturer. Option: During the last 60 seconds, drop gobs of fudge sauce into the ice cream mixture so that it's ripped through and not mixed in. Add some brownie pieces and nuts if desired. Transfer to a covered container and freeze until it is firm enough to serve.
Notes
Christine at Cook the Story says
I'm not sure that I could control myself around a batch of this. It sounds amazing!
Erin says
Thank you for the recipe. This looks great! My favorite combination of flavors.