Dalgona coffee ice cream is based on the South Korean whipped coffee drink. It’s no churn, which makes it easy for anyone to make and enjoy.
Back in college, when I decided I was going to change my major and get my teaching degree, one of my first undertakings was to learn what I deemed to be a very important teacher skill: how to drink coffee.
Growing up, the coffee maker only came out at our house if we were having company—neither of my parents really like it—so the smell of freshly brewed coffee was not part of my morning routine.
I started out with flavored coffees and lots of creamer. I would also make hot chocolate by substituting the water for hot coffee (this is delicious, if you’ve never done it).
Eventually, I tapered those additions off, and now, I enjoy black coffee all the time. It didn’t hurt that I also married into a family of coffee aficionados.
It hit me this week, though, that I missed what could have been the easiest way for me to love coffee right away: trying it in ice cream form.
This week’s recipe is a no-churn ice cream that is based on a whipped coffee that started as a street food in Busan, South Korea, called dalgona.
This comes from the blog “My Diaspora Kitchen” by Chichi Uguru. You can find the original recipe at https://www.mydiasporakitchen.com/coffee-ice-cream-dalgona-coffee-ice-cream/. My only alterations were to specify espresso powder and to use hot water to froth the coffee (you can use cold, but mine took quite awhile).
Dalgona Coffee Ice Cream
Ingredients
1 tablespoon instant coffee (I used espresso)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon hot water
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups heavy cream
Directions
Combine the instant coffee, sugar and hot water in a mug, and using an electric beater or milk frother, beat until stiff peaks form in the coffee mixture.
In another bowl, combine the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and salt, and stir until everything is mixed well. Fold in the coffee mixture.
In a freezer-safe mixing bowl, beat the cream until stiff peaks form, and fold in the coffee mixture.
Cover the mixture with plastic wrap, and freeze until the ice cream is solid.
Serve with your favorite toppings. (I used chocolate-covered espresso beans and a light sprinkling of the instant espresso powder.)
Despite dalgona coffee becoming an online trend that lots of people tried during the boredom of the COVID-19 lockdown, I never made it before. I need to make a cup on its own to try it, but I can tell you that the ice cream was absolutely heavenly.
It would be perfect with some chocolate sauce or some hazelnuts on top, too. It was creamy and tasted like a great iced coffee.
If you’re not much of a coffee person, I can’t promise that this ice cream will change your mind, but if you’re one of the many teachers in the community gearing up for back-to-school season, it might not hurt to have an emergency batch in the freezer, just in case.
Spice Up Your Life is a weekly recipe column by Lindsey Young, who describes herself as an enthusiastic amateur cook and can be reached through her website at spiceupkitchen.net.