Kahlua Ice Cream: it takes coffee ice cream to a whole new level

Now, we've established that I'm no drinker. With that being said, L introduced me to possibly the most heavenly combination on Earth: Kahlua and milk, aka a light weight's white russian. He had me taste it on his birthday, and while this should typically have a little vodka in it for any serious drinker (and by serious, I just mean someone other than me), we didn't have any on hand and I certainly don't mind a weaker drink. It was also during this time that I was brainstorming what my first ice cream recipe would be in my shiny new ice cream maker. And then it came to me: I would make Kahlua ice cream! It was one of those lightbulb moments that left me giddy to get back to my kitchen. But, as a good girlfriend should, I waited patiently for L's next visit before I sat down to give it a shot.

This ice cream has a flavor that will knock your socks off! The kahlua comes through beautifully, and throwing in some chocolate chips was an excellent last minute decision. Next time, I will do a chocolate swirl, as I'm not a big fan of the texture of frozen chocolate chips.

Texture. That was my one complaint. You see, for all of you people out there who haven't been thinking what I'm about to tell you since I first put the words "kahlua" and "ice cream" together, alcohol doesn't freeze. And although Kahlua has a pitiful proof (I believe it's around 6% alcohol), that 6% stayed true to its chemical properties. The ice cream was just not very creamy. It had a little icy bite to it, and melted out of cohesion fairly quickly after removing it from the freezer. I need to try the base that I used on its own to determine how much the alcohol is to blame, because I know that you can make this successfully. Somehow, some way, you can turn Kahlua + milk into the world's most earth shattering ice cream flavor (indisputably, by the way).

Because this first ice cream attempt was an arguable flop (L and I still managed to finish it off fairly quickly, and quite happily, it's just that the texture was a little heavy on the ice, and light on the cream), I considered not blogging about it. However, I'm still so enamored by the idea of this concoction, that I cannot keep my failure to myself. I'm hoping that someone out there will read this and say, "I know what went wrong!" or, "move aside, little girl, and let me show you what a real alcohol-ice-cream-maker can do!" and then I will be blown away, eternally grateful, and in possession of a functional recipe without my having to further experiment - which would take the better part of the remainder of my academic career to accomplish, at this rate.

So, here you go, a vanilla ice cream recipe spiked with some good 'ole Kahlua.
Kahlua Ice Cream, adapted from Baking Bites
Yield: 1.5 quarts
The Ingredients
1 can (14oz.) sweetened, condensed milk
1/2 C sour cream
2 C half-n-half
1 C milk
2 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1/4 C kahlua liqueur
The Method
1. Whisk together the condensed milk and sour cream in a large bowl until smooth.
2. Mix in the half-n-half, milk, extract, and kahlua, continuing to whisk until well blended.
3. Freeze according to your ice cream maker's instructions.
4. Transfer the mixture when it's finished to a freezer-safe container, and chill for at least another 2 hours to firm up more. I like to freeze mine overnight for the best consistency, but it's certainly edible earlier on - and if you eat it straight from the machine, it's just a soft serve ice cream instead of a scoopable kind.

If all else fails, and someone comes along and shatters my dreams with the news that this combination cannot be done without diminishing the alcohol and, therefore, the robust flavor it gives...after I cry momentarily from disappointment, I will gather myself up again, make a chocolate-and-vanilla swirl ice cream, and simply douse it myself with kahlua before eating. You know, like how some people use hot fudge or caramel.

...So much for my reputation as a non-drinker.

And now, of course, I would like nothing more than a nice bowl of ice cream on this abnormally warm October evening, in my abnormally stuffy third floor apartment, as I wait for my favorite tv show to come on. Since my freezer is shockingly devoid of any frozen desserts, someone out there on the vast internet will have to have a bowl in my honor. And, if you're really bold (and the ice cream flavor in your freezer isn't something like cotton candy or tropical fruit sorbet), you could top with a nice shot of kahlua. For me. And, as always, I promise that you won't regret it.