An Experimental Coffee Ice Cream (That's Delicious) 

For clarity: In this case "a good splash" is 150g of liquid (+/- 50g). I apologise and deeply, deeply regret the lack of clarity here.

Of all of James's meticulous and refined technique he has demonstrated in his videos, it's the sheer confidence of making both coffee and ice-cream in a pristine oversize white t shirt that really gets me.

James is stockpiling demitasse spoons for the end times

Pastry chef here: I've been playing with the Creami for a bit now, and there's an essential point that James sort of glosses over in the video. Adding fat to an ice-cream base is hard: it's mostly water, so if the fat's not perfectly emulsified, it will congeal into tiny solid droplets that will give a greasy feeling to the ice cream and stick to the roof of your mouth. I've had ices where you could literally scrape the fat off your tongue with a spoon. In the video, James does not need to worry about this because he's using a powerful blender that will emulsify anything: if all you have is a cheap blender, or a stick blender, or (may Chris Young help you) nothing, you need to work hard at getting a proper emulsion. This also applies to adding powdered ingredients (like the cocoa powder: better to boil it with the rest of the dry stuff), chocolate (any kind), oils, and dairy fat (boiled cream may split, etc). Also, James, you've said plenty of relatable stuff on this channel over the years but at "I've wanted a PacoJet for like a decade" I may have shouted at my phone in agreement.

"a reverse affogato" James Hoffman accidentally-on-purpose inventing what will trend on coffee Instagram as soon as trendy businesses can get their hands on the equipment to make this happen.

This video basically forced me to get up and pour myself a coffee, because I'll be damned if I watch a James Hoffman Original without a cup

Thanks James! Glad we could inspire you. Looks delicious.

I'd nearly talked myself out of wanting a ninja creami (it really is a silly name), and James has just smoothly talked me back into wanting one again. It's a good job he's so honest about sponsorship etc, he'd be too good at it if he "used his powers for evil".

To avoid buying a bunch of ingredients that you'll rarely use, I would recommend xanthan gum instead. It's extremely versatile, so you can use it in sauces, salad dressing, and even as a gluten substitute for baking.

Ah man, I spend thousands of dollars on a dream espresso setup and now I know I need to spend hundreds more on an ice-cream machine. This is a hobby that just keeps on giving

This is fantastic! I've made this a few times now, here are my notes: The flavor is excellent I find the recipe as is a little bit too icy, especially since I know how incredible the texture could be from other sorbets I've done on the creami. Luckily this is a pretty easy fix, but it takes some weird ingredients. 1 -Stabilizers. -Add 1g CMC (Aka celluose gum), it is the most effective de-icer I've found. -Sub guar gum for lotus because guar doesn't require heat so now we can skip the boiling step (I think Xantham Gum could also work here if you have that on hand) -Modernist Pantry makes a great sorbet stabilizer you can sub in for all of these 2 - Sugar 50g Sucrose (can add more to taste, if you want less sweetness sub in 1:1 for dextrose or glucose) 30g Dextrose (better at lowering the freezing point, good for less ice!) 30g Glucose (~DE40 is good, kind of acts like a fat/solid) 20g Inulin (It's a little sweet but really it's more of a stabilizer here) 20g Trehelose (Also a sweetener/stabilizer, it's sort of like flavorless milk powder in my experience) -If this is too many sugars you could get halfway there subbing half of the sucrose for dextrose (dextrose is just dry corn sugar, it's nice to have around). 3 - Flavor and other notes -Add 2g Mallic Acid, to complement the acidity of the coffee. I am treating this like a sorbet; I always add Mallic to my sorbets and sherbets to complement the fruitiness. You could sub lemon juice here if you had to. Also it could be fun to play with different acids you might have on hand (citric, lactic, phosphoric are a few we have in the coffee lab). If you don't do anything else try this! It adds back in that refreshing crisp acidity missing from cold coffees. -I added a ~2 hour cure in the fridge because I do that for all my ice creams, I'm not sure if it's relevant here but generally it gives stabilizers the sugars time to act and bind up water -I think this is a great application for no-bypass brewers, to get a higher concentration of flavor packed into less water. -You could probably make this without cocoa butter entirely as long as you balance the stabilizers, and/or add some more solids in. Pectin seems useful here -I didn't have any trouble dissolving the sugars without heat, if you're worried about it just use the coffee while it's still hot. -Perhaps heretical but I used a (oolong) tea syrup instead of cherry when brewing with the Ethiopian -I've tried this with a few coffees, it could be my cocoa powder but it's a little too chocolately. This complemented a really nice Huehue I brewed, but I think it overwhelmed a more delicate washed Ethiopian. For more delicate coffees I would add less cocoa powder, maybe 1g. Thank you for reading, I've had a blast tinkering with this recipe. It's such a unique flavor that's only really possible with the creami, we are so lucky to live in an age where such high-tech kitchen gadgets are so readily available.

I think hazelnut oil would be a great sub for the cocoa butter - the modernist cuisine recipes that I think ultimately inspired those chefsteps ones had a dairy free pistachio “gelato” that I suspect is possible to execute with hazelnut oil + coffee instead.

This video was exactly what I wanted it to be. James nerding out over something tangentially coffee-related and getting me excited about something I have no means of making myself.

Have you ever done a "Teas for Coffee People"/"Coffees for Tea People" type video? It might be a cool collab with someone who only drinks tea.

In Denmark, we pour warm cherry syrup over cold Risalamande (almond rice pudding). We eat it for dessert on Christmas Eve 🤤😁 Not that you asked, the jar just reminded me of Christmas 😅

there's actually an ice cream place by me that uses a very similar recipe to this for their vegan coffee ice cream BUT then they crush whole oreos into it - they go a little heavier on the coffee but it is quite possibly one of the best frozen desserts i've ever had outside of my house

“Ninja has no idea I’m doing this” Don’t know much about ninjas, do ya?

Ok, the whole thing is amazing, but I must admit, the reverse affogato is a genius idea.

You briefly mentioned it, but I think this would be a perfect use of cold-brew simply because cold brew is already low bitterness and is flavor balanced already for cold enjoyment.

I absolutely love this! I've stayed away from coffee-flavored ice cream exactly because it's more milk than coffee. Thank you.

Update: I took the coffee gelato that was made with the conventional ice cream maker (Cuisinart) and processed it in the CREAMi. What a difference in the texture and I think the flavor improved! I'm glad I got this new gadget. Also, I made the ChefSteps Roasted Cocoa Gelato recipe that James based his coffee ice cream variation. Texture was like a chocolate truffle and flavor was good but not great. The roasted cocoa tasted a little burnt although I only roasted for 1 hr instead of 2 (what ChefSteps calls for). I used a high quality cocoa powder (Valrhona). The flavor improved dramatically by adding whipped cream on top of the serving. Next time I will not roast the cocoa. I look forward to making coffee ice creams with this recipe using different coffee beans.

A couple of days ago I had a "Vietnamese coffee" ice cream that was so spot on I was blown away. And now I've seen this making me want to see what I can experiment with. Thanks James, now I want ANOTHER kitchen gadget.

Literally just poured my coffee. Perfect timing, James

I recently watched your French press video that you made a few years back, and I’ve got to say, I believe I’ve had my first *really* good cup of coffee. I bought some decent quality beans from Costa Rica, made a cup with my French press, and it was magical. Thank you very much for both the method and the inspiration to make good coffee

What a wonderful video. Coffee and ice cream, two things I adore. Both allow for a huge amount of experimentation and create such great tastes. What I do is use coconut milk. 2x400ml coconut milk, 60g of sugar, 200ml of strong brewed coffee, 1 1/2 cocoa powder. I have never thought about removing the milk element before. I shall have to experiment, thank you.

we have these "pacojet" machines in some gas stations under the brand name F'real milkshakes. The kiosk has a glass door minifridge and a blender station. You pick the cup you want, put it in the cup receptical, then it goes up, makes blender noises for a while. As far as things you can eat from a gas station, it's pretty good.

James is almost manic in this video. I appreciate this level excitement and enthusiasm!

Made this 3 times using Xanthan gum in place of the 2 exotic ingredients. It came out great each time - hard to believe it's non dairy - I guess the cocoa butter and thickener are giving the amazing texture

"I got wierd about ice cream at one point in my life" I love you.

Lovely way to start my Monday

I've avoided buying a Pacojet for 15 years but now am very happy with this. Welcome to the club, and finally a great coffee ice cream!

If y'all don't mind an armchair expert coming along: If you already have a stand mixer, you can get a reasonably cheap ice cream churning attachment which usually takes the form of a thick bowl that is stored in the freezer and a special mixer that keeps the ice cream/sorbet base agitated and scrapes the frozen layer off the super-chilled bowl. A way to ensure creamy ice cream/sorbet is to make sure the ice crystals are tiny. The Ninja Creami works by physically breaking the crystals, but ice cream churners and even no churn recipes will need to use chemical methods. It's not too difficult though, just replace the regular sugar with an invert sugar (the three most common invert sugars are honey, golden syrup, and sweetened condensed milk) and add a splash of alcohol of some variety. While you could add a little neutral spirit, you could also add a flavored alcohol like vanilla extract, coffee liqueur, or creme de cacao. If you have any religious or personal disinclination to using alcohol, the invert sugar alone should be fine.

Cool Video! I also have the Ninja Creami since Chris Young posted the video, and have been wanting a Pacojet for many years. Regarding the recipe, after researching and reading a lot about ice cream, I recommend you emulsify the cocoa butter like a genache using the heated gum-sugar mixture (much better then chopping into tiny bits with the blender!) and to improve the overall texture and flavour most professionals mature the whole mixture in the fridge for 24h before churning/freezing it.

A coffee-centric coffee ice cream sounds perfect as someone who only drinks coffee black

Another innovative recipe that fans the flames of my coffee obsession. You’re the best James!! Cannot wait to try this myself!

‘A good splash’??!!!! I’m shocked James, how much is that in grams? 😜 Also I saw this machine last year and nearly bought one, now I actually have to! So thanks.

THANK YOU for this one. I bought an ice cream machine for my cafe a while back and have tried to make a coffee sorbet that highlights the character and flavor of the coffee. The results have been the same as for you, overly bitter an generic tasting. This couldn't have come in a better time! Thanks 👍👍👍

This is slowly turning into a food channel, with coffee. I’m here for it. Really enjoyed this video.

Just a thought, could you use cascara in place of the cherries to get some fruitiness back? Could be fun using coffee cherries to bring it back, they have that slightly raisin-like flavour that would fit well perhaps.

2:44 When you explained the problem with your cold coffee ice cream, it reminded me of one of Adam Ragusea's latest podcasts where he talked about the effect of temperature on taste/aroma perception.

Great another machine i didn't know i needed but absolutely do.

I’m not into making ice creams. Usually recipes videos (especially ice cream from a Coffee channel) aren’t dairy free but I’m surprised that you made this video even for us vegans. The only thing is that you made me love coffee a lot and get superb coffees as well as struggle when I get a crappy coffee so please don’t bring me into the ice cream world as well 🤣✌️ Cheers to you James and cheers to everyone

I did a deep dive into your older videos and watched your WBC routine yesterday. You're a fascinating character for sure, and you've worked closely with chefs that I idolize. Definitely gave me a better idea of where you're coming from and it was impressive🙏

The look on his face at the end is gold, the editor definitely chose the right time to end the video

sent this to a buddy who's currently obsessed with ice cream making. cheers.

You got me at "dairy-free". Just look at the texture... Such a cool machine.

James I made your ice-cream and I hace to say, it's incredible. For the record, I'm a junior patissier and have access to a pacojet I I had a lot of fun making it. I used kappa carragenan instead of iota and slightly changed the way the ingredients are incorporated to facilitate the emulsion. It turned out super creamy but with small ice crystals, I don't know if that's normal (I'm not an expert on ice-cream, yet). Flavour wise, it was amazing; you can definetly notice the salt but in a really really good way. Curiously enough I also used coffee from Square Mile (Los Nisperos), very nice aswell. I'll definetly keep this one on my recipe book and play around with it, thank you.

I love how sharp and pristine James' videos and style are.

Last week I saw a video on the Pacojet vs the Ninja! Today we get this…. James mind skills confirmed!

I was looking into coffee ice cream recipes for weeks!!! The store bought ones are with too much milk AND too much sugar. I want the coffee taste! You can imagine my loud shout of joy when I just saw the title of the newest video of James. 😁 Boy, this sounds delicious! 😍 And I would love that machine. But no more space for additional gadgets in my kitchen. 😅 Can someone serve me an Affogato with this ice-cream please!!! 😋❤️

I got a Ninja Creami for Christmas this past year and have been trying to find a good coffee ice cream recipe to use in it. Absolutely love the channel and obsessed with great coffee so as soon as I saw the Creami with James, I got excited. Definitely trying this!

This and a cup of coffee really helped to start off the day. Thank you James.

"I've wanted a Pacojet for, like, a decade" - Yes. a thousand times yes

"It's not going to taste salty, it's just going to be delicious"

I do really like that you call back to chefsteps and Chris- great creators and very inspiring recipes.

The whole topic in and of itself is quite interesting. I've only ever seen ice creams with some sort of dairy or liquid rich in proteins and fats like dairy or fruit sorbets. On another note, I'm really amazed at how well that machine can mix a solid block of ice into something that looks so smooth. When that spoon ran on top of the ice cream, it was just mesmerizing to see it scoop off so effortlessly and look so smooth at the same time

Rather than the cocoa butter + cocoa powder + fruity syrup, I would experiment with tossing in a few squares of a fancy 70%+ dark chocolate with berry fruit or plum in it.

On the fat, I've found that cocoa or coconut butter can crystallize when frozen and get kinda spikey. I'd consider a mild almond oil. Unless you can go dairy, which is even smoother.

Brilliant video. Thank you for your work James!

YES BEEN WAITING FOR SOMETHING LIKE THIS

This feels like the beginning of.a strange "cooking with Hoffman" series of events.

I've been wanting to find more ways to use brewed coffee waste (clean waste from training people etc) and this seems a good option. I made coffee syrup initially, which also worked.

7:38 In English any noun can be verbed, and any verb can be nouned. One the best features of the language. :)

Yum! Thanks James

I’m a big fan of liquid nitrogen ice cream, and I know it can produce the smoothest ice cream I’ve ever tasted (something about freezing quickly so ice crystals don’t form) @James, I think you need to experiment with this recipe but use liquid nitrogen to freeze it. Just because :)

“but remember lots of kids drop their ice cream, and I hope you have a nice day” -Hames Joffmann 2022

Thank you! Definitely will give it a try.

What a fantastic recipe for coffee house menu items. Completely plant-based also. Just outstanding. Thank you for sharing.

I've made this like 4 times now, it's so delicious. Made it using erythritol instead of sugar last time and it was just as good.

Does anybody remember the Starbucks ice cream from the mid 90s? That stuff was heavenly.

I own one, it's loud but well worth the money because you can make any non traditional base into something with great texture and taste.

i just bought a ninja creami since it was on sale for black friday; i made the base today and tasted it-it's MASSIVELY good. i used a sugar substitute (gf cant have a lot of sugar--cherry syrup is ok but a lot of sugar would be too much) and it tastes super delicious. thank you for a great recipe!! i'm so hyped to put it into my creami as soon as it's frozen!!!

Would love to see you and Adam Ragusea work on a project together. He actually just released a video the other day that mentions how our sense of taste is dulled at ice cream temperatures

Love the un-pretension of adding coffee-type flavours to a coffee flavoured thing. Thanks James for helping us weird coffee people get toward the flavours we love, without the irrational desire for authenticity that might lead us to _only_ use brewed coffee as the flavourant. There's great maturity to be learned here I reckon. If it tastes good, it tastes good!!

Best part about enjoying cooking and also fabrication is how cross compatible the disciplines are. I will now definitely be trying to make ice cream on my drill press and with a hand held router.

This video sparked immense joy

I don't mind dairy-heavy Häagen-Dazs Coffee ice cream. Actually "don't mind" is a substantial understatement. It's been the only ice cream I'll eat since around 1988. It's that good and yes, I'm that old. ;)

Thickener hack, use non-dairy coffee creamer. It's cheap and widely available.

So cool!

I remember picking up a hand-crank version of this about twenty years ago. For something that was made of mostly plastic, it was *VERY* sturdy and could turn the hardest ice creams into soft serve with ease.

I believe it's time for another affogato episode. Coffee on coffee ice cream epic! Cheers, looks delicious!

Does blending coffee at high speed not do something to the flavour? As in I know extra virgin olive oil can develop off flavours if you blend it and I wonder if something similar might happen to coffee?

So much knowledge learnt! Thank you for the sharing!

I often made coffee with a chunk of chocolate melted into the cup and a cacao powder without any milk, - or even added sugar. It taste surprisingly coffee with just a note of chocolate and the body that the cacao powder added. I imagined that's probably also how this ice cream went (I would rather use butter though instead of just a solid cacao butter)

Fascinating. I’d be curious to see if there are discernible differences when making the recipe with premium coffee vs grocery store coffee … How much leniency does the freezing and churning process provide?

It just hit me: is this vegan? Coffee, sugar, cocoa butter as the fat… I think without even trying you made a delicious plant-based ice cream

Brilliant!

Definitely will be making some of that!

I'm looking forward to try this

My favorite coffee channel + my favorite new kitchen gadget. This just made my day.

Great great video, definitely something to try. Thanks James!!! Just something to add, the method a Pacojet uses not only changes texture compared with traditional ice cream makers, much more creamy and smooth, it also enhance flavors because it does not incorporate crystallized micro bubbles of air.

Oh ... excellent! I'd opened this to watch later without paying much attention - coffee ice cream got my attention. Finding it's a Creami recipe is excellent!

Great sounding recipe! Very clever.

I haven't been able to try one but my mom has been raving about it, good reason to visit home.

Looks delish, thanks for the vid.

why do i watch those videos in the evening. I want a coffee, but i need to sleep tonight.

Pretty cool!

I liked the little Lance clap movie magic nod 😉

This is a lovely recipe. Thanks for sharing

I so enjoyed watching that such that I could even taste it from your description.