The Perfect Scoop: Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream

I've loved coffee ice cream since I was child. This is due, no doubt, to the three formative years I spent living outside of Providence, Rhode Island, when my dad had a job there. We left when I was three (and not a moment too soon, according to my mother - she never quite got used to the place), but clearly something stuck.

Rhode Islanders are crazy for anything coffee-flavored. In Rhode Island, and fortunately in my current home state of Connecticut, you can buy Autocrat coffee syrup and use it to make coffee milk, coffee cabinets, or a concoction near and dear to my heart since my college days in Western Massachusetts, the frappe. (That's pronounced FRAPP. Don't get all fancy and add an "e" on the end.)

Here is a spur-of-the-moment, in-the-mood-for-ice cream recipe. It's really, really good. In fact, I'm a little nervous about how easy it is to make, and how likely I am to have all the ingredients handy at any given moment. I could make it every day...and I just might.

Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

Makes 1 quart

1 1/2 cups sweetened condensed milk (I used the entire 14 oz. can, so it was a touch sweet)
1 1/2 cups brewed espresso (or very strong brewed coffee) (I used strong coffee)
1/2 cup half-and-half
Big pinch of finely ground dark roast coffee (I used instant espresso powder)

Whisk together condensed milk, espresso, half-and-half and ground coffee. Chill thoroughly, then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Oh, wow. Hold on. David Lebovitz has a recipe for Vietnamese Coffee Popsicles on his website. Can I tell you how badly I need a stash of these in my freezer?