Coffee and gelato are a winning double act, either served side by side as a pairing – or combined to make coffee-flavoured ice cream.
Here, Henley Bridge’s resident gelato supremos show how you can keep it cool with coffee…
Brew up profits with coffee gelato
Coffee has been highlighted as one of the key flavour trends for this summer with coffee-inspired cakes and desserts set to be big hits.
With this in mind, why not try making your own coffee ice cream? It’s surprisingly easy and will instantly ensure your desserts menu is bang on trend.
Gelato & Ice Cream Technician Mark Eastman, says: “For the last couple of years, we’ve had a growing number of requests from customers asking how to make a ‘proper’ coffee flavoured ice cream, as opposed to a mocha or cappuccino ice cream. They want to drop the chocolate element and make it all about the coffee. This can be achieved by using coffee direct from a machine, which gives a more fortified flavour.
You create the best products by using the best ingredients. We use Caffe Kenon, which is made from Brazilian coffee beans and blended in Naples, and the Irca ice cream range. The best solution is to add espresso to coffee flavour paste to give it a bit of a kick. Also, if you’re using regular espresso as a substitute for some of the paste, there’s less sugar, which obviously makes it a healthier option. The challenge is getting the right amount of expresso as you want to keep the water content to a minimum, otherwise it affects the consistency and you end up effectively turning it into a sorbet. As a rough guide we recommend 3-4 double shots of espresso per pan if you’re using it with paste. You can also reduce the coffee down by boiling it on the stove before adding. As a rule of thumb, don’t add more than 10% water.”
Ice cream accompaniments to complement coffee
Fellow Gelato & Ice Cream Technician Steve Carrigan advises: “Coffee ice cream works brilliantly with chocolate-based desserts and those containing walnuts and cinnamon, or you could make an affogato by putting a scoop of either vanilla or chocolate ice cream in a glass cup or bowl and drown it with a shot of hot expresso.
If you’re looking for ice cream flavours to accompany coffee, a good rule of thumb is to choose flavours associated with cakes or biscuits, such as Lotus Biscoff or Amaretti. Gelato-based desserts are very on-trend right now and can be prepared well in advance. Try retro-style chocolate cherry bomb gelato cake or gelato toffee apples.
For customers who don’t want a full dessert, offer gelato-filled macarons and chocolates with their coffee. This is also a great way for customers to give them a try – and you could upsell by offering takeaway boxes for them to enjoy at home.”
