SHF #17 (Dairy): Vietnamese Coffee Affogato and Condensed Milk Ice Cream

Andrew, at Spittoon Extra is this month's master of ceremonies for the 17th edition of the Domestic Goddess' Sugar High Fridays. For this go round, Andrew's theme is "dairy."

My offering: Vietnamese Coffee Affogato with Condensed Milk Ice Cream. The recipe came out of a New York Times article some time ago and I was struck by the idea of a "deconstructed" Vietnamese iced coffee, which is one of most sinfully wonderful drinks I know. Vietnamese coffee is simply chicory steeped slowly over sweetened condensed milk. The trick, of course, is proportion: the coffee needs to be dark and almost syrupy. The hot liquid is then stirred over condensed milk, poured almost inch thick (depending on the type of glass you use); if you don't control the flow of hot water, you risk a watery, pale concoction; too much or too little condensed milk affects flavor. The coffee flavor still needs to be the star, supported by the rich sweetness of the condensed milk. The combined coffee and milk are then poured over a glass of ice. It's more a dessert than a coffee drink...any wonder I was addicted as a child? Of course, Mom also mentioned that when I was in utero she drank lots of café sua da so I came by it naturally. And on further thought, it does explain my natural penchant for staying up late.

Now, the affogato appeals to me because it reminds me of its French cousin, a café liégois, to which I was addicted when I lived in France one summer. Both desserts are simply ice cream drowned in coffee or espresso. In fact, affogato means "I'm drowning." The Italian version calls for espresso poured over scoops of vanilla ice cream; the French version has one scoop each of coffee and vanilla ice cream. Both are topped with fresh whipped cream.

So, the deconstructed Vietnamese Coffee -- as it happens, Hubby has been consuming egg white omelets in the morning. Therefore, I am left with two dozen egg yolks weekly (yes, WEEKLY). This means my fridge is now stocked full of various egg-based desserts and about four pounds of plain buttercream. It also means I had yolks on hand to make the ice cream. And, as no self-respecting Hong child is ever without a can of Café du Monde chicory in the fridge, and a pantry shelf stocked with condensed milk, this recipe was the perfect match for Andrew's theme.

The original recipe called for tapioca pearls to add texture and aesthetics to the dessert; frankly, I'm not a fan of "bubble" teas and I don't like tapioca pearls in anything except Thomas Keller's "Oysters and Pearls." As I've mentioned before, I can't leave well enough alone so I changed the recipe, cutting out the tapioca pearls and going straight for coffee and ice cream.

Sweetened condensed milk is made from adding sugar to milk then evaporating 60% of its water. Unsweetened condensed milk is usually known just as evaporated milk. A Vietnamese friend's grandmother used to mix tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk with water to make...milk. Fresh milk wasn't always available and this served as an alternative. In fact, my grandmother's recipe for flan is comprised of sweetened condensed milk, eggs, and water. Sounds terrible on paper -- but exquisitely delicious with a lightness that whole milk and cream-based flans don't have.

Now, this is going to sound strange; I don't know what I was expecting the vanilla condensed milk ice cream to taste like, but it tasted like...vanilla condensed milk ice cream. Occasionally I suffer a disconnect between what something should taste like and what it actually tastes like; I couldn't comprehend an ice cream version of condensed milk ice cream, but it had the same velvety richness and smoothness.

When the hot coffee is poured over the cold ice cream, shards of coffee ice are formed and a sweet puddle of cream pools around the top. Sipped through a straw, eaten with a spoon -- this is a serious dairy delight.

Tagged with: SHF # 17 + Sugar High Friday

Adapted from Pichet Ong

Time: 1 hour, plus 4 hours chilling and freezing

For the ice cream:
2 cups whole milk
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons heavy cream (or milk)
 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, pulp scraped (or  1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract)
5 large egg yolks
 1/2 teaspoon salt

For serving:
2 cups brewed chicory coffee or espresso.

1. For the ice cream, set a mesh strainer over a bowl. In a pot over medium heat, combine milk, condensed milk, cream and vanilla pod and pulp. Bring to a simmer. In a bowl, whisk egg yolks, then drizzle a little hot milk mixture into yolks, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to low and pour yolk mixture back into pot. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Strain custard into bowl and stir in salt and vanilla extract, if using. Let cool, then refrigerate at least 3 hours. Churn in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions, then transfer to freezer.

2. Put 2 scoops of condensed milk ice cream in each glass. Pour about  1/4 cup hot coffee or espresso into each glass. Oh. You may want VERY thick glasses that aren't liable to break from the extreme cold/heat differentials. It just sucks to clean up the counter repeatedly.

Yield: 8 servings.

Comments

[Danielle]

I was just thinking the other day that I wanted to make Thai iced tea sorbet, and wondering how the condensed milk would fare once it went through the freezing process. This ice creams looks delicious, and now I feel much more confident about making my sorbet (or would it count as an ice cream, because of the dash of condensed milk? I'm not even sure).

[Andrew]

It always amazes me on the diversity of recipes people come up with for these events - and yours is certainly up there with the best!

thanks for taking part in SHF.

[Cath]

Danielle, ooooh Thai ice tea sorbet? Can you email me when you've made it and posted a recipe?

Andrew, thanks so much for hosting -- and the theme really gave me a great reason to try this recipe which I've been wanting to try for some time!

[Tania]

I have never tried Vietnamese coffee, but it sounds quite wonderful! As for this dessert ... the ice cream sounds so sweet and rich, and I can imagine how delicious it would be with plain espresso poured over. Oh, how I'd love just a spoonful right now!

[Cath]

Tania, you've got to try this coffee sometime; it's addictive and wonderful! And this dessert is to die for! Make some and let me know how you like it!