Mud Pie and a bit of Blogger Trivia

Recently I had a lady that I cared for that loved coffee. The problem was that due to her medication she could not have decaf coffee. As you may know we live in a grand world where there are substitutes for things that we love. So yes there is decaf coffee. Therefore there is decaf coffee flavored ice cream if not found on shelves near you then make it up yourself.

MudPie is a coffee ice cream based pie with a chocolate crust, topped with whipped cream, fudge sauce, and almonds. It is one of my mothers favorite pies the next being rocky road ice cream. So in order to make this delicious pie we had to of course have coffee flavored ice cream that was decaf. 

So whether you need decaf or regular is your choice. You may be able to find them on the market or make your own. You can also find pre made oreo pie crust. The ice cream should be able to soften for just a bit, spread it into the crust. Refreeze, and 30 minutes later ah la you have a delicious dessert. 

Print Recipe

Mud Pie with Homemade Decaf Coffee Ice Cream

Makes one 9" pie (about 8 servings).
Ice cream recipe adapted from Simply Recipes.

Ingredients:

Ice Cream:
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups whole decaf coffee beans
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
5 large egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon finely ground coffee

Crust:
1/4 cup almonds, finely ground
6oz. chocolate wafer or oreo cookies
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Garnish:
Chocolate sauce
Sliced almonds, lightly toasted
Whipped cream

Directions:

To prepare ice cream, heat the milk, sugar, whole coffee beans, salt, and 1/2 cup of the cream in a medium saucepan until it is quite warm and steamy, but not boiling. Once the mixture is warm, cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.

Pour the remaining 1 cup of cream into a medium size metal bowl, set on ice over a larger bowl. Set a mesh strainer on top of the bowls. Set aside.

Reheat the milk and coffee mixture, on medium heat, until again hot and steamy (not boiling!). In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks together. Slowly pour the heated milk and coffee mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly so that the egg yolks are tempered by the warm milk, but not cooked by it. Scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof, flat-bottomed spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula so that you can run your finger across the coating and have the coating not run, about 10 minutes.

Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Press on the coffee beans in the strainer to extract as much of the coffee flavor as possible. Then discard the beans. Mix in the vanilla and finely ground coffee, and stir until cool.

Chill the mixture overnight in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

While ice cream is churning, prepare the crust. Combine almonds and cookies in a food processor, and pulse until finely ground. Add melted butter and stir until combined. Mixture should be the consistency of wet sand. Dump into a 9" pie dish and firmly press into bottom and sides.

As soon as your ice cream is the consistency of soft serve, remove from ice cream maker and spread into crust. Cover and freeze until firm (at least 4 hours).

When ready to serve, run a knife under hot water for 30 seconds (it'll make cutting much easier) before cutting. Drizzle with fudge sauce, and top with a dollop of whipped cream and sliced almonds.

Blogger Trivia

If you have ever been inside of a chemistry room then I am sure that you know what a bunsen burner is. It is named after Robert Bunsen and is a common piece in any lab. It produces a single open gas flame, which is used to heat, sterilize and combustion. Whether the gas used is methane or propane, butane or mix of both.