Caramel Macchiato Ice Cream

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Caramel macchiato ice cream is a coffee lover’s dream! It’s a mix of vanilla bean and espresso ice cream swirled with homemade salted caramel sauce. Perfectly sweet, creamy and strong.

caramel macchiato ice cream with scoop removed

Why You’ll Love This Ice Cream

This no-churn homemade ice cream recipe is SO QUICK & EASY to make! It also only uses a few ingredients for the ice cream base!!
As a no-churn base, this ice cream recipe requires fewer steps and no ice cream machine making it a perfect dessert to make at home.
Coffee and ice cream? Yes and yes, it’s basically an affogato ice cream so we all know that those two are a dream made in heaven. It’s what I always get when I go out for ice cream!

If you are looking for more quick and easy no-churn ice creams check out my Lotus Biscoff Ice Cream or my Mango Ice Cream.

Buuuuuuut (who said you can’t start sentences with ‘but’ lol) If COFFEE in EVERYTHING is what brings joy to your soul, check out my Tiramisu Cake, Mocha Cake, Vanilla Latte Cupcakes (a FAV), or simply make a Tiramisu Latte and enjoy it with my Easy Coffee Cake Recipe!

caramel macchiato ice cream in a bowl with a cone and caramel sauce

What is the Difference Between Churn and No-churn Ice Cream?

Churned ice cream, made traditionally, involves an ice cream maker that simultaneously freezes and churns the mixture, incorporating air and preventing large ice crystal formation, resulting in a smooth texture.

While no-churn ice cream, eliminates the need for an ice cream maker by incorporating air with whipped cream and an extra creamy consistency from the condensed milk. The result is usually a denser, creamier ice cream with a smooth texture.

ice cream in a bowl with a cone on a tray with caramel sauce

Ingredients

Sweetened Condensed Milk: this is what sweetens the ice cream and makes it super creamy.
- This cannot be replaced for something like sugar, as it’s what makes this ice cream possible as a no-churn. I found that using other sweeteners made the ice cream crystallize.
- There is a vegan version made from oat milk that may work but I have not tested it.
Heavy Whipping Cream: this gets whipped into fresh whipped cream and makes the ice cream super light and fluffy
- To make this dairy free, use coconut cream, it may alter the flavor a little though.
Sugar: I used granulated sugar when making the caramel sauce.
Butter: I like salted butter but unsalted works too, just add an extra ¼ tsp of salt.
Vanilla: Vanilla is a subtle flavor so I like to really pack a punch but by using at least two forms for a stronger flavor. I use vanilla extract in the caramel sauce and vanilla bean paste in the ice cream.
Coffee: You’ll need 4 ounces of chilled espresso. If you don’t have an espresso machine, I’ve also made this using espresso powder – see instructions below.
- You can also use store bought or homemade coffee but it will just not be as strong. Make sure it’s chilled.
Caramel: we will be making our own Homemade Caramel Sauce, which you can check out on my site for more in depth details.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Place sugar and water in a saucepan. Mix and heat to fully dissolve while gently swirling.

sugar water heating — 3. heat over medium-low heat (with lid on)

Step 2: Bring the mix to a simmer and gently swirl the pan every couple minutes, but do NOT stir it. Continue until the color begins to darken to an amber color.

If there are crystalized pieces of sugar on the sides of the pan, the steam running down from the lid should dissolve them but if it doesn’t, you can use a wet pastry brush wet to brush them away

Step 4: Once the sugar is an amber color, remove it from the heat and stir in the butter.

Step 5: Pour in the heavy whipping cream carefully while stirring.

If you have some crystalized hard chunks on your edges leave them there, don’t stir them in so that you can have a smooth sauce (for trouble shooting make sure to read my whole caramel post).

add butter to caramel — 6. stir in the butter until the caramel is smooth

add cream to sugar syrup — 6. stir in the butter until the caramel is smooth

Step 6: Pour the caramel sauce into a heat proof jar and stir in the salt and vanilla. Set aside to cool for a little and then refrigerate it before making the ice cream.

Step 7: Mix heavy whipping cream in a stand mixer until it thickens and then forms stiff peaks.

Step 8: Add sweetened condensed milk vanilla bean paste, and salt beating until it’s fully combined.

Step 9: Remove half the ice cream to another bowl and stir in chilled espresso to one half.

Step 10: Place globs of the remaining vanilla ice cream into a deep pan and pour half of the coffee ice cream around the globs. Drizzle a generous amount of chilled caramel sauce and use a knife to swirl them all together.

vanilla and coffee ice cream with caramel sauce drizzled

caramel sauce swirled on top of ice cream

Step 11: Repeat with the next layer of vanilla globs, coffee ice cream, and caramel sauce.

Step 13: Freeze – cover with a lid, foil or plastic wrap and freeze for at least 8 hours or overnight.

finished caramel macchiato ice cream with a spoons scooping ice cream

How to make espresso without an espresso machine

So I’m not like a professional coffee expert or anything but I found this article on 3 Ways To Make Espresso Without An Espresso Maker.

If you don’t have an aeropress, moka pot or french press you can also make espresso using espresso powder. It’s similar to instant coffee but tastes more like espresso, is a much finer powder and is much stronger than instant coffee.

You’ll need 1 tsp of espresso powder to 1 ounce of water to make one shot. Most recipes, use double shots so do 2 tsp espresso powder to 2 ounces of water. For this recipe, you’ll do 4 tsp of espresso powder but since we actually don’t need all the extra liquid (I used that much because that’s just how my espresso machine makes it) you can use less water – just enough to dissolve the espresso.

Brands of espresso powder that I’ve used and recommend are King Arthur, Delallo and Megadlia D’Oro.

I also recently had the opportunity to try Cometeer’s fresh coffee capsules (this post is not sponsored) and I LOVE them. I replaced a double shot of espresso with one of their capsules. It’s slightly weaker than a double shot so you can use 3 capsules if you want.

caramel macchiato ice cream in a bowl with a cone and caramel sauce on top

Frequently Asked Questions

Can this be made dairy free?

Yup, just use coconut cream and dairy free sweetened condensed milk (like oatmilk).

Does this require an ice cream machine?

This no-churn ice cream does not require an ice cream machine.

Can this be made with a churned ice cream base?

Yesss, use whatever base you like, churn or no-churn and just follow the instructions with the caramel sauce and coffee after churning your ice cream.

caramel macchiato ice cream in a loaf pan — the first time I made this recipe 5 years ago – made with espresso powder here

How to Store Caramel Macchiato Ice Cream

Make sure the ice cream is fully covered with plastic wrap or a container with a lid and freeze for at least 8 hours. Ice cream keeps well in the freezer for a few weeks.

close up of ice cream in a bowl with a cone

Thanks so much for reading today’s post, if you have any questions just comment down below.

If you make this caramel macchiato ice cream, I would love it if you left a star rating for it in the recipe card.

As always, have a blessed day and happy baking!

Love, B