Frozen Caramel Macchiato Pie
Enjoy a chilly caffeinated summer treat with this Frozen Caramel Macchiato Pie. It’s made with a homemade chocolate cookie crust, luscious espresso-infused ice cream, and generous layers of homemade salted caramel. Topped with fluffy whipped cream and delicate chocolate shavings, this pie captures all the flavors of your favorite coffeehouse drink in a cool, refreshing slice.Use 2 pints of your favorite vanilla ice cream in this recipe. See recipe notes for shortcuts and substitutions.
Equipment
- 9 inch deep dish pie dish
Ingredients
Chocolate cookie crust
- 2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs such as pulverized Oreo cookies or packaged chocolate cookie crumbs
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
Caramel sauce
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter cubed
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon fine grain salt
Coffee ice cream filling and toppings
- 2 tablespoons hot water
- 4 tablespoons instant espresso powder
- 32 oz. vanilla ice cream 2 pints or about 5 2/3 cups
- 1 cup heavy cream whipped to stiff peaks
- Chocolate shavings
Instructions
Chocolate cookie crust
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- In a large bowl, stir together the cookie crumbs and melted butter. Mix well until all of the crumbs are coated with the butter.
- Pour the crumbs into an ungreased 9'inch deep dish pie plate and pack them evenly into the bottom of the pan and up the sides.
- Bake for 7 minutes to set. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Caramel sauce
- Melt the sugar over medium-high heat in a medium saucepan. Gently prod the sugar as it melts to promote even cooking. Once the sugar is melted with just a few lumps of sugar remaining, whisk briefly to disperse the lumps.
- Cook until the sugar turns deep amber and add the butter all at once, using a whisk to combine. Be very careful with this addition because the butter will cause the caramelized sugar to bubble and sputter.
- Keep whisking until the butter incorporates (this make take a minute or two). Turn the heat off and remove the pan from stove eye. Pour in the heavy cream, whisking constantly. When the mixture is smooth, stir in the vanilla extract and the salt.
- Transfer the mixture to a bowl and let thicken slightly in the refrigerator, about 30-40 minutes. Stir intermittently to speed cooling.
Espresso ice cream filling and toppings
- In a small bowl, combine the hot water and instant espresso powder, mix until dissolved. Set aside to cool 5 minutes.
- Pour the ice cream into a large bowl and stir until softened but still very thick. Add the espresso mixture and stir well.
- Transfer half of the ice cream mixture into the bottom of the cooled chocolate crust. Drizzle with about 1/4 cup of the salted caramel.
- Top with the remaining ice cream mixture. Spread evenly to the edges of the crust. Drizzle with more salted caramel.
- Place the whipped cream in the center of the pie and drizzle on salted caramel. Swirl the caramel into the cream using a spoon.
- Add one last drizzle of caramel to the top of the pie, then sprinkle on chocolate shavings.
- Transfer to the freezer to chill until firm. Freeze the pie uncovered, until firm, 4 to 6 hours.
Notes
What to expect: This pie has zippy espresso flavor with layers of salted caramel and whipped cream. The filling is reminiscent of a chilled caramel macchiato coffee drink. The chocolate crust adds richness and a study base for the pie. You may have salted caramel sauce leftover; serve it alongside the pie in a small pitcher.
Make chocolate shavings by running a vegetable peeler down the side edge of a bar of chocolate. If your kitchen is particularly warm, freeze the chocolate bar first before shaving it.
Shortcut This Recipe:
- Purchase a ready-made deep dish chocolate cookie pie crust at the grocery store, or if you can’t find deep dish, you can purchase two standard 9-inch pie crusts. The espresso ice cream mixture will fill two pie crusts.
- Coffee ice cream may be substituted for the vanilla ice cream. Just omit the espresso and water concentrate. While softening the coffee ice cream in a mixing bowl, add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract to give the mixture the vanilla note in the café macchiato drink.
- Use a jar of your favorite ready-made salted caramel in place of homemade. However, I must urge you to try to the homemade caramel when you have to time to make it.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!