Cold Kahlua Coffee Punch
A big bowl of cold, creamy, sweet coffee punch, with scoops of vanilla ice cream melting into it and whipped cream on top. It serves forty-eight small cups, it can be made the night before, and the ice cream keeps it cold.
At a glance
- Coffee : liqueur
- 4:1
- Active time
- 20 min
- Total time
- 270 min
- Makes
- 48 punch cups
- Serve
- Cold
- Kit
- Punch bowl
Ingredients
Note: The serving scaler on this page works properly at this size. Set it to 12 for a small gathering and every quantity scales down.
Method
-
Brew and sweeten the day before
Brew the coffee strong, about one to twelve, stir in the sugar while it is hot, and cool it. Chill it overnight in jugs or a large covered container.
It must be cold before anything else goes in.
Chill overnight -
Chill the bowl
Put the punch bowl in the fridge for an hour before the party if it fits, or fill it with ice water and empty it before use.
Chill 1 hour -
Coffee, liqueur and milk
Pour the cold coffee, coffee liqueur and milk into the bowl and stir.
-
Scoop in the ice cream
Add the ice cream in scoops just before guests arrive. It floats, melts slowly, and keeps the punch cold.
No ice. Ice waters it down. The ice cream is the ice.
-
Cream and spice on top
Spoon the whipped cream on top in dollops and dust with cinnamon or nutmeg. Ladle into small cups, giving everyone a little ice cream.
Why this works
The ice cream does three jobs. It is the ice, keeping the punch cold as it melts slowly. It is the sweetener and the cream, emulsifying into the coffee as it softens and making the punch progressively richer through the evening. And it is the reason the punch does not go watery. Ordinary ice would melt into plain water and dilute the bowl within an hour.
The coffee has to be brewed strong and chilled completely in advance. Warm coffee would melt the ice cream in minutes. Strong coffee, about one to twelve, holds its flavour against the milk, liqueur, ice cream and cream. Sweetening while hot dissolves the sugar fully, which it would not do in cold coffee.
The quantities work out to around six litres, enough for forty-eight cups of roughly 120 ml. A standard 750 ml bottle of coffee liqueur across that volume makes each cup lightly alcoholic, roughly a third of a standard drink, which is the right strength for a punch people will go back to.
This page is a good test of the serving scaler. Every quantity is a plain number, so changing the servings from 48 to 12 divides everything by four and gives 750 ml of coffee, a 190 ml measure of liqueur and so on, ready for a small dinner instead of a large party.
Variations
- Non-alcoholic: leave out the liqueur and add 100 ml of vanilla syrup and an extra litre of coffee.
- Mocha punch: chocolate ice cream instead of vanilla.
- With rum: replace a third of the liqueur with dark rum for a drier punch.
- Small batch: set the scaler to 12.
Contains alcohol. Label the bowl at a party, and keep a non-alcoholic version alongside for children, drivers and anyone avoiding alcohol.
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Questions
How many people does this coffee punch serve?
About forty-eight small cups of 120 ml. Use the scaler on this page to make less.
Can I make coffee punch ahead?
Yes. Brew and sweeten the coffee the day before and chill it. Add the liqueur and milk on the day, and the ice cream just before serving.
How do I keep the punch cold without watering it down?
Use the ice cream instead of ice. Chill the bowl and all the liquids beforehand.
How strong is the punch?
Mild. One bottle of coffee liqueur across six litres makes each small cup roughly a third of a standard drink.