Dark Chocolate Macaron Espresso Ice Cream Sandwich

For the ice cream:
In a medium saucepan, combine milk, heavy cream, 1/4 cup sugar, salt and espresso powder. Bring mixture to simmer, until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside.

Whisk egg yolks and remaining sugar in a medium bowl until pale, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in half of the warm cream mixture, mix until blended. Stir yolk mixture into remaining cream mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat a wooden spoon, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Strain custard into another medium bowl. Let cool over a bowl of ice water, or chill in the refrigerator, stirring occasionally.

Process custard in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to a 9 x 13-inch baking pan, level the top, cover and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours. (Makes about 1 quart ice cream.)

For the macarons:
Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Put a master template under the parchment paper or draw 2-inch circles in rows on the paper, about 1 inch apart.

Process powdered sugar, cocoa powder and almond flour in a food processor until finely ground. Sift the mixture through a sieve. If there are more than 2 tablespoons of large chunks left in the sieve, grind them and sift again. Set the mixture aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitter with a whisk attachment, beat egg whites at medium speed until frothy. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Increase the speed to high and beat until very stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes.

Sift the almond flour mixture over the egg whites. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the almond flour mixture into the egg whites until the ingredients are combined and the mixture has loosened and falls in a ribbon from the spatula.

Fit a pastry bag with a 1/2-inch round tip and fill the bag with the batter. Using the template as a guide, pipe circles onto the parchment papers.

Tap the bottom of each sheet on the work surface to release trapped air bubbles. Let the cookies stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes until the surface of the cookie shells is completely dry to touch. This allows the cookies to develop their crusts.

Preheat oven to 325ºF. Bake the macarons for 10 to 12 minutes, until set but not browned.

Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks and let the macarons to cool completely on the pans. Once cooled, gently lift half of the cookies from the parchment paper and turn them upside down.

To assemble the sandwiches, remove ice cream from the freezer, use a 2-inch cookie cutter to cut out a disc of ice cream and place it on top of one cookie. Place another cookie on top of the ice cream. Lightly press to adhere the sandwich.

Serve immediately. Or wrap each sandwich with plastic wrap and place them in the freezer.