Is it possible to infuse milk or creme with coffee flavor from grinds?

When making panna cotta with a coffee flavor they usually use instant coffee (instant espresso, if you can find it, actually). See, for instance, Camilla Saulsbury's recipe for Cappucchino Layered Panna Cotta.

I imagine most such applications would do the same??

There are a few "coffee reductions" on the market, the new brew systems that then add the appropriate amount of hot water to dilute.
These are usually of better quality than instants.
But yes, instant coffee has been a tried and true method for years.

Heat the cream almost to a boil, then pour over the ground coffee, stir and let steep for 4 minutes, strain through fine mesh strainer.

Ive been making i guess youd call it a "cafe creme brulee" for a while now.. just take your heavy cream and put it in your saucepan, i still use vanilla bean in the recipe cuz it allmost gives it the french vanilla flavor that is so popular with certain people these days.. i dont use instant coffee tho, ill take regular ground coffee beans and add it right in the beginning before you heat up the cream. I find this way i can regulate easier how much coffee flavor gets infused over time.. then after the mixtures come to just about a boil, switch it off and let steep for as long as you want till you get your desired coffee flavor.. you can let it go for longer or just add more coffee grounds if you want a strong allmost espresso flavor.. pass it all thru a fine mesh strainer and your golden.

KY, kingarthurflour.com has instant espresso powder. It keeps pretty well in the freezer.

I really don't like the taste of instant coffee - it's ok, but real coffee flavor is better. I like the idea of infusions. If you have the time and the equipment, why settle for second best.

Thanks for the tip, KCZ. I knew they had it. But unless I'm ordering anyway, the shipping on one item really tears you up. What I do is crush regular instant coffee even finer, and it works almost as well.

Siduri: As coffee to drink I couldn't agree with you more. But I don't think it matters in most recipes; there isn't enough coffee for it to make much difference. I've never used an infusion, though, so so could be totally wrong. Wouldn't be the first time.

I think in a dish that uses coffee to enhance the chocolate flavor (chocolate bavarian cream, some chocolate cakes and fillings, etc) I would use instant without any second thoughts. But when it;s the dominant flavor, i feel i can detect a sort of - maybe metallic? - tinge to the instant coffee. I'm not a coffee snob, i drink instant decaf at night (i just think of it as a different drink, like having orzo (toasted barley) which is definitely not to my liking) And though i live in italy, i go out of my way to buy lightly roasted coffee for my american coffee pot for my morning coffee, and never have espresso without milk in it. So it's not out of snobbery.
I just think when you want to make a nice desert, and you have the will and the time, then go for the infusion. But if it doesn;t make that much difference, most people are not going to notice the instant coffee.

Different taste buds, I reckon.

I know exactly the taste you're trying to describe. I don't drink instant coffee for that reason, it has that metallicy off-taste. But when I use the powder in something like pana cotta I can't detect it. All I get is coffee flavor.

Coffee can be strange. For instance, I normally drink coffee black. But if I make iced coffee it has to be cut with milk or cream to be drinkable. I don't understand why that is, but accept it as a fact.