Homemade ice cream

May 30, 2012 | 5 Comments »

ETA - I had to correct an error on step 2 of the Java Chip Ice Cream. It’s 6 oz of water. Not 6 cups of water! I’m so sorry! I guess I need to hire Echo as my editor. Seriously, thanks for catching my error! Again, I am REALLY sorry for the error. /ETA

Some time last week Echo was telling me about her own Frappuccino type drink which she made using a can of coconut milk. When she mentioned how creamy it was it got me thinking of ice cream. Something told me that a can of coconut milk would make one heck of a non-dairy ice cream. Guess what? It did! Using bits of Echo’s method along with bits from this method I ended up with two delicious ice creams that were SO creamy and SO dreamy you’ll never want to buy the store bought kind again. For serious! The best part? I didn’t even need an ice cream maker.

Below you can see the two flavors I made along with a quick and easy recipe. It really is easy to whip up. Waiting for it to freeze requires lots of patience (for me anyway), but it’s so worth the wait. I plan to experiment a bit more with some new flavors. I want to try cherry vanilla, rocky road, and cookies and cream. I’ll definitely post recipes for them if they turn out the way I want.

IMG_4333

Java Chip

Ingredients

  • 1 can coconut milk, whipped
  • 6 oz brewed espresso
  • 1/4 cup chocolate chips + 2 tbsp
  • 2-4 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 tbsp Kahlua, optional

Directions

  1. To whip the coconut milk, take a can of coconut milk that has chilled in the fridge overnight and scoop out the top white layer leaving the clearish liquid at the bottom. Dump it into a stand mixer and whip it until it reaches the consistency of whipped cream. Dump into a freezer bag or tupperware and freeze for a few hours. You don’t want it to be frozen all the way. About 2 hours should do the trick.
  2. Get started on your espresso. In a small saucepan combine 6 oz of water with 2 tsp of instant espresso powder on medium heat. Once the espresso powder has fully dissolved add the 1/4 cup chocolate chips, sugar, vanilla, and Kahlua if using. Stir until the chocolate has melted and everything is fully combined. Turn off heat and allow to cool. Refrigerate until coconut mixture is ready to go.
  3. Once the coconut mixture is frozen dump it into a blender along with the cooled espresso mixture. Blend until well combined. Add the remaining 2 tbsp chocolate chips. Blend for a few seconds more. Pour mixture into tupperware and freeze until fully frozen.

IMG_4339

Strawberry

Ingredients

  • 1 can coconut milk, whipped
  • 8 strawberries, diced
  • 2-4 tbsp sugar

Directions

  1. To whip the coconut milk, take a can of coconut milk that has chilled in the fridge overnight and scoop out the top white layer leaving the clearish liquid at the bottom. Dump it into a stand mixer and whip it until it reaches the consistency of whipped cream. Dump into a freezer bag or tupperware and freeze for a few hours. You don’t want it to be frozen all the way. About 2 hours should do the trick.
  2. Combine the strawberries and sugar in a small container. Refrigerate until coconut mixture is ready to go.
  3. Once the coconut mixture is frozen dump it into a food processor along with the strawberries. Process until well combined. Pour mixture into tupperware and freeze until fully frozen.

The Java Chip didn’t have a strong coconut flavor. The Strawberry did. Adding more strawberries might have changed that, but I ran out which is why I only used about 8. Oops! Feel free to add less or more sugar. I found that 2 tbsp was more than enough, but if you’re looking for something sweeter you might want to add more. Also, the Java Chip does have a strong coffee flavor. As a former coffee drinker I didn’t find it to be ‘too much’. But if you’re looking for a more subtle coffee flavor you might want to cut back to 3 oz of espresso.

I’m a little bummed that I didn’t get perfect looking scoops of ice cream. Leaving the ice cream on the counter for a while would have softened it up a bit making it easier to scoop the ice cream out of the tupperware. But I was impatient.

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5 Comments »

Reply to this comment Kiersten @ Oh My Veggies     May 30, 2012

Usually when I want a homemade dairy-free ice cream, I default to a sorbet because I wasn’t sure how to tackle a real ice cream. This seems doable! And it looks so creamy and rich…


Reply to this comment Noelle (@singerinkitchen)     May 30, 2012

Come and make me some ice cream… like now! YUM!


Reply to this comment Lisa Marie     May 31, 2012

@Kiersten @ Oh My Veggies: Wow I haven’t had sorbet in forever! This is pretty doable. I usually keep cans of coconut milk in the fridge anyway so that I can easily whip up things like pudding or mousse. And now ice cream! $1.50 a can beats paying $5-6 for a small carton of ice cream. :)

@Noelle (@singerinkitchen): Be right over! lol :)


Reply to this comment echo s.     June 02, 2012

Quick question: in step 2 for espresso flavor did you mean 6 cups or 6 oz? Asking before I try because the results will be very different.

I have been doing straight chocolate coconut ice cream since using it for the frap. Keep stopping to buy ice cream makers but just don’t have the space.

Did you have any trouble with globby coconut cream bits? I only have a hand mixer and the globules are annoying me so much I’m thinking of heating the cream to mix the ingredients (isn’t dairy ice cream made that way?)


Reply to this comment Lisa Marie     June 02, 2012

@echo s.: OMG! OZ! Definitely OZ! Not cups! Doh! Thanks for catching that!

I never get any globby coconut bits. I use my stand mixer and whip it pretty good. Hah! Whip it good! ;x I know what you mean though. I want to get an ice cream maker too, but I have SO many appliances that are just taking over my kitchen. Now that I’ve ‘expanded’ I might be able to splurge and get one though.


 

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