Best coconut milk ice cream Recipes

When we moved into our new little house, I got to open up a bunch of wedding presents that I had stored away. Finally taking them all out and opening them up was better than Christmas! I had so many kitchen gadgets I had completely forgotten about.

I took over our only linen closet in the house, and converted it into a kitchen gadgets closet. Who needs a closet full of sheets when you can have your very own goody closet full of everything a cooks dreams are made of? Every shelf is full of stainless steel kitchen appliance that I just adore. I have the typical stand mixer, food processor and blender, but after moving there were a few more goodies I discovered that I had almost forgotten I had. A bread maker! A hand immersion blender! A fondue set! A vacuum sealer! A big crock pot that came with a mini crock pot! But best of all would have to be an ice cream maker.

Even though we were deep in the unpacking stage, I immediately popped that ice cream bowl into the freezer so I could make us homemade ice cream right away. Let me remind you that it was over 100 degrees the weekend we moved. Nothing sounded better than a huge bowl of ice cold homemade ice cream.

Trader Joe’s has this delicious strawberry coconut milk ice cream that I just love. I knew I wanted to recreate it. Not only is the strawberry coconut milk ice cream delicious, but it is dairy free and almost half the calories of regular ice cream. Coconut milk is a lot friendlier to the waist line than heavy cream. Tasty ice cream without the guilt!

Dare I say it, but my strawberry coconut milk ice cream is even better than Trader Joe’s version! I don’t know if it’s because I get to make it in my very own pretty Cuisinart ice cream maker (which I LOVE!), or if it’s because I am able to use the most beautiful, fresh strawberries, but this strawberry coconut milk ice cream is amazing. It is bursting with strawberry flavor, with the slightest hint of coconut. I can’t get enough coconut these days, so I love to top this with some roasted coconut chips. Gives the ice cream a great little crunch.

Author: Tastes Lovely

Serves: 6 people

Ingredients

• 2 cans (13.5 oz each) full fat coconut milk
• 1 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
• 6 egg yolks
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 pound of strawberries, hulled
• Toasted coconut chips for topping (optional)

Instructions

1. In a medium size sauce pan over medium heat, simmer the coconut milk and 1 cup of sugar until the sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes.
2. While the sugar is dissolving, place your 6 egg yolks in a medium size heat safe bowl. Whisk the egg yolks vigorously for at least 2 minutes until they are light in color. Temper the eggs by taking a ladle full of the warm coconut milk and slowly pouring it into the eggs, whisking constantly. Add in 1 more ladle full, whisk to combine, then add the tempered eggs into the pan of coconut milk. Add in vanilla extract and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes until the mixture has slightly thickened.
3. Strain your ice cream base thru a fine mesh strainer into a medium size bowl, discard of any hunks. Cool the ice cream base in a double bowl ice bath, or place it in the refrigerator until it has completely cooled.
4. In a blender, puree the hulled strawberries and 1 tablespoon sugar until liquified. Set aside.
5. Cook your ice cream base according to your ice cream makers instructions. In the last 20 minutes, pour in the pureed strawberries. Transfer the ice cream to a freezer safe container and freeze for at least 4 hours until it is firm. Top with toasted coconut chips when serving if desired.

Notes

-Don't use low-fat or "lite" coconut milk, your ice cream will not freeze well and will be "icey". Full fat works best.