Coconut Milk Vanilla Ice Cream- Dairy Free

Today I made some coconut milk vanilla ice cream. A few weeks ago I purchased a coconut because the boys were really interested in getting one. The have seen them in shows that they watch and were curious about them. They were very excited to shake it and hear the coconut milk sloshing around inside. Both Calvin and Hobbs were eager to try coconut milk. Jim has been getting coconut ice cream because it seems to bother him less than rice or soy ice creams. Plus he really likes coconut. When I purchased they coconut, I also picked up a can of coconut milk just in case they really liked it. Of course what comes out of a coconut isn’t like what comes out of the cans. The “milk” inside the coconut isn’t white and it has a much stronger flavor. I thought I would try my hand at coconut ice cream. I did some searching for recipes on line and found quite a few but most of them still use heavy cream. From a previous experiment I found that Xanthan Gum makes rice milk really thick. So for this recipe I used rice milk instead of heavy cream. I also added some Xanthan Gum to make up for the thinness of the rice milk and so that I could “whip” it up a bit.

I am pleased with my results. This is a smooth and creamy ice cream with plenty of coconut flavor. For added coconut flavor replace 1/4 cup of the canned coconut with fresh coconut milk or add coconut extract.

Serves 6 or more About 1 quart.

Ingredients:

1/3 cups sugar add more if you want to make it sweeter

2 cups rice milk

1-1/2 to 2 tsp Xanthan Gum

2 cups thick dairy free coconut milk

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 vanilla bean scrapped

1. You will need to have a container ready to freeze the ice cream in. Set aside

2. Measure 2 cups of coconut milk and set aside. Whisk out any lumps.

3. In a blender, blend rice milk and xanthan gum until thick and smooth. About 1 minute. Mixture will be a bit gelatinous looking.

4. Transfer the milk mixture into a large bowl.

5. Fold in coconut milk into rice milk mixture to combine.

6. Add vanilla extract and 1/2 of a vanilla been scrapings. Stir to combine.

7. Pour the ice cream mixture into an ice cream maker or into the container you plan to store it in.

If you don’t have an ice cream maker you can put the mixture in the freezer and give it a stir every once in a while. Another fun way to freeze ice cream is to use two cans with plastic lids. You will need one can to fit inside the other with room for ice, salt and a little bit of water. Put the ice cream in the smaller can and close the lid tightly. If there is room put a layer of ice in the bottom of the larger can. Add a bit of rock salt. Place the ice cream can inside the larger can and pack with ice all around. Add rock salt as you pack in the ice. Now put a bit of water around the ice (not much just enough to wet some of the cubes). Place a lid on the large can. Now roll or shake the can around till your ice cream is frozen.