Coconut Milk Vegan Ice Cream

Not only have I been on the search for the best brownie, I've also been on the search for the best non-dairy ice creams.  Basically, I'm on the search for the best everything when it comes to food!  When experimenting with raw food, you may remember by fascination with and love for young Thai coconuts.  Well, I still think they're great, but living in a small town, I don't have easy access to a Whole Foods all the time.  Since weening off the raw wagon, I'm still looking for vegan ice creams to try that are not necessarily raw.  

I've seen some recipes using tofu (haven't tried, yet), cashews (tried and decent), coconut milk, and soy milk/creamer.  Honestly, I bet the soy milk/creamer versions are the best at mocking real dairy ice cream, but my gut tells me soy creamer just can't be that healthy for you.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE that stuff, but it does seem real "fake" to me.  With all the negative literature that's been going on around soy, I figured I'd try to stay a little clear from it...especially with as much ice cream as I eat (no lie)!  I am anxious to try this non-soy "MimicCreme" product in the future, also, and will definitely keep you guys posted on that.  Back to the punch, here, I decided to give the canned coconut milk version a try, and so far it's my favorite, and easiest, of all the non-dairy ice cream recipes I've tried.  Non-vegan Steven even thinks it's great.  Give it a try; you won't be disappointed! 

Ingredients:

-  2 cans (14oz) coconut milk (not the light versions)
-  1 cup sugar
-  1/4 tsp. salt
-  1 vanilla bean (optional, but wonderful)
-  1 tsp. vanilla extract
-  1.5 Tbs - 2 Tbs. rum (vodka would work, too)

(as you can see, HEB did not have the Thai kitchen brand this time, but this brand instead...)

Directions:

Shake the cans of coconut milk before opening with can opener; it is common for it to be separated.  Basically, you just throw all the ingredients in a large bowl, and whisk to combine and break up those vanilla bean seeds.  Look here for how to open and scrape the seeds out of a vanilla bean.  If not using a vanilla bean, increase the vanilla extract to 1 Tbs.  

*The rum is not used as a flavor ingredient, necessarily; it's actually used to help cease the freezing process just a bit so the ice cream does not freeze rock hard.  I chose to use rum in this recipe (over the vodka) because rum and vanilla do go so well together, and the subtle taste from the rum would be pleasant.  Play around with the alcohol measurement; you may want to reduce it to 1 Tbs. if you feel the flavor is not for you.  Another way to help keep the ice cream soft is to use Agar Powder by heating the liquid ice cream mixture on the store with about 1 tsp agar until it slightly thickens.

VERY IMPORTANT:  Place mixture overnight, or for a few hours, in the fridge until it is completely cool.  You're ice cream maker will not cooperate with you well if you skip this step.

As you can see here, when you scrape a vanilla bean you can end up with some of the vanilla bean wall in your mixture.  You can leave these bit in your ice cream as it will not change the flavor, but for a pretty ice cream, I would advise you pour it through a strainer, as I did here.

Once your mixture has cooled completley, run it through your ice cream maker and make some ice cream...duh!

Mmmmmm, yummy ice cream!  Mission accomplished.  I store my ice cream in some GladWare, and keep in the freezer.  Try one of those vegan brownies topped with coconut milk ice cream...heaven!  This recipe can also be used as a base vanilla recipe for whatever your little ice cream lovin' heart desires.  Add mashed bananas, strawberries, flake coconut, nuts, cookie pieces, brownie pieces, whatever!  Add cocoa powder for chocolate, espresso powder for coffee, and the list goes on.  Get creative!

Lick the bowl,

CC Bloom