Coconut ice cream
Soft serve delicious ice cream
Coconut is fatty enough to carry this ice cream all by itself — no heavy cream or milk needed. That said, there are plenty of ways to make it. You can go the lactose-free route and stick only to coconut, or you can mix in a bit of dairy for extra texture and flavor.
You can also go vegan pretty easily by making a coconut sorbet and leaving out the eggs. Just keep in mind that the vegan version doesn't freeze all that great, so it's better consumed on the spot — and that's the only way I'd recommend going vegan with this one.
Coconut ice cream making tips.
- Infusing vanilla is a must for this version — it adds so much flavor, don't skip it.
- Use only a full-fat coconut milk. Don't bother with light coconut water or coconut beverages.
- Cooking the cream and coconut milk together with the sugar helps reduce water particles in the ice cream, which creates a soft-serve ice cream that unfreezes easily.
I use an ice bath to chill the ice cream. It's not always necessary, especially when you let it rest for a minimum of 4 hours in the fridge before churning. The point of the ice bath is to bring the temperature down fast to prevent bacteria from forming, which gives you a much more resistant batch of ice cream.Method
- 1
boiling the mixture· 10 minutes
Pour the heavy cream, coconut milk, sugar and salt into a small saucepan, scrape in the vanilla pod (or vanilla extract) and bring into a gentle simmer. Once close to boiling point reduce heat to low and cook for another 5 minutes.
- 2
tempering the eggs· 10 minutes
Gently pour half of the milk-coconut mixture into the egg yolks bowl and whisk gently, we want to temper the eggs to avoid the eggs being cooked. pour the egg-milk mix into the saucepan with the remaining milk and cook the custard on low heat for another few minutes while mixing it constantly until the mass is starting to show resistance and becomes thicker.
- 3
Straining the custard· 3 minutes
Prepare the ice bath, place a big bowl with ice cubes and water and a smaller bowl in it, above the empty bowl place a strainer. Pour the custard into the strainer and mash gently to help it drip into the empty bowl. Add the coconut flakes, cover and place into the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- 4
churning the ice cream
Pour the custard into your ice cream maker and churn for about 40 minutes, for a soft serve texture. Place into the fridge for stabilization for 2 hrs. and serve.
Jaron Kimhi
Jaron Kimhi — self-taught home cook from Tel Aviv, writing and cooking every recipe on this site himself. 20+ years of tinkering in the kitchen, leaning toward slow cooking, classic technique, and honest ingredients.
More recipes by Jaron →
