Coconut ice cream

Coconut cream ice cream is a bit more complex to make, and comes out icier rather creamy. I found this recipe at Wilderness Family Naturals It comes from Coconut Lovers Cookbook, by Dr. Bruce Fife, which contains over 180 great healthy recipes using coconut products. If you want to use a 400ml can, use the quantities in [ ].

• 2 x 250 ml/1 cup boxes of coconut cream [400ml can]
• 2 1/2 Tbs natural sugar (or 4 tsp natural sugar and a dash or two of stevia) [2 Tbs]
• Dash of salt [pinch]
• 1 egg [1 egg]
• 1 tablespoon vanilla [2 tsp]

Combine the coconut cream, sweetener, and salt in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the mixture almost boils. Reduce heat to low. In a bowl beat egg. Gradually stir about 1/2 cup of the coconut cream mixture into the beaten egg. Slowly stir this off mixture into the remaining hot coconut mixture. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until slightly thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Remove from heat and let cool. Use an ice cream maker to cool and create a nice creamy ice cream.

If you don’t own an ice cream maker then pour this into a container to freeze. Ice cube trays work very nicely. When the mixture is almost totally solid (but not too hard) place it in a blender and blend on high. If the cubes are too hard it will not blend. If this happens just let it sit out for a few minutes until it begins to melt. Once you have blended the almost frozen coconut mixture you may return it to the freezer and freeze. This blending helps to create fine ice crystals so you will have the texture of commercial ice cream.

Variations:

• Snow freeze: After the last blending, serve straight away as soft serve ice cream
• Coconut Pineapple Ice Cream: Add 1 1/4 cup pineapple juice and 1/3 cup toasted coconut
• Strawberry Ice Cream: Add 1 1/2 to 2 cups of strawberries