Coconut Ice Cream
I gave up dairy ice cream years ago, the minute I ate it, I would feel a coating in my throat and a kind of itchy feeling. My instincts told me this was not good! Coconut Ice-cream doesn’t pretend to be like the dairy deal, in fact, I think it’s better. It’s higher in fat but all good fats your body can use. I find it very satisfying so you don’t need to eat as much as you might of a dairy based one.
If you’re buying coconut icecream in the store, it’s been pasteurised (not raw). This one is made from fresh coconuts. I use an icecream maker and I find this works best, but you can look at other methods such as freezing the mixture, then re blending it 3 or 4 times.
Ingredients:
Flesh of one young coconut* or two if you’re keen
1 cup cashews* (these can be soaked for a couple of hours prior)
½ cup coconut nectar
1 cup coconut water
¾ teaspoon vanilla powder
½ cup coconut butter*(melted slowly)
pinch of salt
Method:
Place all ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth.
Place into an ice-cream maker and churn till firm (less than an hour more like half), you can eat it now but it will be more like soft serve. Pop it in the freezer for a few hours to create really good scoopable ice-cream. The higher fat content coats the air cells making it less prone to heat shock (going icy).
Add any toppings you like!
Makes around 1 litre of ice-cream.
*Notes:
- Please, don’t be afraid of coconuts! And PLEASE don’t attack your coconut with a machete! You can prize open a coconut completely non violently if you learn this trick. Check here for my friend Omid demonstrating how you do it (plus a great vid about coconut yoghurt) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHOmfDaWUic
- it’s really really worth using fresh coconuts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- If you REALLY want to take the easy route, you could use organic un homegenised coconut cream- this is not raw, but as it’s not homogenised it’s easier to measure out the flesh from the water. Most organic brands are unhomogenised without necessarily saying so on the label.
- The main function of the cashews is to give additional body and creaminess, you can try without if you prefer to be nut free. I’d reduce your sweetener a little in that case, as you’ll make less icecream
- Coconut butter is NOT coconut oil, it is the whole flesh pureed. This is the raw one I use. I buy it from iherb but you could take the brand to your local retailer and see if they can source it. http://www.artisanafoods.com/coconut/coconut-butter/
- You can really add as much coconut as you like (one or two) and then adjust the coconut nectar accordingly. It’s really very easy to adapt to your taste!
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