I have been eating this ice cream après breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Since I don’t drink coffee, it’s kind of like my coffee fix – I know, I’m weird – I live in Seattle and don’t drink coffee. I love coffee – in ice cream!
This ice cream is so decadent – a chocolate lover’s delight. And I add raspberry syrup to the mix for even more sweet decadence. (It’s hard not to be a berry fiend in the Pacific Northwest – has anyone anointed this area the “berry capital of the world” yet?)
The rose is from my garden, which is also teaming with strawberries. I have started a strawberry patch because they are just so happy in my neck of the woods. They’re crawling out of corners I didn’t know had any soil in them. But this is not about strawberries or roses – the rose looked good so I added it to the photo. Too bad you can’t scratch and sniff the photo because the rose has a wonderful scent.
My recommendation is to use chocolate that you really like – if you like chocolate high in cacao content, go for it. Note that I make this two ways – the first way is to wait until the chocolate is thoroughly melted with the coconut milk.
The second way is to melt most of the chocolate – you will see some separation of the solid in the liquid when you stir it. This way yields ice cream with small bits of chocolate throughout that melt in your mouth. And pick a fair trade chocolate if possible.
Decadent Chocolate Coconut Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 cup of water
- 1 cup of honey (or other sweetener)
- 4 ounces bittersweet or dark chocolate, unsweetened
- 2 cups of coconut milk (canned or homemade; I use this brand
)
- 1 tablespoon of rum or Grand Marnier (adds a slight orange flavor)
Preparation
- Make a simple syrup by heating (on medium heat) the water and honey in a medium saucepan until the honey is dissolved.
- Add the chocolate to the syrup and stir until chocolate is completely melted.
- Remove the liquid from heat, and stir in coconut milk and rum.
- Chill the liquid for about 30 minutes, and then freeze it in an ice cream machine.
- Store in a sealed container in the freezer.
My ice cream bowl is waiting patiently in the freezer for just such a recipe. Doesn’t hurt that I’m a chocolate fan, and the coconut milk gives it some intrigue, if you ask me. It sounds (and looks) divine!
I found you on TasteSpotting and am writing to say that if you have any photos that aren’t accepted there, I’d love to publish them. Visit my new site (below), it’s a lot of fun! I hope you will consider it.
Best,
Casey
Editor
http://www.tastestopping.wordpress.com
What a great idea – love the play on the name.
Oh my, this is a must try for me this week. Looks and sounds divine!
Can you make this without an ice cream maker? Do you think it would work by just putting it into a pan and freezing? Thanks!
You don’t need an ice cream maker – it just takes more time to make it without one.
I have made ice cream without an ice cream maker, by using a blender. I blended the liquid for a minute, then put it in the refrigerator (the blender container and all)for 30 minutes, then blended it again, and repeated this process until it was thick enough to freeze.
So, I imagine you can place the pan and it’s contents in the refrigerator, take it out in 30 minutes and mix or blend (use a hand mixer if you have one) the liquid, and repeat until you have the desired consistency.
Hope that helps!
I’m having trouble getting it to thicken up in the ice cream maker. Should I put it in the freezer for a bit?
Melissa, yes. You can leave it in the fridge or freezer to harden it. If it’s lower fat milk it will freeze faster, which of course makes sense. The reason I tell you this is because overnight it can get really hard. Seal it well also.
I make ice cream from time to time and I’m wondering what kind of container you’ve been using to store it in? I know we’ve been hearing that plastic is no good in the freezer and glass isn’t the best idea either. Do you go for aluminum or some other kind of safe container?
Hi again Michelle 🙂
I wondered that too, but the container doesn’t seem to make a difference. Here’s a great blurb I found that explains it well:
Storing and Handling
Store ice cream tightly covered in the freezer at 0ºF. To avoid crystallization and volume loss, scoop ice cream, keeping the surface as level as possible. Cover the surface of ice cream with plastic wrap before reclosing and return to the freezer immediately. For ease in serving, soften ice cream by transferring it to the refrigerator 10 to 20 minutes before serving, or by microwaving* it on HIGH (100%) in the carton for the following amounts of time:
1 pint = 10 to 15 seconds
1 quart = 15 to 25 seconds
1/2 gallon = 30 to 40 seconds
*Since microwave ovens vary, cooking times may differ. Similar to ice cream, sherbet and frozen yogurt should be tightly covered and stored in the freezer at 0ºF.
PS. from this site: http://www.eatwisconsincheese.com/wisconsin/other_dairy/ice_cream.aspx
Thank you for this recipe! I added Peanut Butter Swirls to resemble my favorite store bought one by Coconut Bliss.
I’m a HUGE ice cream fan and have missed it since being on the SCD. I’ve been off of chocolate but decided that an organic unsweetened chocolate bar wouldn’t hurt even though I know Elaine advises otherwise.
I used my Kitchen Aid attachment for this for the first time and had a hard time getting it to freeze. I had to keep putting it back in the freezer for periods and then bring it out and mix it again. Any thoughts as to why that happens? This is my first it making ice cream of any sort, let alone Coco Milk ice cream. Also – have you tried Almond Milk ice cream or made it with SCD yogurt?
Hi Danielle. Not sure why it’s not freezing, considering it should probably freeze easily with the lower fat content of coconut milk. I think if you left it for a few hours, covered, it should freeze. Yes – almond milk makes a very low-fat ice cream. It tastes different than all the others – kind of bland and needs more flavoring than most milks. Definitely add vanilla to it.