A few of you have emailed me asking about the vegan ice cream recipe I have. Tonight I’m giving vegan coconut ice cream a try. (The batter is currently chilling in the freezer.) I have high hopes for it, but who knows how it’ll turn out. Anyway, here’s the recipe I used:
5 cups coconut milk, canned
2 tablespoons agar agar flakes
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon coconut extract
1 cup maple syrup
Method:
1). In saucepan, combine coconut milk, agar flakes and sea salt. Whisk. Bring to simmer and cook slowly until agar is dissolved completely. (20-30 minutes)
2). Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, coconut extract and maple syrup. Whisk. Pour into shallow pan and cool until firm. (I’m using a shallow Pyrex.)
3). Add mixture to ice cream machine and churn until firm.
Please note! I cut the above recipe in half because I didn’t have enough coconut milk. I know with baking, things can go horribly wrong if you cut recipes in half. I’ll let you know how my amendment turns out. I’ll most likely update later assuming I have Internet access. (Time Warner is STILL out over here.)
EDITED TO ADD:
The ice cream turned out wonderfully! It has a great, creamy consistency and scooped nicely. Em and Tobyjoe both ate it up. I put a few chocolate chips on top and voila!
Let me know if you have any questions and/or suggestions.
Michele-
Just some random info that may help batch #2:
Trader Joes always has coconut milk in stock. It’s cheap too.
Coconut milk comes in 3 general grades – first press , regular, and light. First press is basically the juice squeezed out of shredded coconut; light is usually the pulp soaked in some warm water, then squeezed again; regular/unmarked is the two mixed. There’s a huge difference in taste and quality between them. First press is delicious, but often too rich; light is too light. I prefer medium.
I still do the vegan thing every April ( damn Toby for telling me about the mcdougall plan ). Everything in vegan baking relies on copious amounts of Maple syrup, and I just refuse to spend $8 on sweetener for each dish i make—so I looked into ways to approximate the taste and consistency.
What I found was this:
– if you’re baking, you can water down organic molasses and mix with some sugar to sweeten. it’s pretty much a perfect match.
– for stove things like sauces, you can sometimes get away with agave + a bit of molasses. the taste isn’t perfect , but it can come close.
for many stove recipes, and anything uncooked, you can’t really substitute. but if you can… it makes cooking vegan desserts way more affordable.
This looks amazing….now if only I had that ice cream maker attachment for my kitchenaid!
Wow that looks tasty!!! I can’t wait to make some.
@Tara: if you have young kids use the coffe can method. It works and it hilarious to watch. I’ve also found that thrift store have old hand crank ice cream makers every so often.
Looks delicious! I love a good ice cream and your recipe sounds simple yet divine! I can’t wait to try it.