RECIPE: Low carb, dairy-free ice cream

One of my forum buddies (Tesser W.) has been forwarding dairy-free recipes to me since I gave up on the moo juice. She knows how much I love cheese, ice cream, yogurt, etc... Too bad it doesn't love me! When she sent me a recipe for non-dairy ice cream I was intrigued. I had tried coconut milk ice cream before at my friend Abi's (of fat bomb fame) and it was pretty good. Too bad neither of us remembered to bookmark the recipe and we couldn't seem to find where we had got it from. Tesser's email got me excited about trying coconut milk ice cream once again.

After trying a few recipes I came up with a version that works best for my taste buds and my Donvier Ice Cream Maker. For the original recipe inspirations, check here and here. My recipe is heavy on the egg yolk since I have a flock of egg layers in the back yard. I am also going to be very specific about what kind of coconut milk to use. There is a reason for this. I tried several brands and some will leave your ice cream with a "canned" aftertaste. You could make your own coconut milk, but my success rate at making it from scratch is not good enough for me to recommend that yet. If you are already making your own tasty coconut milk, feel free to use that instead. Now to the recipe...

Wifezilla's Low Carb Dairy-Free Ice Cream
(Ice cream maker required)

Prep

• At least 2 days before making your ice cream, place the freezer insert for your ice cream maker in the freezer. I use a Donvier. Many Cuisinart ice cream makers also use a freezer insert. If you are using an electric ice cream maker or rock salt and ice style machine, follow the manufacturer's recommendations.

Ingredients

• 1 can of Thai Kitchen full fat Premium Coconut milk or equivalent (should say first pressing. Also look for organic if you can get it. DO NOT GET STINGY WITH THE COCONUT MILK! Cheap coconut milk like Golden Star will leave an unpleasant aftertaste.)
• 4 egg yolks 
• 3 tsp real vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup erythritol (or other sweetener of choice)
• Add ins like dark chocolate chips, unsweetened coconut flakes, etc...

In a microwave safe bowl, heat the coconut milk until all the fat and liquid are soft and easy to blend. Whisk in the erythritol and stir until dissolved. In a separate bowl, whip together egg yolks. Add a tbsp or so of the warm coconut milk mixture and stir. Continue to slowly add the the warm coconut milk to the eggs while stirring. This will temper the eggs without cooking them. If you just dump the eggs in to the warm coconut milk, you will get coconut flavored scrambled eggs and that is not what we are going for!

Once coconut milk and eggs are fully blended, place mixture in the refrigerator to chill. When the coconut milk/egg mix is cold, pour in to your ice cream maker and follow manufacturer directions. As for the tasty add-ins, include those at about the half-way point. I like to let the ice cream start to set before I add the chocolate chips or coconut flakes so I can get a better idea of how much to add without over doing it.

Serve immediately. Texture will be slightly soft. You can place in the freezer to firm up some more, but this isn't a recipe that will keep well overnight. Unless you add some kind of alcohol, it will just freeze as hard as a rock. As I experiment with adding rum, vodka, etc... to keep it from freezing solid, I will report back. This could be a very entertaining summer!