Ah!! Summers are here and well, they make me gloomy! Not if, of course, I am having ice-cream after my meals every now and then. Being a little screwy in the head, I always tend to feel the brightest in monsoon and the worst in summers. Well, but ice creams always give us all the kick that we need when we go mad with the scorching heat, right?
I don’t have any allergy to any food and I can certainly eat all kind of food including gluten. But when it came to making this particular ice cream, I thought why not go dairy free and make something which is really healthy. So I opted for coconut cream instead of heavy dairy cream or double cream (Amul cream included). Coconut cream is really low in fat as compared to heavy cream or double cream and is also a great option for people who prefer dairy-free ice creams.
In India, it’s difficult to find a full-fat coconut cream which is best for such a recipe but just get whichever coconut cream you are getting here. It needs to be kept refrigerated for at least a day before we start using it. (the longer the better actually)
Let me tell you, there’s a surprise ingredient here and that is condensed milk that I made from coconut milk for this recipe. You can simply store this condensed milk in the fridge and keep using it whenever you are making ice creams.
Do note – this recipe has custard powder added to it. You can use corn flour also, that will help retain the color of the ice cream. But I used custard powder because it is easily available in our kitchens and serves the same purpose as corn flour. You are free to use any – just make sure it’s vanilla flavor custard powder. The addition of this tends to make the ice cream thicker and more creamy.
Also, keep in mind this kind of homemade ice cream should not be frozen for more than 12 hours. It’s the ideal best to freeze it for 12 hours, after that the ice cream tends to form ice crystals and becomes too hard to come along in the form of full lovely scoops. This is the trick to enjoy a homemade ice cream which looks and tastes just like a market bought ice-cream. Longer hours in the freezer will tend to spoil all your effort.
Also, make sure you keep your mixing bowl and beater in the freezer for at least a few hours (minimum 3-4 hours) before you start making the ice cream.
Just feel free to add any flavors, or fruit purees here as per your taste, of course, there are more flavors coming here on the blog. Let me know how you like this ice cream made of coconut cream…I will definitely keep posting more of such gorgeous ice creams for you all……let’s make summers bright and gay every day with such heavenly desserts!
RECIPE:
This ice cream…, it’s silky smooth and so delicious. The creamy, dreamy decadence here will simply have you hooked to this dairy-free and no churn ice cream within minutes.
Ingredients:
2 cans coconut cream
Zest of 1 Orange (you can take more also)
2 tbsp Orange juice
2-3 tbsp Condensed milk (use it as per your taste)
3 crushed digestive biscuits
2 tbsp vanilla custard powder
How to make Condensed Milk?
Ingredients:
2 can coconut milk (400 ml)
⅔ cups to 1 cup white sugar
Method:
- Add the coconut milk and sugar into a heavy bottomed saucepan
- Heat it on a low heat until the sugar has dissolved
- Once all of the sugar has dissolved bring the mix to a simmer over low/medium heat. Do not stir once the mix starts to simmer otherwise it can crack and crystallize.
- Gently simmer until the milk has darkened to an almost grey color and has reduced by half and thickened.
- When ready, remove from the heat and pour into a jar to cool.
- Let the condensed milk cool completely before putting on the air tight lid.
- Store in a jar in the fridge and it will last for months.
ICE CREAM RECIPE:
Method:
- Chill 2 cans of coconut cream in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours.
- When you open the 2 cans of chilled coconut cream, the thickened cream should have risen to the top with the liquid at the bottom. Carefully scoop the cream into a mixing bowl. (Reserve the coconut water that has separated from the cream to use in a smoothie). Even if the cream hasn’t separated, there’s no need to panic. Just use the entire coconut cream mixture from the can.
- With an electric beater or a stand mixer, whip up the coconut cream on high speed for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the condensed coconut milk and whip on high speed for another 2-3 minutes.
- Now take about 3/4th cup of the mixture and add custard powder to it and mix well. Add the rest of the mixture to a pan and heat it on medium heat. When it just comes to the first boil, add the custard mix and stir it well. Keep stirring it continuously or else it will form lumps. When you see the first boil again here (it will have thickened by now), take the pan off the heat.
- Let it cool down a bit and add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
- Transfer to a lidded container and cover with a foil before you place the lid on the top. Now use another foil to cover the entire container as well (this helps to minimize formation of ice crystals). Freeze for 12 hours. Just give it a few minutes at room temperature to make it easier to scoop.