Coconut Ice Cream
Vegan ice cream turns icy when there is too little fat — fat is what stops water gathering into crystals. So the coconut milk has to be the richest kind, from a tin rather than a carton. A spoon of cornflour does what yolks do in a classic custard: thickens the base and holds the texture.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 10 min
- Rest
- 8 h
- Total
- 8 h 25 min
- Servings
- 6
- Level
- Easy
- Per serving
- 290 kcal
Ingredients
Makes: about 800 ml, 6 portions
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
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Step 1: Slake the cornflour
Stir it smoothly into 100 ml of cold coconut milk. It never goes into hot liquid dry — that is how lumps form.
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Step 2: Heat the base
Bring the rest of the milk to just below a boil with the sugar and salt, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
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Step 3: Thicken it
Pour in the cornflour mixture and cook 2 minutes, stirring, until the base thickens to a pouring cream that coats a spoon.
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Step 4: Chill completely
Add the vanilla, press film onto the surface and chill at least 4 hours, ideally overnight. A warm base churns straight into crystals.
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Step 5: Churn
Twenty-five minutes in a machine, or freeze in a container beating with a fork every 40 minutes, four times.
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Step 6: Firm up and serve
Freeze 4 hours. Serve with toasted coconut flakes, which add the crunch the base itself does not have.
Tips & variations
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Tip
Tinned coconut milk often separates into thick cream and watery liquid. Warm the tin in hot water and shake it, and it comes back together.
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Tip
Carton "coconut drink" is water with a little coconut in it — around 2% fat — and is no use here at all.
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Variation
With 200 g of mango purée it becomes the classic Thai pairing. With lime and mint it turns refreshing rather than sweet.
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Storage
Two weeks in the freezer under film. Coconut ice cream sets harder than dairy — give it 10 minutes at room temperature.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 6 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 290 kcal | 1,740 kcal |
| Protein | 2 g | 12 g |
| Fat | 22 g | 132 g |
| Carbohydrates | 22 g | 132 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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