Salted Caramel Ice Cream (Coconut and almond milk, custard base)

Every couple of months, I obsess over a new type of food. I read everything there is to know about it, watch videos and try several recipes until I finally find something that works. Then I move on. Last year, it was dumplings, yogourt and pasta. Obsession for 2014?

Dairy-free ice cream.

Over the years, I’ve tried several “no machine” recipes. Quite frankly, they sucked. I have long wrestled with the idea of buying yet ANOTHER kitchen appliance. I finally broke down and bought this very basic Cuisinart ice cream maker. It is well worth it.

The coconut flavour is completely hidden and you can't tell that this ice cream is dairy-free. It has an amazingly smooth and creamy texture (sorry vegans, it has eggs) and will satisfy your salty-sweet cravings. You may even be motivated to eat this ice cream when it is -25 degrees (we were!).

I am not suggesting this recipe is particularly healthy, but it IS dairy and refined sugar-free. I am hoping to find an egg-free recipe that is just as creamy, but so far, nothing comes close to this one.

Thanks to Cuisinart and Chef Chloe for the inspiration.

For more info on ice cream basics, check out:

• http://icecreamclub.tumblr.com/making-awesome-ice-cream
• http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2007/07/making-ice-crea-1/ (no machine)
• http://vegnews.com/articles/page.do?pageId=4773&catId=2

 

Ingredients 

Ice cream

• 1 can coconut milk (14 oz)
• 1 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1 - 2 ts vanilla
• 3/4 - 1 cup coconut sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)
• 5-6 organic egg yolks (mine are quite small- I use 6)
• Pinch of sea salt
• Few drops of almond extract (optional)

 
Salted Caramel Sauce 

• 3 TB Earth Balance butter
• 2 TB maple syrup
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar 
• 2 TB almond milk

Instructions 

1.   In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the milk and HALF of the coconut sugar (1/2 cup or less) for a few minutes on medium heat. Keep stirring. Add the vanilla and salt. Once it begins to boil, remove from heat.

2.   With an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks and half the sugar (1/2 cup or less) on low speed until it becomes nice and thick. Make sure to use a bowl big enough to hold the milk mixture too.

3.  Slowly begin adding the milk a little at a time to the egg mixture. Keep stirring with a whisk. You do not want to boil the eggs!

4.   Return the whole mixture to the saucepan on low heat until it coats the back of a wooden spoon. Again, make sure you do not boil the mixture.

5.   Strain the mixture with a fine mesh strainer into a bowl.

6.   Let the mixture cool down a bit on the counter, cover and place in the refrigerator overnight. Many recipes tell you to cool the ice cream mixture in an ice bath but I haven't done it. What IS critical however, is letting the mixture cool overnight. Don’t be overzealous (like me). It won’t come out nearly as well. 

7.   The ice cream base is tasty on its own. If you want to skip the extra salt and sugar, skip the sauce. If not...

8.   In a saucepan, melt the butter on low-medium heat.

9.   Add the milk, sugar and maple syrup. Stir constantly for a few minutes, until it begins to bubble. Add salt, to taste. My "butter" is salted already.

10. Remove from heat and place in a glass container. Cover and refrigerate overnight. It will thicken. 

11. Remove ice cream mixture from the refrigerator and follow your ice cream  maker’s instructions (15-20 minutes for mine).    

12. At this point, the texture is like soft ice cream. You can add your "mix-ins" to the machine at the end of the cycle but your caramel (or chocolate, cookie dough etc) will either melt in or settle at the bottom. Instead, you want to layer the ice cream as you put it into your glass bowl - add a few scoops of ice cream then drizzle some caramel, add more ice cream and repeat. For even better results, let the ice cream freeze for 2 hours before mixing in your caramel.

13. Freeze ice cream for 6-8 hours, depending on your preferred texture. Take it out of the freezer about 15 minutes before serving. 

It keeps for about a week in the freezer, but it's not likely to last that long.


NOTE ABOUT USING RAW EGGS:
If you are worried about the possibility of salmonella bacteria in the raw eggs, here are some things to consider:

• Free-range, organic eggs will reduce your risk of salmonella contamination, but there is no guarantee your eggs will be free from bacteria.


• You can kill salmonella by heating the egg mixture to 160 F (use a thermometer). It's not clear to me how long it needs to remain at that temperature but one source says the bacteria will be killed instantly. 


• Try to find pasteurized eggs. Apparently, you can find these at some grocery stores. 


• Salmonella bacteria will not be killed in the freezer.


• If you are very concerned, find an eggless alternative.

ICE CREAM CAKE OPTION

If you want to make an ice cream cake, remove ice cream from the machine and place it in a Springform pan (instead of glass bowl). Let it harden in the freezer for about an hour. With a rubber spatula, spread the salted caramel sauce all over the top. Freeze overnight. Crush some gluten-free graham crackers and mix them up with melted Earth Balance butter and sweetener of choice. Spread the crunchy topping onto the ice cream cake and freeze until ready to serve. We made this for my daughter’s third birthday party as a special treat and it was one of the best ice cream cakes I have ever eaten!