Vegan Coconut Milk Ice Cream

One of the nice things about being gluten-free is that you always have a stock of xanthan gum on hand for things like this.

1½ - 1¾ cups coconut milk
½ cup soy or nut milk
½ cup cane sugar
½ tsp xanthan gum
pinch of salt
flavoring (see below)

We just picked up a quart capacity ice cream maker - which is really something I should've picked up years ago - and this recipe is by far the favorite. I have a nice all-steel blender and make the recipe from start to finish in there, though a blender isn't necessary if you're using store-bought coconut milk and have a whisk on hand.

I made the coconut milk from scratch, taking 2 cups boiling water and steeping 1 cup dried unsweetened coconut along with the sugar for around ten minutes, then blending for around 30 seconds (hot liquids can sometimes leak out the top when blended, so begin by pulsing, then giving it a full blend). Strain out the solid coconut from the mixture and return to the blender, adding the soy milk and salt, then sprinkling the xanthan gum on the top of the mixture. Blend until the xanthan gum is incorporated - the mixture should look noticeably thicker at this point.

If using store-bought coconut milk, combine the coconut milk over low heat and whisk in the sugar until incorporated. Remove from the heat, add the soy or nut milk, and whisk the xanthan gum into a small portion of the mixture, then add this back into the rest of the mix.

Add flavoring to the mixture, then chill in the refrigerator until cold.

A half hour before using, add the mixture to the freezer - you want the mix to be as cold as possible before adding it to the ice cream maker, but without letting it start to freeze, so keep an eye on it. It helps to take the mix out after 15 minutes, blend or stir briefly, then return to the freezer for the other 15. Add the mix to your ice cream maker and process according to directions.

For flavoring, any mix of extracts or fresh fruit will work. I'm pretty partial to 1 tsp vanilla extract and ½ tsp almond extract, with 1/3 cup chopped almonds mixed in after the mixture has started to freeze, or 1 tsp peppermint extract and ½ tsp vanilla extract, with chocolate flakes mixed in (pictured above).