My love of ice cream is really not a secret at all. (Check out a couple of my recent favorites: Vermont Honey and Peanut Butter Brownie Chunk) I’m always making some sort of new ice cream…and why not? Ice cream is incredibly simple to make at home and you can add the exact flavors you prefer. (I would recommend an ice cream maker, though. Sure, you can make ice cream without a maker, but its a lot of work!) So a couple weeks ago, a friend asked if I had ever made homemade ice cream with almond milk. I thought for a moment, and I realized I’d never experimented with almond milk in ice cream. So my mission was clear: create delicious ice cream using almond milk! I had been thinking about making coconut ice cream, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity.
After a bit of playing around with proportions, I found the perfect combination…and this ice cream may be one of my new favorites! I used fresh almond milk and canned coconut milk with a generous amount of roasted almonds and toasted coconut flakes mixed in. This ice cream is amazing! My wife took one bite and deemed it “fancy restaurant quality ice cream.” That’s when I knew I had a good one! So with that, I raise a spoon (loaded with Roasted Almond + Coconut Ice Cream, of course) to my almond milk friend! Cheers!
This ice cream is a custard style treat as it includes cooked egg yolks. While I’ve experimented with all sorts of ice cream, custard style is still my favorite. It has a nice creaminess and doesn’t tend to get icy when stored in the freezer. You’ll note that I used canned coconut milk in this recipe. As I cooked the milk and egg custard, I noticed the mixture was quite thick and chunky. At first, I was afraid I hadn’t tempered the egg mixture properly and created soupy scrambled eggs. But I think the culprit here was the thick consistency of the canned coconut milk. Once you strain the cooked custard through a mesh sieve, you will notice a lot of sediment left behind. This is normal! Just chill the remaining liquid overnight, and you’ll have the most amazing ice cream the next day.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup raw almonds, roasted
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp coconut flakes, toasted
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 4 egg yolks
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Garnish with toasted coconut
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using 2 small baking sheets, spread the raw almonds on one sheet and the coconut flakes on the other. Bake coconut flakes until golden in color and crispy to the touch (~7 min). Bake almonds until nutty in smell and crispy to the bite (~13 min). Coarsely chop almonds. Wrap each in plastic wrap and set aside.
- Combine the almond milk, coconut milk, and sugar in a medium saucepan and stir until combined. Heat over medium-low heat until mixture begins to simmer. Stir occasionally to prevent mixture from scorching.
- While the milk is heating, whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Once milk begins to simmer, gradually pour the hot milk into the egg yolks and whisk to combine. (Note: add the hot milk to the egg yolk mixture very slowly, stirring constantly with a whisk the entire time.)
- Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for about 5-6 minutes, or until a thermometer registers 170-175 degrees.
- Remove from heat and stir in heavy cream and vanilla extract. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean container. (There will be a significant amount of sediment left behind. See note in post.) Cover strained liquid with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic directly onto the surface of the mixture. Refrigerate overnight.
- Add chilled liquid mixture to ice cream maker, and follow manufacturer's instructions.
- Near end of ice cream making cycle, add the chopped, roasted almonds and 1/4 cup of toasted coconut flakes.
- Prior to serving, garnish each bowl with remaining 2 Tbsp toasted coconut flakes.
Notes
Coconut milk is often sold in 15oz cans in the Asian section of the market.
This sounds wonderful! I love coconut and almonds together. Yum!
Thanks, Kate!!
I love making ice cream too, it is so fun to play with different flavors! Hubby gave me a Chopped challenge with ice cream, and my mind is already working, excited to finally make a ice cream recipe for the summer! So happy to stop by, your blog is wonderful. Love your recipe, it looks delicious! Take care, Terra
Thanks so much, Terra! I really appreciate you stopping by. Let me know what ice cream recipe you come up with…I’ll have to try it out!! Cheers!
This sounds incredible David. I’m new to your blog but I’m already impressed by your photography, your innovative recipes and cooking skills (my husband loves cooking steak, grill-man style, but really has little interest in complex cooking tasks. Not that I mind, as I love being in the kitchen!). This ice cream sounds divine. I’ve eaten coconut milk ice cream but never with almond milk. The addition of the coconut flakes and roasted almonds makes it even more special!
Hey Laura! Thank you so much for the kind words….I truly do appreciate it. This ice cream is one of my absolute favorites. I may have included this above, but my wife calls this ice cream “restaurant good.” And sounds like you’ve got the perfect set-up at home with your husband manning the grill and you taking the more complex tasks in the kitchen. Don’t be a stranger, and feel free to let me know your thoughts! Thanks for stopping by!
Oh boy this sounds so yummy, but I gotta click through to see the Vermont honey!
Thanks, Katie! Funny enough, Laura and I were just talking this past weekend about how we need to make another batch of this ice cream. It was really darned good…but so was that Honey Ice Cream, too. There’s just not enough days in the summer for all of the yummy ice creams!!