I’m always looking for new flavors and ingredients when making ice cream, and using coconut milk instead of my typical cream/milk base always intrigued me. It wasn’t until in Mexico when I had the creamiest coconut ice cream, and found out from the chef he used coconut milk. This ice cream isn’t meant to be made with “light” ingredients, it’s creaminess comes from full fat coconut milk, a bit of rum, and pure Aztec vanilla extract brought from Mexico I couldn’t wait to use. I still had a bag of shredded coconut lying around from this cream, so I toasted it up and even added a bit into the base while it cooled in the refrigerator for a deeper flavor. You could say this ice cream is overloaded with coconut flavor, and plenty of toasted flecks and macadamia nuts in every bite.
Vegan Toasted Coconut and Macadamia Nut Ice Cream
Ingredients {Makes 1 1/2 Quarts}
2 cups – Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
1 cup – Macadamia Nuts {lightly salted}
3 cans {13.5 oz each} – Full Fat Coconut Milk
3/4 cup – Granulated Sugar
3 teaspoons – Vanilla Extract
3 teaspoons – Spiced Rum
Recipe {Inspired by this}
Toast coconut until it just begins turning dark golden brown, stirring halfway {about 6 minutes} and set aside.Combine two cans of the coconut milk with sugar into a medium saucepan over medium-high, stirring until warm and sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining can of coconut milk, vanilla, rum, and 1/2 cup of the cooled toasted coconut. Cover with plastic, and refrigerator at 2 hours or overnight. Toast macadamia nuts, if not using pre-toasted already, stirring halfway {about 10 minutes}.
Pour the cold ice cream base into your ice cream maker and freeze following your manufacturer’s directions. Stir in 1 cup of toasted coconut, and macadamia nuts, and pour ice cream into a chilled container. Top with remaining toasted coconut and freeze until frozen through {at least 4 hours} or enjoy right away. Let ice cream sit at room temperature for a few minutes before scooping.
