Cherry Garcia Coconut Milk Ice Cream

Ice cream is one of my favourite things. Whether it be regular ice cream, frozen yogurt or my newest love, coconut milk ice cream. I splurged last May and bought myself an ice cream maker and I haven’t regretted it. I have made many frozen yogurts, custard ice cream recipes, and so many varieties of coconut milk ice cream. I’ve come to like the coconut milk ice cream more than traditional ice cream because it is lighter and more refreshing to eat while still having the perfect creamy consistency as well as just the right amount of sweetness.

I’ve roasted the cherries with coconut sugar and 30ml of ‘The Kraken’ spiced rum, which adds a delicious flavour, however if you are going to be serving this ice cream to children or someone avoiding alcohol, it’s best to omit it altogether from the recipe. In general, about a tablespoon of alcohol added to coconut ice cream helps prevent the ice cream from freezing too hard. Since there is over 3 tablespoons of rum in this recipe, it takes much longer to solidify in the freezer; however, this makes it much easier to scoop when you’re ready to eat it.

The arrowroot powder in coconut ice cream is essential to create a creamy texture.  This can be substituted with corn starch, however arrowroot powder can be found in the baking isle of most larger supermarkets. I use either honey or maple syrup to sweeten the ice cream, but if you want to make it vegan make sure to use maple syrup.

The chocolate chips I used are from and made by local Sheffield independent Chocolate shop and Cafe Cocoa Wonderland. I used their ‘Cute as a Button’ dark chocolate buttons in this recipe, but can also highly recommend the lemon/lime ones if you’re in the mood for a treat. You can order some of their chocolates online, so go on and indulge!

Written by Corin

Serves: 8

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 5-10 minutes (plus 2-4 hours to cool in fridge, then 3-4 hours in freezer)

Baking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

•  2 cans full fat coconut milk
• 120ml runny honey (substitute maple syrup to make it vegan)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 80ml The Kraken Spiced Black Rum (optional)
• 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder/starch
• Pinch of fine grain sea salt
• 1 tablespoon coconut sugar (can substitute with brown sugar)
• 350g cherries
• 100g dark chocolate, chopped (I used chocolate chips which I chopped slightly before adding)

Equipment

• Copper tri-ply 20cm saucepan
• Whisk 
• Small bowl
• Ladle
• Chefs Knife
• Fork
• Chopping board
• Oven proof roasting tray or dish
• Ice cream maker (don’t forget to put the bowl in the freezer, following the manufacturers instructions before use)
• Spoon
• Spatula
• Cherry pitter (optional)

Cooking Method

1. Add the coconut milk, honey, vanilla, and salt to a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer over a medium heat while whisking frequently.
2. While the coconut milk mixture is heating remove a ladle of the warm mixture into a separate bowl and mix in the arrowroot powder. Use a whisk to mix thoroughly so no lumps remain.
3. Once the coconut mixture is simmering, add the arrowroot mixture in the small bowl and mix constantly for 1 minute.
4. Remove from heat and add 50ml of rum. Let the mixture cool slightly, stirring every so often during the process, then transfer to the fridge until very cold (approx 2-4 hours).
5. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 200°C.  Wash the cherries and strain them so they are fairly dry. Place them in an oven proof dish and pour over 30ml of rum and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of coconut sugar on top. Shake the tray slightly to evenly distribute the rum and sugar.
6. Place in the oven for 20 minutes shaking the tray about half way through baking time. Keep an eye on them so that they don’t burn. When they start to shrivel slightly remove them from the oven and let them cool before removing the stems and pips. I did this by hand but you could use a cherry pitter if you have one. Then chop the cherries into quarters using a knife and fork.
7. Before you churn your ice cream put the container you intend to store the ice cream in into the freezer to chill.
8. Once the mixture is very cold, whisk it briefly then transfer it to your chilled ice cream maker bowl and freeze/churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Add the roasted cherries and dark chocolate in the last 5 minutes of freezing until thoroughly combined.
9. Transfer the ice cream into your chilled container and place in the freezer for a couple of hours before serving.