dairy-free chocolate ice cream
 

I just made this. Pretty simple. I used a small ice-cream maker
of the type where you put a jacketed container in the freezer for
a few hours, then take it out and churn your mixture for about 20
minutes using an electric churn that clips on to it. (Ours is a
Magimix type DV model 11047, if that helps). I presume the jacket
is filled with something like calcium chloride or sodium sulfate
solution.

You need:

- 1 400ml tin of coconut milk (I used the Blue Dragon brand)
- 1 dessertspoon of cocoa
- 1 dessertspoon of sugar
- 1 dessertspoon of creamed coconut, the solid stuff as sold in Asian
food markets for curries (the idea was to make the ice cream more
solid and less sorbet-like than coconut milk alone would have done).

Put all that in a saucepan. Heat it. Once it's melted the creamed
coconut, blend it till it froths (I used a small hand blender) - the
point of this is to eliminate any grittiness from the creamed coconut.
Bring it to the boil, stirring to stop it burning on the sides of the
saucepan. Leave to cool for a few hours. Add to the ice cream maker,
churn it till it's as aerated and solid enough as ice cream ought to
be, and serve immediately (two large portions).

I doubt if many people could tell the difference between that and
a high-quality ice cream made with cream out of cow glands. No need
for stabilizers, emulsifiers or other wonders of modern chemistry.

You might not need both forms of coconut - it would be a lot cheaper
if you just used creamed coconut. I'll experiment, but meanwhile
this one works. I've also got no idea how well it would keep in the
freezer - it might go too hard, but if you're making your own you'll
probably eat it straight away.

Those ice cream makers are very handy if you want dairy-free or
other-allergen-free ice cream - blended bananas make a good base
too (add ginger, dried fruit, citrus peel...)

==== j a c k at c a m p i n . m e . u k === <http://www.campin.me.uk> ====
Jack Campin, 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland == mob 07800 739 557
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