Chocolate Cherry Coconut Milk Ice Ice Cream
Image: The container bin of an ice cream maker filled with chocolate and cherry flavored coconut milk ice cream.
Description: The combination of chocolate, cherries, and coconut milk makes for a delicious ice cream flavor to enjoy during the summer heat!
Yield: recipe makes 6 – 8 servings
Ingredients:
2 - 13.5 oz. cans of full fat coconut milk
2/3 cup light brown sugar (or sweetener of choice)
1/4 teaspoons salt
3 Tablespoons pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen dark red cherries, pitted
Equipment:
Ice cream maker
Blender or mixing bowl
Instructions:
Add all ingredients (except cherries) to a high-powered blender and blend until combined. Taste the mixture and adjust sweetness. Once the ice cream base tastes according to your preference, add in the cherries and pulse a few times on low speed, just enough to break the cherries down into chunks.
Transfer the mixture to your ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer’s directions for your specific machine.
Once it reaches your desired consistency, you can either eat the ice cream straight from the machine or remove to a container and freeze a few hours for a firmer texture.
Homemade ice cream is best enjoyed as soft serve right from the machine on the day it is made, however you can keep it frozen for up to a few weeks and thaw for 30-45 minutes before eating.
Notes:
Be sure to use either full-fat canned unsweetened coconut milk, or coconut cream (which has even higher fat content that canned coconut milk). Do not use lite coconut milk or any pre-mixed, thinner, refrigerated coconut milk beverage as these do not have enough fat content to create the smooth ice cream texture you expect from ice cream. You need the high-fat content for this recipe for the smoothest texture and best flavor. I have used Native Forest Classic Coconut Milk and 365 Brand Coconut Milk with great success.
I use this Cuisinart Ice Cream maker from Amazon that I purchased back in 2022 to make ice cream. As of this writing, it looks like this particular model is no longer offered, but any cheap ice cream maker on Amazon will work just fine.
I have only tried making ice cream using an ice cream maker. I have not tried any other alternative methods of ice cream making. If you have tried alternate methods, please leave a comment about which method you used and how that worked for you.