We’ve been craving light food at mealtimes in this run of hot summer weather. We’ve been eating lots of salads and having the odd barbecue too. I always have to finish a meal with something sweet; so this week, instead of baking a cake, I made some cooling and refreshing coconut ice cream.
The recipe I devised couldn’t be quicker or simpler; just 4 ingredients – half a carton of coconut drink, a tin of coconut milk, some caster sugar and drop of vanilla extract. A delicious 100% vegan recipe.
It’s delicious served on it’s own or combined with slices of fresh fruit such as mango or peaches. It’s also great with chocolate sauce. We love to eat it after spicy foods. It’s the perfect dessert to follow a hot curry or chilli-laden stir fry.
If you don’t have Buy Me a Pie! app installed you’ll see the list with ingredients right after downloading it
Instructions
In a 1 litre measuring jug, stir the caster sugar into the coconut drink until dissolved
Stir in the tin of coconut milk
Add the vanilla extract
Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. (Mine takes approximately 25-30 minutes)
Notes
If you use sweetened coconut drink you can lower the amount of sugar that you add. Similarly, if you like your ice cream sweeter, up the sugar added to 100g/3½oz
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H is for Home Harbinger https://hisforhomeblog.com/
We’re enjoying a lovely spell of dry, warm weather here in West Yorkshire – we hope you are too (if you like that sort of thing, of course!). So, what could be more perfect for this week’s Cakes & Bakes post than some fabulous home-made ice-cream?
Justin’s favourite flavour is coffee, so he’s getting that as a treat whilst he nurses his sore back for a few days in a low-slung deck chair. It’s well deserved as his injury was brought on while shifting piles of boxes – all in the H is for Home cause.
I kept it simple; some flavours don’t need messing about with too much. And I employed my trusty ice cream maker to do the hard work. It couldn’t be simpler – and the results were amazing. A few chocolate coated coffee beans was the only ‘extra’ deemed necessary.
The most delicious, cooling, refreshing, afternoon pick me up.
2tbsp finely ground coffee (or 1tbsp instant dissolved in a tablespoon of boiling water)
300ml/10½ fl oz/1½ cups heavy (double) cream, well chilled
1tsp vanilla extract
To finish (optional)
12 coffee beans
2 or 3 squares of dark chocolate
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If you don’t have Buy Me a Pie! app installed you’ll see the list with ingredients right after downloading it
Instructions
In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer or a whisk to combine the milk, caster sugar and coffee until the sugar is dissolved and the coffee well combined (about 1 to 2 minutes on a low speed)
Stir in the cream and vanilla
Turn the machine on, pour the mixture into the freezer bowl, and mix until thickened (about 20-25 minutes - or check your machine's manual for the recommended time). The ice cream will have a soft creamy texture
Decant the contents into a freezer-safe lidded container and put it in the freezer for at least 2 hours to 'ripen' before serving
For the chocolate covered coffee beans
Put the squares of chocolate into a small, microwave-safe bowl
Zap in the microwave for 10 seconds a couple of times until just melted
Drop the coffee beans into the bowl and cover completely with chocolate
Using a fork (I have a little cocktail fork that's perfect for the job!), lift each coffee bean out of the bowl on to a small piece of parchment paper. Leave them to harden for at least 10 minutes
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H is for Home Harbinger https://hisforhomeblog.com/
We have an old friend coming over later to spend an overnight. We’ve not seen him for ages and are really looking forward to having a proper catch up.
Justin has prepared a roast chicken dinner with trimmings and the choice of dessert was left to me. I stored away this Guinness ice cream recipe a while ago and, as I know it’s one of Duncan’s favourite tipples, I decided it would be a perfect end to the meal. I hope he likes it!
There are only 4 simple ingredients and it’s the easiest of methods, so long as you have an ice cream churner.
I always like to have a bag of frozen blueberries in the freezer. I often use them in porridge, over pancakes and in smoothies. Today, I used them to make blueberry ice cream.
I used the basic vanilla ice cream recipe that I posted some time ago – simply adding a little blueberry sauce that I made beforehand.
The colourful blueberries made a pretty ‘ripple’ effect through the pale ice cream. That evening, we each had a couple of scoops topped with little Amaretti di Saronno biscuits – a perfect pairing!
300ml/10½ fl oz/1½ cups heavy (double) cream, well chilled
1tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract), to taste
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If you don’t have Buy Me a Pie! app installed you’ll see the list with ingredients right after downloading it
Instructions
In a small saucepan warm the blueberries and caster sugar over a low heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar has completely dissolved, there's a little bit of syrup and the bluberries have just begun to pop out of their skins
Set aside and allow to cool completely (put it into the fridge if necessary)
In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer or a whisk to combine the milk and granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved (about 1 to 2 minutes on a low speed)
Stir in the cream and vanilla to taste
Turn the machine on, pour the cream mixture into the freezer bowl, and mix until thickened (about 20-25 minutes). The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture
Decant into a lidded freezer container, pour over the cooled blueberry sauce and fold in gently through the ice cream using a spatula
Notes
Once churned and spooned out into a lidded container, put it into the freezer until firm. It takes about 2 hours for it to 'ripen'
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H is for Home Harbinger https://hisforhomeblog.com/
