Homemade Ice Cream

             I went home to visit my family this weekend and discovered my mother had acquired an old ice cream maker! I was determined to make ice cream, non-dairy ice cream that is. My good friend and I made two batches of different flavors, and both turned out bad. One was too sweet, the other was too bland. I think the third time is the charm, because this batch was delicious! Honestly, all the dairy lovers out there will probably love this recipe too! It is super creamy and flavorful! Nothing beats homemade ice cream on a hot summer day.

Ingredients

1 Cup of coconut milk (full fat)

2 Cups of vanilla soymilk

2 Egg yolks

1 Cup of fine sugar

1 Tsp of vanilla extract

1 Vanilla bean

1/2 - 3/4 Cup of semisweet chocolate chunks

1.) Heat the coconut milk and soymilk in a large pot. While the liquid is heating, using a mixer beat the egg yolks until silky and frothy.

2.) Temper the egg yolks before adding them to the pot of hot liquid. Do this by adding a little bit of hot liquid (like 1/4 cup or less) to the eggs at a time and beating the mixture after each addition. Add up to two cups of liquid before adding the entire mixture to the pot of hot liquid. 

3.) Add the sugar, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean. Be sure to cut the vanilla bean in half and scrape the seeds out and add separately to the pot. Add the vanilla bean shell to the pot as well for added flavor.

4.) Allow the mixture to heat until it is simmering and bubbling for a few minutes. Then take it off the heat, remove the vanilla pods, and pour the mixture into a temperature safe bowl.

5.) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or tin foil and place in the freezer until the mixture is cold all the way through. Then add the mixture to your own ice cream machine and follow the directions specific to that machine. 

My machine is the kind where you have to use ice and lots of rock salt to get it cold enough to make ice cream. After about 25 minutes the ice cream came out creamy and soft! I would love to try a Thai tea flavor next time or good old chocolate!