Coconut Milk Cinnamon Ice Cream (Dairy Free & Refined Sugar Free)

One of my favorite summer treats is Ice Cream. Back in February, when I stopped eating gluten, dairy, sugar I was already dreading a summer without ice cream. Although, like most things, it turns out that I had nothing to worry about! True, I might be able to frequent cute little ice ream shops like I used to. But there are so many fun homemade ice cream recipe that make eating dairy free & refined sugar free so do-able!

I have seen so many recipes that use frozen banana, avocado or soaked cashews to make the ice cream and I'm looking forward to trying some of those out as well! This recipe in particular uses coconut milk to make the most delicious dairy free cinnamon ice cream! I found this recipe on a blog called Eat Healthy, Eat Happy and I pinned it knowing it would be a big hit in my house! The process was surprisingly simple, minus one little speed bump - but I will give you the run down on all of that a little later!

This recipe does require an ice cream machine. We have always had an ice cream machine so I opted to use this recipe. If you don't have an ice cream machine, there are many dairy free ice cream recipes that don't leave you reliant on a machine! I plan to experiment and share some recipe that so not require an ice cream machine soon!

To start you will need to combine a 13.5 oz can of full fat coconut milk with 1 3/4 cups of non dairy milk (I used more coconut milk) and 1/2 cup of maple syrup in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer and stir it frequently as it is cooking.

It is important that I note a couple things about the coconut milk - The 13.5oz can of coconut milk must be full fat for this recipe to work. I have tried some brands that are much lighter for cooking and they just don't work as well. For the non-dairy milk, I opted to use more coconut milk, but I used the lighter coconut milk out of a carton. Here you don't need to worry so much about the fat content; light works just fine. You could also use any other non-dairy milk you prefer - I might try this with cashew or almond.

When the coconut milk and maple syrup mixture comes to simmer, remove it from the heat and transfer it to a heat safe blender or an immersion blender. We don't have either, so I opted to just use a regular blender. Big mistake! A regular blender can't handle the heat of this liquid. If you don't have a heat safe blender or an immersion blender like me, use a handheld electric mixer instead!

My Dad stepped in here while I cleaned up the major mess I made with the blender. Blend the mixture for about 1 minute. After a minute or so, add in 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and continue to blend to combine.

Transfer the liquid to a storage container and refrigerate it until it is completely cool. This should take about 2 hours. It is super important that the mixture is cold! You definitely don't want to be pouring hot liquid into your ice cream machine!

When the ice cream mixture is completely cooled, slowly pour it into the cowl of your ice cream maker. Allow the ice cream to churn in the machine following the directions that come with your machine. My machine has a 20 minute churn time, but you might need to adjust depending on the machine you're using.

Once the ice cream has churned, transfer it to a freezer safe container and let the ice cream chill in the freezer for at least one hour before you serve it. Store your ice cream in the freezer and remove it 10-15 minutes before you are planning to serve it. it can be awfully hard to scoop right out of the freezer!

Gosh! The picture above looks like quite a mess! I was moving fast to make sure the ice cream stayed cold and in the process took this rough picture! 

The other night, we went to have some ice cream with friends to celebrate summer! We brought one of these Ice Cream Sundae Boxes along with some of this dairy free cinnamon ice cream! I have to say, I wasn't jealous of the people eating regular ice cream one bit! This coconut milk cinnamon ice cream makes the most perfect stand in!

COCONUT MILK CINNAMON ICE CREAM
Dairy Free & Refined Sugar Free
serves 4-6

ingredients
1 13.5 oz can coconut milk (full fat!)
1 3/4 cups non-dairy milk (light coconut milk, almond milk, cashew milk...)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

directions
1. Combine the full fat coconut milk, the non-dairy milk and the maple syrup in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring the contents of the saucepan to a simmer, stirring frequently as it cooks.
2. Remove the pot from the heat and pour the beginnings of the ice cream mixture into a heat safe blender or an immersion blender. If you don't have either of these blenders, you can transfer the ice cream to a heat safe mixing bowl and use an electric mixer to blend it. Blend the ice cream for about 1 minute.
3. Continue blending as you add in the vanilla, the cinnamon and the salt. Mix until the additions are well mixed in.
4. Transfer the ice cream to a storage container (I used a tupperware) and let the ice cream cool in the fridge for at least 2 hours. The uce cream should be completely cool before you proceed to the next step.
5. Slowly pour the cooled ice cream into the bowl of your ice cream maker and let the ice cream churn following your ice cream machine's instructions.
6. Once the ice cream has churned, transfer it to a freezer safe container and chill the ice cream in the freezer for at least one hour before you serve it. Store the ice cream in the freezer and remove it 10-15 minutes before you are planning to serve it.

I would love to hear if you try this recipe out!