Coconut straciatella nice cream

I am stepping up my ice cream game. Nice cream I should actually say; wholesome ingredients, naturally sweetened, gluten free and vegan, but full of flavor. So nice! This coconut straciatella nice cream – the first in my nice cream series – is just that and more!

I mostly make fruity nice cream with bananas as the base ingredients. Using a fair amount of bananas to ensure creamy and not icy ice cream. So bananas are great, but for this coconut straciatella nice cream I didn’t want the flavor of bananas coming through; I wanted coconut to be the star of the show. So I tried and tested many batches of (n)ice cream – all were too icy – until I started using just the cream from a chilled can of (full fat!) coconut milk.

Coconut milk, coconut cream, cream of coconut… what!?

Before we move on, let me tell you about my coconut confusion. I always thought that coconut cream was the top layer (the hard creamy part) of a chilled can of coconut milk. It is! But you can also buy cans of just that coconut cream; I didn’t know that and had never seen it before. Coconut cream should not be confused – to make it even more confusion – with cream of coconut, which is the sweetened version of coconut cream and mostly used in tropical cocktails and baking. Because of the added sugar it can not be a replacement for coconut cream. You’ll notice when you open a can of cream of coconut that the consistency is very different.

You can actually make your own coconut milk: it is made from simmering one part shredded coconut in one part water. Coconut cream – which is more concentrated – is made from simmering four parts shredded coconut in one part water. My main source in my quest to get to the bottom of this was Kitchn’s article about all of this. Thanks for clearing all of that up!

In this recipe I am sticking to coconut cream (from a can of chilled coconut milk). You can use the same or use a can of coconut cream as long as you don’t use cream of coconut! If you want to try and make your own coconut cream, go ahead! I haven’t tried it though.

How I make this coconut straciatella nice cream?

This only calls for 4 ingredients! All blended up together and quickly transfer to a pre-chilled loaf tin.

So I start by pre chilling both my blender bowl and a small loaf tin in the freezer for 30 minutes. To keep everything super cold so no ice crystals can form.

I open up the cans of coconut milk that I put in the refrigerator the night before and scoop out the solid creamy part (the coconut cream).

To a blender I add ¾ of the chocolate and the rest of the ingredients and blend until frothy. I transfer the mixture to the chilled loaf tin, sprinkle the rest of the chocolate over it and cover it with plastic wrap/foil (press it down so no air sits between the ice cream and the plastic. Cover the tin with aluminum foil and place it in the freezer.

To ensure creamy, airy ice cream I usually take it out and stir every 20 minutes for the first hour. After that I leave it to firm up in the freezer for at least 4 hours.

I take out the ice cream 15-20 minutes before serving to make it easier scoopable.

This is one of my favorite ice cream flavors; coconut and chocolate. I love it. I hope you love this nice cream as much as I do. It is

easy to make – made with few ingredients – creamy – and so delicious

More special nice cream recipes will follow soon, like this brownie nice cream. For now check out my vegan ice cream recipe that covered both banana based and cashew based no churn ice cream. Or step it up and try these homemade and healthy Magnums or ice cream sandwiches.

Coconut straciatella nice cream

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Freezing time 4 hours hrs

Total Time 4 hours hrs 35 minutes mins

Course Dessert, Snack, Treat

Servings 8 servings

Calories 293 kcal

Equipment

• Small loaf pan (8×4 inch)
• ice cream scoop (optional)

Ingredients

  

• 2 cups coconut cream (the hardened/creamy part of a can of chilled coconut milk. Depending on the brand you use, you might need up to 4 cans of coconut milk to get 2 cups of coconut cream. Or buy a can of coconut cream if it is available where you live)
• 1 cup dark chocolate (of choice)(finely chopped)
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp desiccated coconut (optional, leave out if you prefer smooth ice cream)
• 1-2 tbsp maple syrup (optional, use to taste)
• 1 frozen small banana (optional for extra creaminess)

Instructions

 

• Start by pre chilling both the blender bowl and a small loaf pan in the freezer for 30 minutes. Keeping everything super cold will ensure no ice crystals will form.
• Scoop out the solid creamy part (the coconut cream) of the cans of coconut milk that have been refrigerated overnight.
• To a blender add ¾ of the chocolate and the rest of the ingredients and blend until frothy. Transfer the mixture to the chilled loaf pan, sprinkle the rest of the chocolate over it and cover it with plastic wrap (press it down so no air sits between the ice cream and the plastic). Then cover the pan with aluminum foil and place it in the freezer.
• Optionally, to ensure creamy, airy ice cream, take it out of the freezer and stir every 20 minutes for the first hour. After that leave it to firm up in the freezer for at least 4 hours.
• Take out the ice cream 15-20 minutes before serving to make it easier to scoop.

Notes

Nutritional information:

the information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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