This post should probably be titled “Pineapple Coconut Ice Cream and Perfectionism.” It’s been a while since my last post and I’ve been pondering why I have been so slack. It IS summer and we DO have a lot going on. But I realize the other major reason is I am letting my tendency to perfectionism take over. This is not a good thing.
Perfectionism does not mean everything one does is perfect. Far from it! Having a streak of “perfectionism” means, among other things, the tendency to be highly critical of oneself and to set standards impossibly high. I want my posts to be relevant and useful in some way. But recently I have gotten into a mode of avoiding making a post if I not able to do it “perfectly”.
It can become a crippling habit!
Take this recipe of Pineapple Coconut Ice Cream for example.
I have tested it a few times and each time it has turned out delicious – as verified by my ice cream connoisseur husband, G. I have wanted to share the recipe with all of you because it is a great dairy-free, lower sugar alternative to “normal” ice cream. But I have delayed in posting it. Why? Because I have been doubting my ability to photograph it properly!
How silly is that?!
I could lay some of the blame at the feet of Pinterest with all its amazing food photography. But the truth is it is my own issue born out of a tendency to be perfectionistic when I have high expectations of myself.
Making recipes is fun and so is taking photos and I want to keep it that way. I plan to continue working on my photography and let my perfectionism drive me to improve. But I am resolving to chill out a bit more, stop comparing myself to others and be happy with the best I am able to do right now.
Enough with my personal angst. Now on with the recipe. 🙂
This Pineapple Coconut Ice Cream is a custard-based ice cream so there is some cooking involved. But is still pretty simple and once you get the hang of tempering eggs you won’t have any problems making creamy ice creams.
Ingredients
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 can full-fat coconut milk
- 3 tablespoons raw honey
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup pineapple juice
- 3/4 cup finely chopped fresh pineapple (or crushed, canned pineapple)
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan, combine the coconut milk, honey, vanilla and pineapple juice and bring to barely a simmer.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks until frothy.
- Pour about a fourth of the hot coconut milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Then pour the combined egg yolk/coconut mixture back into the saucepan with the rest of the coconut milk mixture.
- Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook, while whisking, until somewhat thickened – about 5 minutes.
- Transfer the custard to a bowl and refrigerate until cooled. Alternatively, you can use an ice bath (as seen here) to cool the custard off even faster.
- Pour the cooled custard into the bowl of an electric ice cream maker. Add the crushed pineapple a few minutes before the end of the process.
The ice cream will be ready to eat immediately but if you want a harder ice cream you can transfer to the freezer for a couple of hours before serving.
Pineapple Coconut Ice Cream (Paleo & Dairy-Free)
Dairy-free pineapple Ice Cream. [Time will depend on your freezer and/or Ice Cream maker]
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Category: Dessert
Ingredients
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 can full-fat coconut milk
- 3 tablespoons raw honey
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup pineapple juice
- 3/4 cup finely chopped fresh pineapple (or crushed, canned pineapple)
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan, combine the coconut milk, honey, vanilla and pineapple juice and bring to barely a simmer.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks until frothy.
- Pour about a fourth of the hot coconut milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Then pour the combined egg yolk/coconut mixture back into the saucepan with the rest of the coconut milk mixture.
- Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook, while whisking, until somewhat thickened – about 5 minutes.
- Transfer the custard to a bowl and refrigerate until cooled. Alternatively, you can use an ice bath (as seen here) to cool the custard off even faster.
- Pour the cooled custard into the bowl of an electric ice cream maker. Add the crushed pineapple a few minutes before the end of the process.
I would love to try this recipe with some peaches instead of pineapple at some point because I think they would work really well with the creamy, custard flavor. It would also be interesting to try a Piña Colada version with some rum and no eggs. If any of you try out variations please let me know how it goes.
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This sounds wonderful, and I love the suggestion to try it with peaches. Thanks for the clear instructions on making the custard.
P.S. In the words of the country song….”close enough to perfect for me!”
Well, Lea, your photography is, in my opinion, your best so far. And you have put up some beautiful things. But you sold me on making Paleo ice cream. My Cuisinart ice cream maker arrived today and we’re going to try yor recipe tonight.
Thanks for the compliment, Mary. I hope you like the ice cream.
This sounds Delish! Looks beautiful, too! I don’t have an electric icecream maker, can this be made without one? If not, which icecream maker are all of you using and could recommend? Also, any recipes for a cake that does not use almond flour? I don’t like the texture of it in baked goods. Thanks!
I have only made it in this ice cream maker http://astore.amazon.com/paleospirit-20/detail/B00006363E (shameless promotion for the item in my Amazon store – if you buy it through this link I get a commission but you aren’t charged extra. But feel free to shop around to see if you can get a better price.) You could probably put the mixture in the freezer and then stir it every couple of hours. I’ve heard of folks doing this but I have never done it myself.
As for the cake without almond flour, I have one on this site. Here’s the link. https://paleospirit.com/2012/paleo-chocolate-birthday-cake-coconut-honey-frosting/ It’s made with coconut flour. It’s an alternative for people who are grain and gluten free but also nut free.
I hope that helps!
Do you think this would work with agave or liquid stevia as a sub for honey? I’m allergic 🙁
You could try. I don’t use either so I can’t be sure how they would work. I would probably try maple syrup instead.
Just a question, how many ml or oz was your can of coconut milk that you used for this?
And also, have you tried this recipe without any egg yolks?
I used a 13.66 oz can of coconut milk. I have not made this particular recipe without the egg yolks.
I made this recipe tonight, and it is so delicious! The only change I made was to blend one cup of finely chopped fresh pineapple with a bit of the coconut milk to make it very smooth, then added that to the first step (rather than pineapple juice at the beginning and diced pineapple towards the end). My daughter doesn’t like chunks in ice cream. It turned out very creamy and tasty!
That sounds good. My youngest son doesn’t like textures in his ice cream so I think I should try your process next time. Thanks for the feedback!
I am going tot try this using this that our family got from LLBean for Christmas. First I have to finish my 21 Day Sugar Detox lol….
http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/46727?page=ice-cream-ball-quart
The “Ice Cream Ball”! I’ve been wondering if those work. You’ll have to let me know.
I’m wondering how much this makes. One quart? Planning on making some to go with a carrot cake (I put pineapple in it) for a party this weekend.
Thanks!
I estimate this is closer to three cups not four for a quart. I bet it would go well with carrot cake! Good luck.
Looks like a lovely recipe!
Maybe you would like to try my recipe for stracciatella and warm raspberry sauce: http://paleoicecreamlab.blogspot.ch/2013/02/stracciatella-raspberry-sauce.html
I reduce the coconut cream to half the volume, to increase the fat percentage, before I make any ice cream. I usually also add a tbsp of colza (rapeseed, canola) oil (although it’s not paleo), because it supposedly has a very low freezing point. I’ve found that this really improves the texture and makes it feel like “real” ice cream.
Anna
I live in Bahrain, Middle East and cannot access any blogs. Is it possible that you can please email me your recipe?
Regards
Zanna
Wow! this is great! I made this tonight with my husband and we made a few substitutions. Instead of 1/4 cup of pineapple juice, we used 1/4 cup of coffee and instead of 3/4 pineapple chunks, we used about 1/8 cup of roughly ground roasted coffee beans. (Coffee and beans were Starbuck’s Pikes Place blend). It was really great! Thanks for the recipe!! We will be making this again!
Could you use almond milk? I think that and peaches would go well.
I’m quite sure peaches would be delicious! Almond milk might work but I’ve never tried it. The fat content of the coconut milk is important so if the almond milk is lower in fat it will be different.
Love this recipe, have not done eggs like this before but actually think that this recipe would be great for people that are following a pre-diabetes diet! Cant wait to try it, thanks so much.
Made this ice cream yesterday and it was delicious. Thanks 🙂
I just made this but with plums and plum juice, and it came out sooooo good! I’ve tried several coconut cream paleo ice-cream recipes, both with and without egg, and I haven’t been happy with any so far, so I’d tended to stick to sorbets. But this is delicious! I doubled the recipe but only used 4 Tbs of honey as that was sweet enough for me. But the consistency and taste is amazing and the closest to dairy ice-cream I’ve ever had. I’m going to use this base custard recipe for all my ice-creams from now on. Thank you!
Thanks Naomi. I appreciate the compliments and I’m so glad you like the recipe.
Best, Lea
Do you know what the macros are for a serving? It looks so good!
Well worth the effort in making the custard!
★★★★★