Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream
I love ice cream. No, I really, really love ice cream. Especially homemade ice cream made from raw, grass-fed cream, pastured egg yolks, and natural sweeteners such as maple syrup, honey or stevia.
Not everyone can digest dairy. That makes this great for dairy-intolerant folks who still want to enjoy the taste and texture of ice cream. If you’re on GAPS or SCD, you can eat this! (Yes, cocoa is legal on GAPS.)
I’ve been trying to lose weight lately and doing The 4-Hour Body.
This means that I cannot have ice cream made with real raw cream (except for on my weekly “binge day”).
This chocolate coconut milk ice cream is a great recipe because now I can enjoy small amounts of ice cream during the week without compromising my diet.
Why Include Coconut In Your Diet?
Coconut has so many benefits in the diet. It is super nutritious due to its high-quality saturated fat content. It is also such a versatile food. From a coconut you can get coconut water (this is delicious straight from the coconut), make coconut milk (by boiling shredded coconut meat with water), coconut flour (from the leftover pulp from the coconut milk), coconut cream (will rise to the top like dairy cream, separating from the coconut milk if you refrigerate or leave the coconut milk to sit), and of course, coconut oil.
The Benefits of Lauric Acid
Coconut oil is about 50% lauric acid. The only other abundant source found in nature is in human breast milk.
According to Dr. Mary Enig, a Ph.D. nutritionist/biochemist:
“Approximately 50% of the fatty acids in coconut fat are lauric acid. Lauric acid is a medium chain fatty acid, which has the additional beneficial function of being formed into monolaurin in the human or animal body. Monolaurin is the antiviral, antibacterial, and antiprotozoal monoglyceride used by the human or animal to destroy lipid coated viruses such as HIV, herpes, cytomegalovirus, influenza, various pathogenic bacteria including listeria monocytogenes and heliobacter pylori, and protozoa such as giardia lamblia. Some studies have also shown some antimicrobial effects of the free lauric acid.”
Recipe Notes:
If you are on the GAPS or SCD diet, use honey for the sweetener.
If you are eating low-carb or 4 Hour Body, use stevia.
Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream
Ingredients
Cocoa powder, organic if possible (2-3 tablespoons) — where to buy cocoa powder
Coconut milk, full fat (2 cups) — where to buy coconut milk
Sea salt (pinch)
Honey (1/4 cup)
Vanilla extract — homemade if possible (1 TBS)
Egg yolks, ideally pastured or at least free-range organic (4 egg yolks)
Equipment
Ice cream maker
Medium saucepan
Whisk
Directions
1. Add coconut milk and cocoa powder to medium saucepan on low heat and whisk to combine.
2. Stir in the sea salt, honey (or stevia) and vanilla extract, and whisk until honey is incorporated. Remove from heat. (Note: If you are using stevia, you don’t need to heat it.)
3. Whisk in the egg yolks.
4. Chill this mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. (You can skip this step if you’re not heating it.)
5. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions of your ice cream maker. In 30-45 minutes you will have ice cream!