Remember those pavlovas I made a couple weeks ago? They left me with four lonely egg yolks that were definitely bound for ice cream. This is the first new ice cream recipe on the new site – so I guess this place finally feels like home!
Deep dark chocolate. Check. Warm cinnamon. Check. An earthy, mysterious hint of chile. Check. Creamy chilled dairy-free confection. Check. This is one serious dessert…and the perfect addition to my burgeoning ice cream repertoire. This is an intense chocolate hit for the deepest days of winter. A spike of chocolate and chile to lighten your mood when the subzero days are getting you down. Did I mention that this ice cream is so creamy, you won’t even notice that it’s dairy-free?!
Mexican Hot Chocolate Dairy-Free Ice Cream
Makes 1 quart
2 13oz cans coconut milk
3/4 cup good quality dutched cocoa powder
2/3 cup brown sugar
pinch of salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ancho chile powder
4 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 T brandy
- Pour 1 can of coconut milk into the blender. Place the egg yolks in a bowl and set aside.
- Pour the other can of coconut milk into a small saucepan along with the cinnamon, cocoa powder, salt and brown sugar. Stir as the mixture heats, to ensure that the cocoa melts into the coconut milk.
- When the mixture is warm, but not yet piping hot, temper the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm cocoa mixture into the egg yolks, stirring the whole time. When you’ve combined the yolks and milk, pour it back into the saucepan. Keep the burner on low and stir constantly as you make the custard, which should take about 3-4 minutes. Because the cocoa mixture is so thick before you add the yolks, the usual “coat the spoon” test doesn’t hold here, so I just warmed the mixture for a few minutes.
- Pour the custard into the blender with the other can of coconut milk. Blend for a few seconds to make the mixture super smooth. Add the vanilla and brandy, whiz for another second or two to combine, then chill the mixture thoroughly before turning in your ice cream maker.
284 cal per 1/2 cup, 180 cal from fat, 21g fat, 14g sat fat, 105mg cholesterol, 20mg sodium, 150mg potassium, 19g carb, 3g fiber, 12g sugar, 3.5g protein
The Whole Kitchen 
Jenn, you outdid yourself. That looks too good to be true!
Oh, it’s not too good to be true at all…but it is VERY good.
YUM!! Jenn this looks awesome, and the picture is gorgeous! I really need to break out the ice cream machine, but it’s hiding in the cupboard and i keep forgetting!
Thanks, Heather! And get out that ice cream machine – even though it’s cold outside, it’s always time for ice cream!
This looks so decadent and sinful, and yet I can imagine polishing off the whole batch of ice cream by myself. I don’t care that I’ve been shoveling snow for weeks now, and that I can’t feel my toes. I’m convinced that a little Mexican Hot Chocolate Ice Cream would warm me right up. Thanks for sharing!
Anyway, I found you through TasteSpotting and am writing to say that if you have any photos that aren’t accepted there, I’d love to publish them. Visit my site (below), it’s a lot of fun! I hope you will consider it.
Best,
Casey
Editor
http://www.tastestopping.com
Thanks, Casey! I have lots of Tastespotting rejects…I’ll stop by your site!
uhm eggs yolks. are dairy.
Have to disagree with you there, Latrice. Eggs = chickens. Dairy = lactating ruminant animals. I realize that lots of dairy-free folks also have egg allergies, but eggs are not dairy, and I’m lucky enough to not have trouble with eggs. Thanks for stopping by!
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Hello! I got here via David Leibovitz’s post on FB. This looks amazing, but is there any way I can make it without an ice cream maker? It would make a nice treat since it’s already summer here in the Philippines. 🙂
Marnie – Glad you found the site! I haven’t made ice creams without a machine – granitas work fine when you’re working with sorbets by stirring the mix with a fork every half-hour as it freezes, but I’m thinking it wouldn’t work quite as well for this due to the fat content in coconut milk. But, I would try this out as homemade popsicles – I bet they would be fantastic and just as good as ice cream. I think I’ll have to try it out, myself! Let me know if you give it a whirl!
Thanks for the reply! 🙂 I might give it a try next week. We’ve got a load of coconuts from our trees, so I’ll see if it’ll work with fresh coconut milk, as well. I’ll give you all a heads up if I get around to it.
Also, would you happen to have any ideas for fresh mangoes? It’s mango season and we’ll be harvesting very soon, so I’m on the lookout for new mango recipes. I might give mango jam a whirl this summer. Here’s hoping I don’t blow up the kitchen while I’m at it! 😀
Marnie, can I come live at your house? Fresh coconuts AND Mangoes?! YUM! Mango season is one of my favorites – my favorite ice cream application is roasted mango ice cream (made with coconut milk) – roast the mangoes with 1/2 cup brown sugar at 400F for 40 minutes, stirring halfway through, then puree with coconut milk, add a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon juice. I also sometimes add some bananas in too…here’s the compote:
And here’s my favorite mango salad:
Mango quinoa salad: https://thewholekitchen.wordpress.com/2009/05/05/mango-curried-quinoa-salad/
And, mango lime sorbet:
Ooh, thanks for all the recipes, Jenn! I’ll be bookmarking them so I can try them when the harvest comes in. 🙂
I guess my family is lucky to have so many fruit trees growing in our garden. We’ve got guavas, three different kinds of mangoes, papayas, coconuts, jackfruit, star apples, plantains and Java plums. If you ever make it to the Philippines during harvest season (summer here), drop me a line! I’d be happy to have you over for merienda (our version of afternoon tea)! 🙂
Wow, Marnie – that’s an impressive collection of fruits in your garden – nice! I’ll definitely let you know if I’m ever in your area!
I’m in love. And this will be so much cheaper than buying tiny pints of imported dairy-free ice cream in Australia!
(Well, seeing as I’ll have to buy the ice-cream maker first, maybe not… but I’m sure it will eb worth it in the long run..!)
Hooray, Hannah! Buy that ice cream maker (I love my 1.5qt Cuisinart). You will recoup the cost of that machine in no time flat, if you’re anywhere near as obsessed as I am with ice cream and sorbets. Not all of my recipes are dairy-free (I finally had to give up dairy ice cream about 6 months ago), but you can sub out straight coconut milk in any of my recipes, and there’s 25+ of them over on the recipe index. Enjoy!
Oh GREAT, now I’m going to return home after four months of travelling and immediately charge an ice-cream maker to my broke credit card. Thanks. 😀
It will be worth it, I swear! Just think of all the pints of ice cream you WON’T be charging! 😛
Hi there. Found you via David’s post on FB and just had to visit your site for this amazing-looking ice cream. It sounds luscious. Can’t wait to try it! Of course, I should probably pick up an ice cream maker first… 😉 Thanks for the great recipe, and have a good weekend.
Thanks, Dawn! Glad you found your way over here…you could call David my ice cream muse – I loved his book, so I started making my own dairy-free recipes for the blog!
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This sounds so good and since I cannot have dairy,I can hardly wait to try it.
Joleen – you’re going to love this one! I don’t eat much ice cream in the winter time, but I do love this one – the little hint of chile warms it up so much. Let me know what you think! (also makes wonderful homemade popsicles, too)