Coconut Ice-Cream

I don't know why I waited for the mercury to drop to decide I NEEDED to make more ice-cream. I mean, there's nothing quite like a frozen dessert on a cold night to warm your cockles, is there? Hubby is a BIG ice-cream fan anyway, meaning it never gets wasted, so who's complaining?

I was walking around the supermarket when I was inspired by a tin of coconut cream. I knew instantly that its destiny was to become dessert. So, coconut ice-cream, the perfect summer treat (I'm clearly seasonally challenged) was made. Here is its story.

Coconut Ice-Cream

Makes about 600ml

INGREDIENTS:

- 400ml tin of coconut cream
- 200ml of cream
- 1/2 cup of sugar
- 3 to 5 tbsp of shredded or dessicated coconut (optional - it will just give the ice-cream a stronger flavour and some texture)

METHOD:

1. place the the sugar and coconut cream in a saucepan big enough to hold all ingredients, and stir over low heat until the sugar is completely dissolved.
2. Add the cream to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat as soon as the mix starts boiling.
3. Remove from heat, add in the extra coconut, and cool to room temperature, stirring regularly (this helps the ice-cream cool quicker and stops a skin from developing on it).
4. Pour into a 1L capacity container and freeze.
5. When the edges freeze (this will probably take a couple of hours) remove from the freezer and beat (I just use a hand beater). Return to the freezer and repeat about 3 times.

NOTES:

This makes a bit more than half a litre. When the mixture is not yet frozen you may notice it's very sweet and strong-flavoured, but it needs to be so you have the right taste and texture when frozen. The amount of sugar is really important to the end consistency of the ice-cream, and making sure it's not a rock-hard block!

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