You can use the same dairy free base for chocolate or vanilla.
Use this simple custard base for the best dairy free ice cream! I made this marvelous chocolate treat to go with my Gluten Free Twist on the Backyard Burger.
If you prefer vanilla, simply omit the chocolate (I'll point this out below).
Dairy Free Custard Base for Ice Cream
1 cup coconut milk creamer (original)
2 cups rice milk
2/3 cup sugar
Pinch salt
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Before you begin, have a whisk and a candy thermometer handy.
6 ingredients come togther for the best in dairy free cool treats!
Combine coconut and rice milk in a bowl; give it a little stir. Set aside one cup of this milk mixture for the step coming up. Take the remaining two cups and put it in the fridge for the Cooling Step* at the end.
Place egg yolks in a large bowl; set aside.
Before we start with the heat, here’s a critical tip for custard: Never boil! Your custard will curdle and instead of a cool treat, you’ll have a hot mess. So be gentle with your custard!
Over medium-low heat in a 2-quart saucepan, stir together 1 cup of the milk mixture, sugar, and salt until the sugar is dissolved and milk is hot.
Remove the milk mixture from the heat and grab your whisk!
It’s time to incorporate the egg yolks into our custard. To do this, we will temper the yolks. That simply means that we’ll be raising the yolk temperature a little at a time by gradually adding hot liquid (in this case, the milk mixture).
Add 4 Tablespoons of the hot milk one tablespoon at a time to the yolks. Keep your whisk going the entire time so that you don’t end up with scrambled eggs!
Tempered egg yolk success!
Add this egg mixture to the milk in your saucepan and return it to the stovetop over low heat.
Time for the thermometer!
A basic candy thermometer does the trick!
You’re going for a temp of around 175 degrees here since we're using plant milk (coconut and rice). With cow’s milk, I’d go 160, but I find plant milk requires a few degrees more to get a custard thickness. By the way, plant milk custard will be much thinner and "normal" custard. Don’t worry. It’s awesome!
This is how the custard will appear when it's done.
As the custard cooks and the temperature approaches 175, it will become a bit more yellow in color. You'll also notice a thin layer of foam form on the top.
When your thermometer hits 175, remove the custard from the heat.
Dairy free custard very lightly coats the spoon.
Here's how this custard will coat the back of a spoon when it's finished. You can see how it's not the same thickness as traditional custard...
If you want vanilla, you can skip to the Cooling Step* below.
I bet you want chocolate…
These chips are dairy free, soy free, nut free!
Place approximately 1/2 cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips in a large mixing bowl.
The hot custard will melt the chips perfectly!
Slowly whisk in hot custard mixture to achieve this gorgeous dairy free concoction…
You will never believe it's dairy free!
*Now, it’s time to cool things down during our Cooling Step.
Quick chilling saves you time!
I fill my saucepan with ice and cold water, then place the warm bowl of custard right on top (a cold bain-marie!).
You can give the chocolate mixture a stir occassionally as it cools.
In about 45 minutes, you've got delish dairy free ice cream!
In about half an hour, you’ll be ready to add the remaining 2 cups of milk (remember, we put that in the fridge earlier) and take it to the ice cream freezer.
I use a Krups countertop model ice cream freezer (love!). I've found freezing takes about 45 minutes.
If you have any leftovers, you know what to do... put them in an airtight container in your freezer.
Another tip: If the ice cream freezes solid, let it sit for 10 minutes at room temperature prior to scooping.
Only Miles of Chocolate can make this ice cream better!
If you need a refresher about the ONLY chocolate worthy of my freezer, read my review of this life-changing gluten free chocolate dessert made by the former Marine named Miles. If you're tempted to order some... go for it. You won't believe how good it is. I couldn’t!
Stay cool...
xo,
Gigi
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