Beesweet Salvation (or: Honey-Sweetened, Strawberry Flavored, Coconut Milk Ice Cream)

This is another post about Cravings.

About this time last year I fell off the primal wagon pretty hard.  My downfall?

Strawberries.

Okay, no not just strawberries, since strawberries are about as primal as it gets.  Specifically, strawberries in the form of Burgerville's Strawberry Milkshakes.  Aaaaand they are back in season again, so every time I pass a Burgerville I am full of resentful longing.

Which brings us to today, and my quest to give myself what I want without putting myself in a lot of pain.  The challenge?  Making ice cream without dairy or cane sugar.  As you know, I have already mastered the art of honey-sweetened ice cream, so today was really just about getting exotic with a can...

Kinky.

I'm calling this flavor "Beesweet Salvation" for two reasons: the first being that it is saving me from my own self-sabotaging ways, and the second is that my latest pair of pet missionaries happened to swing by tonight and I used them as guinea pigs (it was a good night for them- I let them read to me from their bible and pet my dog, and in return they let me feed them ice cream and fuss in an auntily manner.)

Now, on to the process!  The only real starting point I used for this one was my own previous attempts at ice cream, and in the end it looked a little something like this:

2 cans full fat coconut milk (apx 27 oz)

pinch of sea salt

2 tsp vanilla extract

6 egg yolks

1/4 c. local raw honey

2 pints fresh, ripe strawberries (more than you need, but if you’re like me you can’t work with strawberries without eating some [or a lot], so it works out just right)

I love paring knives.  Probably because they are so small and cute.

Hull and halve strawberries, put two heaping cups worth into food processor and puree (this comes out to a little over one cup).

Shake up those cans of coconut milk, then whisk together with the vanilla and sea salt until combined, then heat on medium, stirring occasionally until it hits a low simmer.  Remove from heat.

While milk is heating, whisk egg yolks in a bowl until they become pale, then whisk in honey.

Once the milk mixture is ready, have your kitchen-helper ladle in 1/3 cup at a time into eggs, while you keep up the whisking (more coordinated people may be able to do both at once: I cannot.)  Once about half the dairy mixture has been added, pour in the rest, then return to saucepan on medium-low heat.

Add strawberry puree.

 

Stir constantly until it passes the spoon test, then remove from heat and strain into medium bowl.

And then if you're me you EAT THOSE SEEDS IT'S LIKE PORRIDGE YOU GUYS!

Let sit at room temp for thirty minutes, then put in fridge for until the bottom of the bowl is cold (this takes about three hours in my fridge.  I used the time to finish reading When She Woke, which I thoroughly enjoyed and would definitely recommend to fans of socio-scifi)

Follow instructions on your ice-cream maker.

While custard is churning, cut enough strawberries into small chunks to equal a cup, and add to mixture after apx 15 minutes, and churn an additional 5-10 (again, that's just with my ice cream maker- yours may be different).

I love my orange KitchenAid.

The missionaries showed up just as it was finishing, so we all ate it fresh from the churn- but I still had enough to take a photo of the finished results:

Craving Satisfied!

It was definitely exactly what I needed, and I was pleased at how well the coconut milk worked out.  There was a slightly chalky after-texture, but all in all pretty darn good.  Of course, only time will tell how it fares after being frozen overnight...