Ice Cream, FlavorsAlessandra Vertrees

Rose Ice Cream & Dairy Free Ice Cream trials

Ice Cream, FlavorsAlessandra Vertrees
Rose Ice Cream & Dairy Free Ice Cream trials

OK, so I’ve tried two coconut-based ice cream bases so far.

The first one used the same ratio of cream to milk as the vanilla ice cream base from Sweet Cream and Sugar Cones: 90 Recipes for Making Your Own Ice Cream and Frozen Treats from Bi-Rite Creamery.

  • 1 3/4 cup Heavy Cream

  • 3/4 cup Milk

  • 1/2 cup Sugar

  • 1/2 teaspoon Salt

  • 5 Egg Yolks

  • 3 teaspoons vanilla paste

The fat content of the mixture is ≈ 26.2% fat.

Round 1:

  • 1 can (13.5 oz) coconut cream

  • 3/4 cups coconut milk

  • 1/3 minus 1 oz cup honey

  • 2 ounces wildflower cocktail syrup

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1 ounce corn starch

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons of rose water (tbh I could have used less)

The fat content of the mixture is ≈ 25.5% fat.

I substituted the egg yolks for 1 tablespoon corn starch and replaced the sugar with honey. Left out the vanilla because I wanted the wildflower syrup to shine. The texture was super soft and scoopable but not as creamy as I expected to be. The corn starch left a gritty texture that I didn’t like. I’m going to try this ratio again without corn starch since most canned coconut milk has guar gum (and use rose powder instead of rose water).

Round 2:

  • 1 can (13.5 oz) coconut cream

  • 1 can (13.5 oz) lite coconut milk

  • 1/4 cup agave syrup

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Didn’t use a stabilizer this time and went for a 1:1 ratio of cream to milk just because.

I put aside 2 cups of this base to make a regular vanilla ice cream, and the rest I used to make a rose ice cream with pomegranate date syrup. All I did to make that was blend in 3 teaspoons of rose powder before churning and then lightly fold in 1 teaspoon of pomegranate date syrup before packing it into the pint.

The fat content of the mixture is ≈ 18.5% fat.

Round 2 has a much more balanced flavor. It’s definitely harder than Round 1 and a little icier in texture, but overall so good. I prefer this ratio of cream to milk more than the other one because I don’t have to think about it; however, I do wish it wasn’t so icy. Perhaps I’ll add salt and a little guar gum in the next round.