Traditionally, eggs and dairy are used to produce “real” ice cream; primarily to produce a creamy mouthfeel from the butterfat in cream, along with the protein in eggs, creates an emulsifier and provides a building block to give ice cream its custard-like structure. Since this is vegan ice cream, I’ve substituted coconut milk/cream for regular dairy and added a cornstarch/ arrowroot slurry as an emulsifier.

What you’ll need: 1 1/2-2qt Cuisinart ice cream maker, saucepan, whisk, spatula, and 2-qt container for freezing.

Ingredients:

• 2-cups coconut milk
• 2-cups coconut cream
• 3/4-cup Stevia, honey, agave syrup, or palm sugar
• 1-vanilla pod, split, seeds scraped out, or 2-tsp pure vanilla extract*
• 1/4-tsp salt
• ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
• 2-Tbsp cornstarch or 1-Tbsp arrowroot dissolved in 1/4 cup water

Preparation:

1. Add first 5 ingredients to a 2-qt saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. If using vanilla bean, remove ice cream base from heat and allow vanilla bean to steep for 1-hour.
2. Return pan to stove top and bring to a gentle boil.
3. Add dissolved cornstarch/arrowroot to base and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
4. Remove vanilla pod and allow to cool before pouring into container’
5. Refrigerate overnight.

*If using vanilla extract:

1.  Add dissolved cornstarch/arrowroot to base and bring to a boil stirring constantly.
2. Remove from heat and allow to cool before pouring into container.
3. Refrigerate base overnight.

Next day:

1. Pour base into ice cream machine and follow manufacturer’s instructions.
2. Scoop ice cream into container and lay a piece of plastic wrap over ice cream, cover and freeze.