I have always loved ice cream. When we lived in Michigan, we would always go to The Yum Yum Tree for ice cream. It was one of my favorite spots and I would always order mint chocolate chip in a cup so I wouldn’t get my fingers sticky. My grandpa loved butter pecan ice cream and every time I see it in the grocery store, I can always picture him sitting at the table having a bowl of ice cream after a long day at work. When I lived in Hoboken, I could always find the Mr. Softie ice cream truck cruising the streets around 3pm when school was finished for the day.

Whenever I need a good laugh, I watch the Eddie Murphy stand-up routine where he talks about how excited you got as a child when the ice cream man came down the street. If you haven’t watched the clip, I highly recommend it. But don’t watch it with young kids around or at work without any headphones – it’s when Eddie Murphy was doing stand-up back in the early 80s and there are lots of swears.

Last year for Christmas we received a Cuisinart ice cream maker. It was a fun “couple” gift and one of the few kitchen appliances we don’t have. We have dabbled with making ice cream over the past year and I’ve finally figured out how long to let it churn to get a creamy consistency.

In the recipe below, I used two cups of full-fat coconut milk (one can) to get the milk-like consistency of real ice cream.  I also added sugar, a little dash of salt, and two tablespoons of vanilla extract. When you are preparing your ice cream, make sure to keep the bucket in the freezer until you are ready to start churning. I have found that the ice cream doesn’t come out as creamy and tasty if you assemble the ice cream maker first and then mix the ingredients. For the caramel sauce, I used Califa Farms Pecan Caramel Creamer. It has a similar consistency as half and half, which is one of the main ingredients in traditional caramel sauce. Califa Farms has a lot of different flavors, I’m sure you could swap out the creamer with another flavor.

Vanilla Ice Cream

Author: The Food Allergy Foodie
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 50 minutes
Special Equipment: Ice Cream Maker

Ingredients:

1 can of full-fat coconut milk
1/2 cup of organic white sugar
2 tablespoons of gluten-free vanilla
1/4 teaspoon of Kosher salt

Directions:

1. Combine the sugar, vanilla and salt in a small bowl.
2. Whisk in coconut milk. If needed, slightly warm the coconut milk in the microwave to remove any clumps.
3. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
4. Remove from the refrigerator and whisk coconut milk mixture.
5. Assemble the ice cream maker. Pour the ice cream mixture into the freezer bowl and turn on the ice cream maker.
6. Churn for 20 minutes.
7. Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container. Freeze for 1-2 hours, or overnight.

Caramel Sauce

Ingredients:
3/4 cup of organic brown sugar
1/2 cup of Califa Farms Pecan Caramel Coffee Creamer
1 teaspoon of gluten-free vanilla
1/2 cup of Earth Balance soy-free buttery spread

Directions:

1. Combine the coffee creamer and sugar in a double boiler. If you don’t have a double boiler, you can bring a pot of water to a rolling boil and place a metal or glass mixing bowl over the boiling water. Make sure to use an oven mitt or pot holder to hold onto the bowl – it will get hot!
2. Add the sugar and butter. Stir continually until the sugar and butter are melted and well combined, about 5 minutes.
3. Transfer to a glass or plastic container and refrigerate for at least one hour before using. The sauce thickens as it cools.
4. Remove from the refrigerator and stir well. Pour over homemade ice cream or any other dessert of your choosing.