Recipe: Coconut Key Lime Pie Ice Cream

As many of you know, I am allergic to dairy. And we're talking straight up serious allergy - swollen throat, constricted airways...none of this lactose intolerant stuff. I'm hard core that way.

All delicious foods in life have a dairy base: cheese, ice cream, whipped cream, any cream based sauce. I love ice cream and always have. But my throat says otherwise. So sad for Laura. To satisfy my ice cream love, I have explored the world of coconut ice cream and have tried to find/create a great recipe for coconut ice cream. And I think this one's a winner.

You start with a delicious base of coconut and lime - which on it's own tastes fantastic. For a dash of fun flair, I attempted to swirl in ribbons of lime curd, but the final result ended less ribbony and more pockety with bursts of lime curd here and there (which I thought actually thought made it more exciting).

Ingredients

Coconut Lime Ice Cream Base

• 2 cans full fat unsweetened coconut milk (I prefer the Taste of Thai Organic kind)
• Juice and zest from 2 limes
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water

Key Lime Curd

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lime zest
• 1 egg, beaten and set aside

Instructions

1. First focus on the ice cream base. Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and heat on medium heat, slowly stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved.
   
   


2. Once dissolved, pour in to a bowl, cover and chill in refrigerator for 4 hours, or until completely chilled. 


3. Combine sugar, butter, lime juice and zest in a double boiler (or do what I did and set a pyrex bowl inside a sauce pan filled halfway with water)
   
   
   
   
   
4. Slowly stir over medium-high heat until the butter is melts and mixture becomes syrup-like


5. Mix a tablespoon of the lime syrup into the egg and blend.


6. Reduce the stove heat to medium and  slowly whisk the egg mixture into the lime syrup


7. Heat and stir the mixture in double boiler for 20 minutes, or until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon.


8. Pour the mixture into a bowl, cover, and chill in refrigerator


9. When the ice cream base is chilled, freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.


10. Once the ice cream is finished, the lime curd should also be chilled. Spoon curd into pastry bag. Use the pastry bag (or ziploc with snipped corner) to pipe ribbons of curd and fold the lime curd into the ice cream.


11. Scoop ice cream and top with extra lime zest and toasted coconut if desired. Enjoy.

It is so delicious that I literally have to talk myself out of eating the entire batch. It's so flavorful and tropical at the same time, it's the perfect cool treat on a hot summer day.  Try it out and let me know what you think!