Pumpkin Spice Gelato and Chocolate Coconut Almond Ice Cream (Vegan)

 

I bought this book back in June and have made a few recipes from it that were delicious.  I just tried out the pumpkin spice gelato, and it tastes just like pumpkin pie.  Next time I want to add little bits of pie crust to it.  I bought some cute little pint containers and gave it to my visiting teachees for a treat.  I also made chocolate coconut almond ice cream.  Back in June when we were in California we went to the well known Bi-Rite Creamery in San Francisco.  The two flavors we tried were salted caramel ice cream and chocolate coconut ice cream (vegan).  They were both delicious.  I tried making salted caramel a while back, but I still need to perfect it.  I looked at some recipes for chocolate coconut and they all mainly have coconut milk, cocoa powder, and some sweetener, but I changed the measurements and added some ingredients of my own.  The chocolate coconut tastes just like regular ice cream.  You would never know it was vegan unless someone told you.  I'm not on a vegan diet or anything, but it is a little lower in fat.  Here are the two recipes below.  The gelato takes a bit longer to make, but the chocolate is easy and fast.

Pumpkin Spice Gelato

Plain Base (see below)

1 c pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix), chilled

1/4 c sugar

1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch of ground cloves

Make the plain base and chill as directed.

Place the pumpkin, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and cloves in a blender and add half of the base.  Blend until smooth, then whisk into the remaining base.  Pour the mixture into the container of an ice cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions.  Transfer to an airtight container and freeze for at least 2 hours before serving.

Plain Base

2 c whole milk

1 c heavy cream

4 large egg yolks

2/3 c sugar

In a heavy-bottom saucepan, combine the milk and cream.  Place over medium-low heat and cook, stirring occasionally so a skin doesn't form, until tiny bubbles start to form around the edges and the mixture reaches a temperature of 170 degrees F.

Meanwhile, in a medium heat-proof bowl, whisk the egg yolks until smooth.  Gradually whisk in the sugar until it is well incorporated and the mixture is thick and pale yellow.  Temper the egg yolks by very slowly pouring in the hot milk mixture while whisking continuously.  Return the custard to the saucepan and place over low heat.  Cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon and it reaches a temperature of 185 degrees F.  Do not bring to a boil.

Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean bowl and let cool to room temperature, stirring every 5 minutes or so.  To cool the custard quickly, make an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice and water and placing the bowl with the custard in it; stir the custard until cooled.  Once completely cooled, cover and refrigerate until very cold, at least 4 hours or overnight.

Chocolate Coconut Almond Ice Cream

3 c coconut milk (Not low fat.  I used Thai Kitchen organic coconut milk, about 2 cans.  I refrigerated my coconut milk, but I'm not sure it's necessary)

6 T cocoa powder

10 T sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 c shredded coconut (Mine were kind of long pieces so I chopped them a little bit)

1/4 c chopped almonds

Blend the first 4 ingredients in a blender until smooth.  Freeze in your ice cream maker.  Add the shredded coconut and almonds the last five minutes.  Eat right away or transfer to an airtight container and freeze. 

While I was looking in my viewfinder, I saw Hazel's hand come into the picture.  She couldn't wait any longer to get her share.