Coconut Icecream with Apple, Lime and Coriander Granita
by rubadubdublog
A lifetime ago my grandparents ran a kiosk at the entrance to a national park in North Queensland. My memories of the kiosk itself are hazy, but the homemade choc chip ice cream that grandad made during their time there has never left me. Years after his death I asked my nana if she had the recipe and to this day it reminds me of him every time I make it. They made a few different versions all of which had a fair bit of processed sugar in them so I have altered his original recipe to make it healthier. I hope he approves of this one. I think he would, he approved of most things his grand kids did.
This particular version is relatively new in my own repertoire and turned out to be a really beautiful, highly nutritious dessert. It is also raw and gluten free and replace the yoghurt with almond milk and it can be dairy free also. Am I missing anything? Oh it’s loaded with omegas, antioxidants calcium and good fats. Tick in all boxes. Bam.
It’s also a version of icecream I am finally happy to give to Raff. And she was beside herself (have you noticed how kids start hyperventilating when they are really excited about stuff? So funny.). For us I added an apple, lime and coriander granita and some crushed dry roasted almonds. And for some reason it was just perfect on a cool and rainy February afternoon. Maybe it was the national park calling.
Coconut Milk Ice Cream
400ml coconut milk
350 ml natural greek style yoghurt
1 cup rice malt syrup
4 eggs
3/4 cup flaked coconut
Beat all ingredients together for 5 minutes in a stand mixer and pour into a loaf tin or your preferred mold. Freeze for at least 8 hours, stirring every hour for the first 2 hours then every 30 minutes until you couldn’t be bothered any more (to break up the ice crystals). Obviously you would omit the stirring business if you were making this in an ice cream machine (you lucky thing). Remove from the freezer 20 minutes before serving.
Apple, Lime and Coriander Granita
Granita can be served very smooth iwith a sorbet-like consistency or in shards of sweet icy goodness. We prefer the latter. So let it freeze over before you start to scrape it into shards – see below.
500ml fresh apple juice, clarified
juice of 9 limes
1 cup rice malt syrup
one bunch fresh coriander
Bring all ingredients except the coriander to boil in a pan over high heat. Reduce to medium heat and cook for 3-4 minutes until it reduces a touch. Remove from heat and cool. Strain through a cheesecloth to clarify further and pour into a shallow metal tray and freeze. Scrape frequently with a fork until the granita is completely frozen.
Post Script. Thanks to my seven little guinea pigs for bravely trying my tester version of this one on Saturday night. You were all terribly light on constructive criticism but I’ll take it.
Also I once heard Ross Noble question why the guinea pig was decided on as the animal that was always volunteered for everything. He’s got a point – we had guinea pigs when we were little and none of them seemed adventurous at all.
I can’t believe you took sugar out of ice cream.
p.s. I still hyperventilate when someone gives me ice cream (with sugar).
I’ll make it for you at Easter, you might even like it…
That sounds just wonderful. And the top photo is delightful.
You’re so wonderful Michelle, thank you. How good is taking dark broody rain photos?!
Sunny is easy. Broody, rainy done well is quite impressive!
Beautiful photos! And this sounds like an intense but amazing flavor combination… It definitely sounds good with either yogurt or almond milk. Oh and I know just what you’re talking about when little kids start hyperventilating with excitement… so cute.
By the way, I’m sure I could just google this, too, but what is rice malt syrup exactly? (And do you know of any substitutes? Like honey or agave syrup maybe?)
Thanks! I tried it with almond milk too and as long as it doesn’t have added cane sugar it works out really nicely (gets too sweet otherwise).
Rice malt syrup is another unrefined sugar…the jury is out on it as far as whether it is better than any other sweetener – it doesn’t contain fructose so some people think that is a better option than say honey for example. I guess I just like to try and make sure the sweeteners we use are varied (not too much of one over another) and as unprocessed as possible.
Both agave and raw honey could be used although I would lessen the amount of honey as it seems to be a bit sweeter. I would use coconut sugar if you can find it..it could give a really nice flavour. Let me know how you go!
Thanks so much for your detailed answer! I’ve never heard of coconut sugar either, but I’ll look into some of these possibilities! It’s getting to be more like ice cream season again…