Mango Coconut Ice Cream

Looks like my boys found love in a cone!

There's nothing like bowls and cones filled with ice cream on hot summer days.  And boy, have we been having lots of them -- ice cream and hot days.  These summer days can get kind of long for me with the kids out of school (and into each other's hair!) and the relentless sunlight bearing down on us.  I've found myself daydreaming more often about tropical beaches of Hawaii, Thailand, and Mexico, places I was lucky enough to visit before kids and food allergies became huge factors in our travel considerations.

While it would feel too risky and stressful to me to travel abroad, there's no reason I can't bring a bit of the tropics to our house.  The temperatures are already in the 90s so why not just add some fruity flavors to satisfy my beachy wishes? And thus, mango ice cream quickly ascended the "Recipes To Try" list.

Besides being high vitamin A and C content, mango is a great ice cream flavor because it goes well with coconut milk.  (All that tropical goodness!)  I myself used one can of full-fat coconut milk and 2 1/2 cups of flax milk when I made this.  This almost overflowed my 2-quart maker so I reduced the flax milk to 2 cups in the recipe that follows.

I also reduced the amount of sugar that the original recipe called for.  Apparently, fat and sugar are two very important agents in preventing the formation of ice crystals in ice cream. Arrowroot can be helpful in creating a smoother texture, too.   Despite the arrowroot, the ice cream did get a little icy after freezing it overnight.  Truthfully, I am okay with some compromise in texture if it means reducing the fat and calories!  If the texture is of utmost importance and you aren't too worried about your waistline, use all full-fat coconut milk for the creamiest results.

I started off with just these two mangoes but upping it
to three was a big improvement on the mango taste.

Mango Coconut Ice Cream (makes approximately 2 quarts)

Adapted from Enjolinfam's recipe posted on Food.com
14-oz can of coconut milk
3 Tbsp arrowroot powder
Flesh of 3 large, ripe mangoes (this yielded me roughly 2 1/2 cups after pureeing)  
2 cups milk substitute (this could be additional full-fat or light coconut milk, soy, flax, or almond milks)
3 Tbsp lime juice
3/4 cup organic sugar (also known as evaporated cane juice)

1. Mix about1/2 cup of the coconut milk with the arrowroot powder until powder is dissolved.  Set aside.
2. Puree mango thoroughly. 
3. In a medium saucepan, heat up remaining coconut milk, mango puree, the 2 cups of additional milk substitute, lime juice, and sugar over medium heat.  Taste for sweetness and add more sugar if necessary.
4. Stir occasionally as the mixture cooks.  When the mixture begins to boil, stir in the coconut milk/arrowroot powder slurry.  Reduce heat to low and cook for a couple more minutes, stirring constantly as the mixture thickens.
5. Cool mixture completely.  It should thicken more as it cools.
6. Once the mixture is completely cooled, refrigerate for at least several hours.  Then follow the directions of your ice cream maker or, for those without an ice cream maker, simply freeze the mixture!
7. Three options for serving: (1) For a soft-serve texture, scoop and eat immediately after making it in your ice cream maker; (2) Freeze for 1 hour after making it, then serve.  (This is my favorite texture!); or (3)  Freeze until you need it.  Before serving, allow the ice cream to sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes to soften for ease of scoopability.

Mango ice cream shortly after coming out of the automatic ice cream maker