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Do you love coconut as much as I do? This homemade Coconut Custard Ice Cream recipe is rich and creamy, filled with coconut flavor, and one you’ll want to make over and over again.
This coconut milk ice cream recipe is one you’ll love all summer long.
We appreciate your support
Please let me know if you have any questions about this recipe. I read all the comments myself and I try to help as soon as I can. I have readers from all levels of comfort and experience in the kitchen on my site, and I’ve tried to answer some of your questions already in the post. But if I’ve missed anything, please feel free to leave a comment and ask.
Homemade ice cream
When we finished the last batch of ice cream, Salted Caramel Ice Cream to be exact, we decided that we needed more. It was so good. So creamy and super yum. Perhaps we finished it too quickly, but nonetheless, we needed another homemade ice cream.
So, we discussed what the next flavor would be. In our discussions, we talked about how good custard based, or frozen custard ice creams are. And, that word “custard” spurred my husband into saying that he loves coconut custard pie, and wouldn’t it be delicious to make a coconut custard pie ice cream.
How to toast coconut:
Toasting coconut brings out its nutty full flavor yumminess.
I shared a couple different ways on how to toast coconut over here.
Just be sure that the coconut has cooled completely before you add it to the Coconut Custard Ice Cream or it will produce little icy crystals in the ice cream.
Why do you need eggs in ice cream?
Eggs, specifically egg yolks, play several roles in homemade ice cream.
Yolks contain mostly fat and protein. Because fat freezes differently than water, it makes ice cream soft and creamy.
And the protein in eggs, when cooked, coagulates into a thick gel. Water gets trapped in these cooked proteins, and because it’s trapped and surrounded protein, the water can’t form ice crystals. No ice crystals means smooth, creamy ice cream.
Egg whites
The use of a whole egg vs. just the yolk is largely a texture issue.
Egg whites help to add structure and volume, making the ice cream slightly lighter, airier, and less dense. While using yolks only will make a heavier thicker texture with a creamier custard.
So, adding the whole egg vs. adding just the yolk is for a little different texture. Unlike baking, which is a real science, ice creams are fun to play around with. You can take just about any ice cream and swap whole eggs for yolks as well.
Frozen custard
Want to read more about frozen custard based ice creams and why I think they are the bee’s knees? Hop over to my Salted Caramel Ice Cream recipe.
And, if you’d like to learn more about the differences between ice cream, sorbet, gelato, and all the other frozen treats, hop over here to read about Frozen treats with some good tips and tricks there.
If you’re looking for a great Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream, give this one a try!
Possible mix ins
- Add ½ cup crumbled graham crackers for Coconut Cream Pie Ice Cream
- Toss in ½ cup drained crushed pineapple for a piña colada ice cream
- Pour in ¼ cup coconut rum for a tropical delight ice cream
- Spread this ice cream into a cooked pie shell, or a graham cracker pie crust for a frozen coconut cream pie
- Add ½ cup chopped mounds or almond Joy candy bar to the machine for a coconut candy bar ice cream
- Try tossing in ½ cup crumbled Samoas cookies for a girl scout ice cream
- Swirl in some salted caramel for a coconut caramel ice cream
To properly swirl in a mix-in
If you want to swirl in a sauce or jam to your ice cream, there are two ways to do that.
My favorite is the layer and swirl method. Remove one-third of the finished soft ice cream from the machine, and spoon it into a freezer safe container. Remember my favorite container is {affiliate link} this insulated ice cream tub. Cover the ice cream with one-third of the sauce or jam. Repeat, making layers with the remaining ice cream and sauce. Place the layered ice cream in the freezer to firm it up before serving. As you scoop, it will look like swirls.
The second way is to wait until the machine has finished freezing the ice cream. Remove the mixer bar before spooning the sauce over the soft frozen ice cream. Lightly swirl in a zigzag pattern with a small knife or fork.
Looking for other great coconut recipes?
Like I said, I love coconut, so I have lots of great coconut recipes. Try some of my favorites like: Coconut Custard Pie, Gluten-Free Coconut Muffins, and Vegan No-Bake Chocolate Coconut Candy Cookies.
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Recipe
Coconut Custard Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/3 cup full fat coconut milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup toasted sweetened shredded coconut
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, beat the sugar and the eggs until thickened and pale yellow. Beat in flour and salt. Set aside.
- Bring the coconut milk to a light boil in a heavy medium saucepan. Slowly beat the hot coconut milk into the egg mixture. Pour the entire mixture back into the saucepan, and place over low heat. Stir constantly until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon; keep a close eye on it, as it should never come to a boil. When thick enough, the custard should register 170°F on a candy thermometer. Pour the custard through a fine-mesh strainer into a large clean bowl.
- Allow the custard to cool slightly, then stir in the heavy cream and vanilla.
- Cover the surface of the custard mixture with a piece of plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 or up to overnight.
- Freeze the custard in an ice cream maker, adding ½ cup toasted sweetened coconut to the machine when the ice cream is semi frozen. Allow the machine to mix in the coconut. Proceed according to manufacturer’s instructions.
- Transfer the finished ice cream to an airtight container and place it in the freezer until ready to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
Liz Della Croce
I could use a bowl or two of this!
Crystal Faulkner
I love coconut! This looks so good.
Mark
This is literally the perfect low-carb ice cream recipe base. I followed the recipe except I replaced 1.5 tablespoons of flour with 1.5 teaspoons of coconut flour and I replaced the sugar 1-to-1 with allulose sweetener. I also sprinkled toasted un-sweetened coconut flakes on top before serving instead of blending them into the mix. I used Imperial Dragon coconut “milk” which is super thick and has the best flavor profile IMO. The ice cream turned out heavenly and it had barely any carbs to worry about. What I learned from your recipe is that making the custard with the egg whites (not just yokes) adds enough water to let me use a low-sugar and high-fat cream base. I also adore the coconut flavor and think it would pair well with chocolate, coffee, or mango additives. Thanks a million for this recipe and I can’t wait to start experimenting around it.
Christi
I just made this and it’s divine!!! I want to keep it all to myself, haha. But seriously I can’t wait for others to try it. I will be making this again for sure! Thanks for the recipe.
Fred
This is very good ice cream I’ll be making this again very shortly
John
Delicious! Best coconut ice cream i’ve ever had. Came out perfect. I used erythritol instead of sugar and did a dark semi-sweet chocolate swirl throughout while packing into freezer container prior to freezing.
Sarah
Greetings Debi, can this work with full fat coconut cream instead of heavy cream?
Additionally for the swirl method, I want to layer in a thin layer of chocolate, pure dark chocolate, I’ll be using a double boiler method to melt it, will this work or will the hot chocolate create ice crystals?
Debi
Sarah, though I haven’t tested coconut cream instead of heavy cream in this recipe, The coconut cream will provide a nice creamy dairy free texture with a subtle coconut flavor. It can be used as a 1:1 substitute, but be aware that the fat content and sweetness can vary by brand. So, you may get a slightly different end ice cream. I’d love to hear how it works if you try it.
Sarah
Thank you Debbie, I’ll let you know how it goes, and the chocolate for the swirl method, will using pure melted chocolate work well or will it create ice crystals in the ice cream due to the heat when adding?
Debi
Sarah, I’m sorry I failed to answer that part of your question. I saw it and just spaced on answering! lol I would suggest waiting a little bit after melting the chocolate, so it isn’t super hot. I think once it cools a bit and you swirl it in, pop the ice cream in the freezer right away and you should be fine. Try to use small amounts of the chocolate (so it isn’t in large chunks in the ice cream). Once plain chocolate freezes I find it to be very hard and kind of distracting to the ice cream. Even regular sized chocolate chips tend to be too big to me. Mini ones work out better. You might consider adding something to the chocolate swirl to keep it from freezing too hard – like a little heavy cream in the chocolate.
Sarah
Thank you ! No worries I space out too, ok I think I’ll keep it very light or maybe just save it for on top or add a little coconut cream or oil, thanks for the help I’m excited to experiment