Black Cherry Coconut-Kanten Ice Cream


Black Cherry Coconut-Kanten Ice Cream

2 cups cherry juice OR strong hibiscus tea (for less carb)
4 Tbs. kanten (agar agar)
1 can coconut milk, chilled in can
2 tsp. alcohol-free vanilla extract
1-2 tsp. raw honey (optional)
3/4 cup frozen black cherries

Thoroughly chill can of coconut without shaking it first. Remove from refrigerator, open carefully without shaking, and remove all of the rich, fatty portion to a measuring cup. You should have about 3/4 cup. Do not add the clear liquid from the bottom of the can; reserve it for another use. With a wire whisk, thoroughly whip the vanilla extract into the coconut milk. Place kanten and juice or tea in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring often. Simmer for 2-3 minutes, until kanten is completely dissolved. Remove from heat, allow to cool until you can comfortably touch the liquid but it is still warm. Stir in honey (you probably could use stevia instead) and stir until dissolved. Stir in cherries, then coconut milk. Stir well until thoroughly combined. Pour into freezer safe container and freeze until firm, stirring often for the first 15 minutes or so, then check once again after an hour to see if you like the texture or if it needs stirring. Kanten sets very quickly, check it every 2-3 minutes or so after placing in the freezer.

You could also purée the cherries before stirring in, then pour the mess into popsicle molds. Do not stir it while freezing.

The texture is much richer than an italian ice but not as rich as gelato. I imagine that if you added a beaten egg once it has cooled to the point where it won't cook the egg, then it would give a really nice texture.
By Stacie Tolen. Posted to the PaleoRecipe Mailing List, April 2001

I haven't tried it without eggs (which you can't use) but I've made coco ice cream with, if I remember correctly, two eggs per can of coconut milk. I used a standard ice cream machine and it worked just fine! I sweeten to taste with stevia.

Coconut milk is lower in calories than cream but coco ice cream is thicker'n mud, just fabulous! For fun, throw in some macadamia butter and shredded coconut just before you stop the machine; gives is a swirled effect. Stevia and vanilla alone are just dreamy, though.
Dori Zook. Posted to the PaleoRecipe Mailing List, April 2001
section picture
Peter Zijlstra / 123RF Stock Photo 14997102