Chocolate Curry Coconut Ice Cream and Coconut Shortbread Cookies
I must apologize for my absence from my blog. All good things have taken me away for the past couple of weeks. I have been traveling and spending time with my family. I spent a week in Santa Rosa, California, with my sister-in-law, brother-in-law and my niece and nephew. Much of the family joined us over the Memorial Day weekend to celebrate three BIG birthdays and one eighth grade graduation. But I will write more about that later and include lots of photos of all the adventures I had and the delicious food I ate.
Summer has arrived, if not literally, at least the weather has shifted to warmer days, my Girl is home from school, and I feel like being in the garden and going barefoot. The barbecue is uncovered and we actually ate “al fresco” Saturday evening for the first time since last October. Even in Southern California I can sense the change of seasons and the arrival of summer conjures up childhood memories of when the days were longer, the nights warmer, and it seemed we hadn’t a care in the world.
With summer weather, comes summer sweet treats. Although I am obsessed with ice cream year round, it just seems to taste better during the summer months. I am such an ice cream fanatic that when I travel to new places, I search out the local ice creameries ahead of time and make them a part of my itinerary. Back quite a few months ago when there was still a chill in the air and before I officially began to publish my blog, I happened upon a wonderful artisanal ice cream recipe book call Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home, by Jeni Britton Bauer. Not only did I fall in love with the book, but I fell in love with Jeni. In the beginning of the book she shares the personal and intricate details of her journey from her first and short-lived store Scream, as a pink haired twenty-two year old, to the successful opening of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams many years later. I respect her philosophy; I am impressed by her tenacity; and I admire her dedication to seeing her dream to fruition. Her recipes are inventive with creative and interesting flavor combinations – and all without the addition of eggs. Yes – they’re eggless! You are probably questioning how great ice cream could be absent the usual addition of egg yolks found in most recipes. Trust me when I tell you that of the half dozen recipes I have tried from her book – one was better than the next. Rich, creamy, and smooth.
Here I give you an adapted version of one of the recipes from her book. If you are not a big curry fan, simply omit it. The chocolate and coconut alone still result in a marvelous ice cream. I have paired this recipe with a Coconut Shortbread cookie because – well, just because! I have been in search of a coconut cookie reminiscent of one from my childhood. At last this one satisfies my memory. An incredibly easy cookie to make – it last for days in a tightly sealed container, and freezes beautifully. I think it mingles perfectly with the flavors of this ice cream.
Lastly, if you don’t own an ice cream making machine, I strongly urge you to invest in one. There are really good and reasonably priced models available at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and many department stores. I have the Cuisinart version with the freezable canister. I even bought a second canister so I could churn larger batches of ice cream at the same time. Ice cream is incredibly easy to make and nothing tastes better than homemade!
I love when savory meets sweet as in Salted Caramel, Bacon and Maple, and here where chocolate and curry marry beautifully in a complex and taste tantalizing ice cream. Complimenting this creamy dessert is a buttery, crunchy, coconut shortbread cookie. A perfect combination!
Chocolate Curry Coconut Ice Cream
1 cup whole milk
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips (Can also substitute 2 ounces of any bittersweet chocolate, chopped)
1 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup heavy cream (See Note)
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon yellow curry powder
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (Can use toasted coconut if preferred)
1/4 teaspoon salt
In a small bowl mix 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch to make a smooth paste.
Place the chocolate chips in a medium bowl and set aside.
Have ready a gallon size ziplock bag and a bowl filled with ice.
In a medium saucepan, combine the remaining milk, the evaporated milk, cream, sugar, and corn syrup. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Whisk in the cocoa and continue to boil for an additional 4 minutes. Whisk in the cornstarch slurry and bring the mixture back to a boil. Boil over medium-high heat for 1 minute, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. The mixture will have thickened just a bit.
Gradually whisk the hot mixture into the chocolate chips. The chocolate should melt completely and the mixture should appear smooth. Add the curry powder, coconut, and salt.
Pour the mixture into the gallon ziplock bag. ( I placed the bag inside a 2 quart measuring cup to steady it. A medium size bowl would serve the same purpose.) Add water to the bowl of ice and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. Let stand for approximately 30 minutes, adding more ice if necessary.
Pour the ice cream base into the frozen canister of an ice cream maker and churn until thick and creamy. Transfer the churned ice cream to an airtight storage container and press a piece of parchment paper or wax paper directly against the surface of the ice cream. Freeze until firm, approximately 4 hours. Soften at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
Note: After making this recipe I found out that the amount of cream used in this recipe was actually suppose to be 1 1/4 cups. There was a typo in the book. I followed the amount in the book using only 1/4 cup of cream. It was rich, thick, and pudding like. I loved it. Either way, you can’t go wrong with this recipe. Use which ever amount suits your personal taste.
Makes about 1 quart depending on the amount of cream used.
Coconut Shortbread Cookies
2 sticks of butter, at room temperature
1 cup of confectioner’s sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 teaspoon salt
turbinado sugar
Preheat the oven to 325˚. Have ready two parchment lined baking sheets.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter with the confectioner’s sugar at medium speed until light in color, about two to three minutes. Add the vanilla and beat until incorporated. At low speed, beat in the flour, the two coconuts, and the salt until the flour is just incorporated, about 30 seconds. Divide the dough in half and transfer one of the halves to a work surface sprinkled with powdered sugar. Roll the dough to approximately 1/4 to 1/3 inch thickness. Cut out cookies using a decorative cookie cutter or a plain round cutter. Move to the parchment lined cookie sheet. Set the scraps aside. Roll the second half a dough following the same procedure. Gently combine the scraps, re-roll, and cut additional cookies. Sprinkle cookies with turbinado sugar and bake for 20 to 22 minutes, rotating the cookies sheets half way through baking.
Makes approximately 2 to 3 dozen cookies depending on the cookie cutter used.
Source: Ice Cream – Adapted from Jeni’s Spendid Ice Creams at Home
Coconut Shortbread Cookies – Inspired by Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey
Hooray! You’re back! Carley & I are in Istanbul, and we were just saying that you haven’t posted in awhile – we missed you! Looking forward to trying this when we get home.
I have been thinking about the two of you and your travels. Can’t believe you are checking in all the way from Istanbul. Can’t wait to hear all about it!
The ice cream sounds awesome and exotic. We will give it a try this weekend. Checking in from Istanbul is very exciting, and a lot more interesting than Northern Cal!
okay can I brag and say that I was lucky enough to have this ice cream in the sifting focus kitchen and it was AMAZING!
Do yourself a favor and make this ice cream…
Thanks Stac!
This ice cream looks amazing! 🙂 I just went through your entire blog! LOL beautiful photos and wonderful recipes! I`ve bookmarked a ton!
Lynna, thank you so much for your kind words! I spent some time on your blog as well. Just lovely!