toasted coconut ice cream

I've been on a coconut kick lately.  I don't know what it is, but I just can't get enough, in any shape or form.  Coconut in my granola, road-trip Mounds bars from the gas station, chocolate coconut ice cream. 

Recently, my sweetie surprised me with a pint of toasted coconut ice cream from the nearby grocery.  This grocery is amazing - beautiful and elusive produce, cheese, and wines.  They also make a lot of their own items, from marinades to cakes.  But their most special house-made items are their ice creams.  So special, they have a creamery across the street from the primary market, solely for ice cream.

San Franciscans love this ice cream.  In the rain, in the cold, in the dark, there will be a line of patient ice cream lovers wrapped all the way around the corner.  When it is hot and sunny (those 15 days a year!),  all of SF is getting their Bi-Rite ice cream to enjoy while lounging in nearby Delores Park.  (There is a secret, though: for soft serve and other delicious but limited selections, you can go to the window around the corner where there is virtually no line!)

Inspired by both coconut and this SF delicacy, I decided I needed to make my own version: not overwhelming coconut, but perfectly toasty and sweet.  And the best part? No line!

Toasted Coconut Ice Cream

inspired by Bi-Rite Creamery

2 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 cups 1% milk

3/4 cup sugar

4 large egg yolks

2 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut 

2 tsp. salt

Spread the coconut on a sheet pan and toast in a 325'F oven until brown and toasty, about 5 minutes.  Watch it closely, though, as it is easy to burn.

Combine 2 cups of the toasted coconut with milk, cream and salt and heat to just simmer.  Do not let the milk boil.  Turn off the heat and let sit for about 15 minutes to steep the coconut flavor. 

While the milk is steeping, combine the egg yolks and sugar in a small metal bowl.  Whisk together the eggs and sugar while holding the bowl over a steaming saucepan until fluffy and light in color,  creating a sabayon.

Remove sabayon from the heat.  

Strain the coconut from the milk.  Discard the coconut (so sad, I know!!).

Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg and sugar mixture, whisking all the while.  

Strain the base through a fine mesh strainer and chill the base for at least two hours.  Overnight is better.

Freeze in your ice cream freezer. 

When the ice cream is sufficiently frozen, move the ice cream to a freeze-safe container.

Mix in the remaining 1/2 cup toasted coconut (or save to sprinkle on top). 

Freeze to harden, 2-3 hours or overnight,  if you can wait that long!  I couldn't.

Tricks and Tips:
I used turbinado sugar for a deeper "brown" flavor that helps to accentuate the toasty notes.

You could add vanilla to your steeping milk if you like - it helps potentiate the sweetness and round the flavor a bit.  However,  I chose to keep this as coconutty as possible so I left it out this time.

When separating eggs, I put my egg whites in a mason jar to save for later.  They are great to have on hand for egg white scrambles, dutch babies or egg white cocktails like the Edith Day or Ramos Fizz.

By creating a sabayon, you are gently cooking the eggs without curdling them.  This is the basis of any custard, and the essential method for making a hollandaise.

Slowing adding the milk to the sabayon tempers the eggs and prevents them from cooking when the hot milk hits them.  But don't worry too much about it after you get the first 1/3 of your milk in, it will be more tolerant at this point.  Straining through the fine mesh helps to remove any accidentally cooked egg.

This ice cream is really, really good with some melted dark chocolate poured over top.