Coconut-Mango Ice Cream

We paired this ice cream with the similarly titled, Six-Layer Coconut-Mango Cake, the movie Choke and the wine Uncle Dick’s Sparkling Shiraz.  It was perfect with the cake!  Since the cake only had a thin layer of mango between the layers, this ice cream worked both as a flavor enhancer as well as a great way to make the cake even more moist, a little ice cream with each bite!

I scoured the internet for a coconut-mango ice cream recipe and found tons.  None were exactly the same so I just tried to mix a few of them together and make one of my own, very similar to the one from Epicurious.  Came out perfectly.  It’s a little time intensive compared to the last ice cream but worth it.

Coconut-Mango Ice Cream
Makes 4 quarts

• 2 1/2 cups canned or fresh passion fruit nectar/mango purée
• 1 1/2 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup half and half
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar

Stir together mango purée or passion fruit nectar, coconut milk, cream, corn syrup, lemon juice, and vanilla in a medium bowl until combined well.

In a large saucepan, heat half and half just until it boils.

Meanwhile, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and a salt in a bowl, then add hot milk in a stream, whisking. Pour mixture back into the saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until it registers 170 to 175°F on thermometer, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat, then stir in mango mixture until combined well.

Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl (to remove any lumps or the strings from mango purée), discarding solids, and cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Chill, covered, until very cold, about 4 hours.

Follow the directions from your ice cream machine manufacturer. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, at least 12 hours.

Here’s a slideshow of the entire process.