A delicious & festive no churn dairy free and sugar free Cranberry & Orange Ice Cream made with coconut milk.
Ok I know what you are thinking…ice cream in December. Has she gone crazy? But trust me on this. After heavy filling winter dinners ice cream makes a delicious light and refreshing dessert, especially this recipe that’s made with coconut milk.
Flavoured with cranberry and orange this dairy free ice cream is in keeping with seasonal fruits and would make the perfect accompaniment to a Christmas dessert. The cranberries give the ice cream a slight tartness but the honey and coconut milk sweeten it at the same time. My fussy eater gobbled it down with no complaints but if you are worried that it won’t be sweet enough for little taste buds then you can absolutely add more honey or use less cranberries.
To make this ice cream super creamy I recommend putting the tins of coconut milk in the fridge for several hours or overnight. This will cause the coconut cream to separate from the coconut water. When you open the can you will be able to scrape the cream straight into a bowl, leaving the water at the bottom. (Don’t chuck this away. Keep it for a smoothie or juice!)
This might seem a bit of a faff but believe me it does ensure that you are only using the creamiest part of the coconut and not the water, helping the beaten cream to become light and fluffy. Also, chose a brand which has a high coconut extract percentage. Coconut milk from Lidl has a high percentage (82%). Sainsburys own brand is 75% and both of these separate really well. In contrast the Amoy branded coconut milk is only 55% extract and doesn’t separate so well.
My final tip is to make sure the coconut milk is FULL FAT! Light or reduced fat coconut milk just won’t whip up the same!
So who’s up for a bit of ice cream on Christmas Day? Don’t tell me I’ll be the only one!
Cranberry & Orange Ice Cream {Dairy & Sugar Free}
Prep Time: 3.5 hours- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Total Time: -26573631.566667 minute
Yield: 6 1x
Category: Dessert
Cuisine: European
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
A delicious & festive no churn dairy free and sugar free Cranberry & Orange Ice Cream made with coconut milk
Ingredients
- 2 cans coconut milk
- 250g cranberries (fresh or frozen)
- 80ml water
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp orange juice
- zest of 1 orange
Instructions
- Put the cans of coconut milk in the fridge for several hours or overnight.
- Place the cranberries and water in a pan and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Reduce to a simmer for 4-5 minutes and as the cranberries start to break down, squash them with a potato masher. Add the honey and vanilla extract and remove from the heat.
- Pour the cranberry mixture into a blender with the orange juice and blitz until completely smooth. Allow the cranberry puree to cool.
- Line a loaf tin with parchment. Remove the cans of coconut milk from the freezer, open and scoop out the coconut cream, leaving the water at the bottom of the tin. Whisk the coconut cream with an electric beater until light and fluffy. Fold in the cooled cranberry puree and orange zest.
- Cover the loaf tin with two layers of cling film, followed by a layer of tin foil and place in the freezer for at least 4 hours or until frozen through.
- If you are making this in advance, remove from the freezer an hour before serving to allow it to defrost a little.
Notes
The ice cream will keep well in the freezer for 4-5 days, after which it starts to form a lot of ice crystals. So it’s best eaten asap!
Mel says
Delicious! I would happily eat this all year round!
★★★★★
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Stella says
Hi! This recipe sounds lovely but I’m a bit confused. Do coconut milk cans need to go in the freezer overnight or just chilled in the fridge is allright?
Great pictures as well, can’t wait to try!
Ciara Attwell says
Just in the the fridge Stella. Then the ice cream itself goes in the freezer once it’s made!
Lucy Parissi says
So gorgeous and so healthy! I am definitely going to be scouring your blog for recipes now that I am on a New Year health kick. Thanks for linking to #CookBlogShare
Ciara Attwell says
Thanks Lucy. This ice cream is definitely worth a try!
Sarah (@tamingtwins) says
I LOVE ice cream at all times of the year, what could be better with hot puddings than cold ice cream?! This looks awesome. The tips for the coconut milk are so useful too, I’d never have known about the %. Thank you! Thanks for linking to #festivefoodfriday and happy Christmas!
★★★★★
Ciara Attwell says
Thanks Sarah. And Happy Christmas to you too! x
Charlotte says
I love icecream regardless of the time of year and I agree that it’s nice to have something a bit lighter at christmas as the food can be so rich.
Cranberry and orange is such a lovely flavour combination so I’m sure this icecream is delicious, and it doesn’t need an icecream maker which is even better.
Lovely pictures as always, tricky when you’re working with icecream I assume.
Ciara Attwell says
It was so hard Charlotte. It was melting right in front of me!!
HELEN says
I always make ice cream at Christmas so didn’t even think it was odd for an ice cream post this time of year! This looks & sounds amazing – thanks for the coconut milk tips.
Ciara Attwell says
Thanks Helen. Glad it’s not just me who loves ice cream in the winter!