Ingredients for the base

• 1 can coconut milk, full-fat;
• 2 eggs or 4 egg yolks (yolks alone will give even more richness);
• Seeds from 2 fresh vanilla beans or 4 tbsp real vanilla extract.

Possible flavoring options (add any combination)

• 1/2 cup of your favorite berries (chopped or blended to a puree);
• 1/2 cup coconut flakes;
• 1/4 cup finely chopped mint;
• 1/4 cup chopped nuts;
• lemon, lime or orange zest;
• 3 tbsp raw honey;
• 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips or flakes (you can take a high quality dark chocolate and chop it yourself to your liking).

1. Boil some water in a pot and reduce to a simmer.
2. Place a heat proof bowl over it to create a double boiler and pour the coconut milk in it. Put vanilla seeds or vanilla extract with the coconut milk and heat until hot, but make sure it doesn’t come to a boil. If using flavorings such as mint or dark chocolate, you can add them now. You can also add chocolate at the end of the process to keep the pieces whole.
3. Whisk the eggs or yolks in a separate bowl. Temper the eggs by adding one ladleful of the now hot coconut milk while whisking quite vigorously to slowly bring the temperature up without cooking the eggs. Add two or three more ladlefuls of the coconut milk mixture and incorporate them to the eggs while whisking continuously.
4. Pour the tempered eggs into the double boiler and continue whisking.
5. Whisk for a couple of minutes non-stop to form a thick custard. Make sure it doesn’t get too hot and the simmering water doesn’t touch the mixture.
6. Once the custard is ready, remove from the heat source and let it cool on the counter or in the refrigerator.
7. You can add any other flavoring you want to use once the custard is cold enough to comfortably put a finger in it.
8. Let it cool even more in the refrigerator before freezing it.
9. Put in your ice cream maker and follow its instructions or put in a baking dish in the freezer and stir vigorously every 30 minutes for about 2 to 3 hours until it’s set.
10. Take it out of the freezer for about 10 minutes before enjoying so it softens a bit. Serve with added coconut milk, berries, mint, coconut flakes or any other flavoring you might like.

recipe and photo: paleoleap.com