Once in a while, as I mindlessly go about my business living life in an ice cream induced stupor, I’ll stumble across one of those poor unfortunate souls who, for whatever reason, is forced to abstain from the supreme influence and indescribable magic of dairy products.
These conversations become especially poignant when framed within the context of the blog.
“That just looks so delicious!” says Person. “But…I can’t. I can’t have dairy.”
Naturally, my heart always breaks a little upon hearing those four fateful words.
After all, the thought of living a life without dairy is…sad. Tragic, even.
Okay. If we’re being honest, it’s downright unbearable.
Usually, when these conversations occur, I’m briefly inspired to Do Something About It. I fantasize about becoming a Dairy-Free Hero of sorts, quitting my day job to pioneer a delicious new line of gourmet dairy-free ice creams that put their full-dairy counterparts to shame.
But, like many things that cause me to react emotionally, I buried this concept of dairy-free heroism deep into my subconscious, where it remained hidden behind other ideas and feelings that I refuse to acknowledge.
Until recently, that is, when the concept of dairy-free ice cream reemerged into my life, in the form of my sweet little baby nephew, the newest member of our crazed dairy-loving family. Little Nephew started having some pretty major tummy aches and unexplained rashes right out of the gate, and by process of elimination, it seems dairy may have been the culprit.
Yada yada yada …now my sis-in-law is dairy-free. (For a good cause of course…but it doesn’t make the lifestyle transition any easier).
After our most recent visit, my dairy-free demons haunted me the whole way home, and a few days thereafter. But I was tortured by an internal conflict. Did I want to be a dairy-free hero? Why yes, of course. But..what’s ice cream without..well, the cream?
I was intimidated by the task ahead of me. In case you haven’t noticed, I have a strict whole milk + heavy cream + many many many eggs formula, and generally it works (well, most of the time. I’m talking to you, banana gelato).
I decided to buckle down and do some experimenting, and after some trial and error, found that coconut milk (full-fat, of course), has a natural richness that lends itself perfectly to the ice creamatic arts. However, there was still that issue of the slight coconut taste of coconut milk. For coconut fans, this is an added bonus, but for those of us who only appreciate coconut in moments of extreme desperation when a wee Almond Joy is the last snack in the candy dish, it can be quite problematic – which is why I went with a rich chocolate – a flavor that would somewhat mask, yet somewhat complement, the coconut-y ice cream base.
I didn’t decide on Rocky Road until I spotted some dairy-free chocolate chips at my local Target; but as soon as I saw them, I knew this ice cream was going to be BALLS-TO-THE-WALL in dairy-free goodness. Besides, what’s a mere $7.99 per bag if it gets me that much closer to my dairy-free hero status?
Once I gathered my ingredients and got started, the process felt like making ice cream and looked like making ice cream. But in the end, did it taste like ice cream, you ask?
Why yes, dear readers – yes it did! There is a pretty significant coconut aftertaste, so if you are adamantly against coconut, I wouldn’t waste your time. However, if you’re open to an essence of the tropics in your frozen desserts, then you’ll be just fine!
As far as texture, this ice cream is a bit icy at first, but it’s nothing that 15 minutes on the counter won’t fix. The result? A creamy, palate-pleasing experience that’s darn near close to the real thing.
It’s worth noting that I also cheated a little by keeping in the eggs to serve as a stabilizer, but if you wanted this ice cream to be completely allergen free, you could leave them out – just prepare for a slightly icier texture.
At the end of the day, I still prefer full-dairy ice cream (shocking, I know). But if for some reason that’s not an option, this is a great substitute.
I’ll continue working on my formula and posting updates as I go; expect to see a few more dairy free posts this summer. After all, perfection – and dairy free heroism – don’t happen over night. 🙂
Happy scooping!
Dairy Free Dark Chocolate Rocky Road Ice Cream
Ingredients:
2 cans coconut milk (full fat only)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 egg yolks
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup dairy free dark chocolate chips (or to taste)
1 cup roughly chopped pecans (or to taste; I used raw pecans but you can toast for added crunch)
1 cup marshmallow fluff (homemade is awesome, but store bought works great too!)
Directions
Make the base:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, cocoa powder, and salt and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, warm the coconut milk (do not boil!). Once milk is thoroughly heated, add to the cocoa powder mixture a little at a time (about ½ cup) until a paste forms.
- Whisk in the egg yolks one at a time, making sure each is incorporated fully into the mixture.
- Pour the mixture back into your saucepan, and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, until it thickens and coats the back of a rubber spatula or spoon (just like custard!!)
- Stir in vanilla, and then store mixture in the fridge for a few hours or overnight until chilled thoroughly.
- Freeze in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. During the last few minutes of churning, add in the chocolate chips, pecans, and gobs of marshmallow fluff (marshmallow needs to be dropped in a little at a time in order to prevent a giant ball of hardened fluff from forming). Store in an airtight container in the freezer overnight or until hardened (about 4 hours or so).
- Enjoy 🙂
if the spoon fits 
This ice cream looks delicious! I love your photos as well 😍 The placement, aura and background is absolutely gorgeous! Wonderful post!
Thank you so much, Becca! I checked out your blog too and the content is spectacular! Very inspirational. Bonus points for the J. R. R. Tolkien quote 🙂 Thank you for stopping by!
Love you for this (and many other reasons), sister!!!! 😘
Love you too! Sorry I ate it all 😦 I’ll make you your very own pint!
Sounds great – looks great – must taste great too! You are blessed with great creativity
Aw why thank you! What a nice compliment coming from one of the most talented people of all 🙂
Ooh I can’t wait to try this when I’m feeling too lazy to go out to the store for fresh milk – I always have cans of coconut milk in the cupboard and love the taste! So sweet of you to sweep to baby Nephew’s and other dairy-free persons’ rescue with this decadent non-dairy creation! 😘
Thank you! Coconut milk isn’t something we generally keep around, but considering my love of Indian food and now this ice cream, I may have to change my ways 🙂 love you!
This sounds phenomenal. I actually really love coconut so I think I’ll definitely have to try this. Even though I don’t have any problems (other than maybe over-consumption) with dairy, I have tried several dairy free ice creams and found one called coconut bliss to be my favorite. Really great texture, creaminess, and flavor with just a hint of coconut aftertaste, which again, I really enjoy. The only problem… it makes me… kind of… gassy
(shhhh!)
Funny thing about the rocky road too- I’m working on a rocky road cake for next week, and for some reason had it in my head that rocky road was SUPPOSED to have coconut in it, I even bought some for the cake, and then realized I was wrong at the last minute and left it out. Anyway, stay tuned!
Yet further evidence that we lead parallel lives – love for rocky road, love for dairy, gassiness hahah!! I can’t wait to see your cake, and I’ll def have to give that coconut ice cream a try. I think I’ve seen the brand in the health food section of our local grocery store. I’m always looking for solutions to help me feel better about downing an entire pint at a time!!
I am very impressed that you are able to create a beautiful blog based solely on ice cream. This is my dream blog because I am totally in love with ice cream! And this one sounds so delicious! 😀
Thank you so much! This warms my heart, because I’ve definitely had some insecurities/reservations about the blog and how long I can continue coming up with new flavors, but luckily for ice cream lovers like us, it seems the possibilities are endless for now 🙂 Thank you so much for stopping by !
do you only use the thick part that rises to the top of the coconut milk or do you use everything that’s in the can (the cream + the coconut water)?
Thanks!
Ps: dairy-free people are wacky 😛
Hi Sophie! I use everything that is in the can – if you notice that some of the liquid has started to separate, give it a quick stir. If that doesn’t help and you still have some lumps and bumps, most of these should resolve themselves when you warm the ice cream base over the stove. I hope this helps – thank you so much for stopping by 🙂
Yum. This ice cream looks and sounds so great.. I love anything rocky road so this is a treat I must make!
Thank you so much, Thalia! Rocky road is a flavor that I fee like I never appreciated much when I was younger (I always wanted mint chocolate chip!), but now that my taste buds are “maturing,” I’m all over it! Thank you so much for stopping by 🙂