The mornings at Grandma’s were always slow. The mornings at Grandma’s house were always slow.
We could smell the scents of coffee that was too sweet and had too much cream. We’d each take turns in our bathroom to fix the creases on our faces and hair before heading into the kitchen. I’m more of a morning person than my sister. Even the night owls were able to get up early when eating grandma’s toast with cinnamon and sugar.
After I decided to go dairy-free on January 1, it was obvious that I would have a hard time if not for the fact I would miss my ice cream. John and I were in the habit of stopping by our local dairy/ice creamery every two weeks, whether it was planned or not, to get eggs, milk, and a double scoop.
Since it’s been almost three weeks since I had ice cream, I was beginning to lose my mind. A dairy-free recipe became a necessity. I’ve tried a no-churn recipe before, and while it’s great for simplicity, I knew that consistency was key when making a nondairy version. Then, I borrowed Laura’s ice cream maker and two cans of coconut milk. My grandma used to make cinnamon sugar toast, which I still crave.
This recipe was based on a tip I got from the Coconut Ice Cream Queen, Oh, Ladycakes. It is very simple. It was exactly what I had hoped for. It was creamy, rich, and sweet, like regular ice cream. The cinnamon sugar and toast flecks added a new dimension to the flavor. It’s not a 1:1 swap, but it did satisfy my ice cream cravings.
Ingredients
- Two 13.5-ounce full-fat cans of coconut milk (two cans will yield about 3 1/2 cups)
- 1/2 cup raw sugar
- 1 tsp quality vanilla extract
- xanthan Gum 1 pinch ( optional
- Half a teaspoon cinnamon
- Cinnamon sugar, 2 Tbsp
- One piece (vegan-friendly) toast (grated with a fork or scraped off the knife)
Instructions
- Add coconut milk to the saucepan. Bring sugar to a rolling boil, add it, stir, and continue whisking for 1-2 minutes. Continue whisking for another 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in vanilla, cinnamon, and optional xanthan gum. Remove the mixture from the heat. Combine by whisking.
- Transfer into a glass dish and refrigerate for a few hours until it cools. I refrigerated mine for 6-8 hrs and covered it with plastic wrap when it stopped steaming.
- After the mixture has been thoroughly chilled, pour it into the bowl of your Ice Cream Machine and mix according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- When the ice cream is almost done, sprinkle half the cinnamon sugar and toast bits on top of it. Mine took 35-40 minutes.
- After the ice cream maker stops, pour the remaining cinnamon sugar and toast bits into a container that can be frozen. Swirl the mixture with a knife to incorporate the ingredients.
- You can now either eat it softly, which is incredibly creamy and delicious, or put it in the fridge to harden. The product should stay fresh for a week. Let it thaw for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
