Roasted Coconut Cashew Ice Cream

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Some challenges are really irresistible, so much that you will make time to somehow prepare it and post it. Ever since Sarah posted that this month’s theme for the Fantastical Food Fight is going to be “Ice Cream”, I have been dreaming about it. We had previously done the same theme exactly two years ago and I had posted this ice cream, which is so similar to what I am posting today! Initially, I was thinking about making butterscotch popsicles that I had bookmarked from a site. But then when I messaged Sarah, she mentioned to stick to making an ice cream. Then my mind was constantly screaming “Salted Caramel and Chocolate”.

Of late, I have been obsessed with salted caramel. I really do not why. I have never liked caramel or its flavor before but now I have taken a liking towards it. I still can’t understand the reason why. I wanted to make the ice cream before the girls travelled, but somehow in midst of all the madness, the ice cream never materialized. The girls had been telling me that it has been long since I had made them some ice cream, the last one being the Mocha Almond Fudge, and I really wanted to make one before they went. But time didn’t permit me to do so and it remained undone.

It was only during this weekend that I could make an ice cream for this theme. I initially thought of making it with only coconut, then gradually the cashew nuts joined in. Coconut, cashew nuts and cardamom is so inbuilt into our Malabar cuisine that I could only envision how amazing this combination could be. I took out the last of the coconut that umma had stocked up in the freezer when she came in December. Yes, she brings a lot of coconut when she comes, and usually she finishes it before she returns, but this time there were still a couple of packs left. I hardly use coconut in my cooking, so it lasts me for very long. Grated coconut stored in the freezer can stay as good as fresh for close to a year – talking from experience. 😉

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I whipped the ice cream base and pushed it into the freezer in between my lunch work. I am actually in the process of flushing my kitchen off extra stocks, as I am travelling on August 2 and nothing in my pantry is going to be used for the next one month. This ice cream used the final pack of whipping cream powder I had. I will go slow on the condensed milk and coconut milk, since they still have time and will stay put in the pantry. 🙂

I defrosted the coconut and roasted it. I roasted some of the cashew nuts I had in my pantry as well – also trying to finish them. I folded it into the whipped mixture and waited with abated breath. I actually couldn’t serve it to my cousin during the weekend, as I had intended. We had gone for a long drive towards Wadi Shis, which was such a beautiful experience. The mountains, the bleak green of the date palms and the sand somehow gave me a relaxed mind. We got back late and then none were in a mood to eat anything. Hopefully I can save up a little to give him when he comes over this weekend, even though I doubt it. 😀 {Update: As the post goes live, I have already cleaned up the last bits in the glass pan last night, washed and kept it aside. So there is nothing left! 😀 } I binged on the two scoops you can see here plus a couple more as soon as I finished shooting. It was so so so delicious – those 3 ‘so’ is deliberate. 🙂 I love ice creams that have a lot of bites and this was exactly that!

I had added cardamom as is, so there were bites of it in between, but if you don’t like it, then I have shared something in the notes. I wouldn’t ask you to avoid it – it is the major flavor quotient in the ice cream! Off to the recipe… and yes, do not forget to check out all the amazing ones that other bloggers have come up with for your home made ice cream fix!

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5 from 1 vote

Roasted Coconut Cashew Ice Cream

Course Ice Cream

Cuisine Continental

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 6 hours hours

Total Time 6 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Servings 4 -6

Author Rafeeda

Ingredients

• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 can condensed milk
• 200 ml coconut milk
• 200 ml milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
• 1/4 cup packed grated coconut
• 1/4 cup cashew nuts crushed

Instructions

• Whip the cream till stiff. Add the ingredients from condensed milk to cardamom powder and beat till combined.
• Pour into a bowl and freeze for an hour.
• Meanwhile, toast the coconut till slightly browned. Empty into a bowl to cool.
• Toast the cashew nuts in the same pan. Empty into the bowl with the coconut.
• After an hour, take out the ice cream mixture, fold in the coconut and cashew nuts.
• Return back into the freezer and allow it to set for around 2 hours.
• Take out, and fold the mixture well to recombine. Freeze till set.
• To serve, take out and keep for 5 minutes. Scoop and enjoy!

Notes

If you don't like bites of cardamom, then soak the cardamom in coconut milk for an hour in the fridge. Drain and use into the ice cream.
I forgot to beat it in between and hence the ice cream has ice crystals. If you feel lazy like me and don't mind the ice, then freeze it continuously till set. However beating it a couple of times in between will result in a creamier ice cream.