Chocolate Coconut Milk ice cream

Makes 6 servings (fits in my 2 qt ice cream maker)

Ingredients

3 (15 oz) cans full fat coconut milk

3/4 cup honey, agave nectar, or granulated sugar

3/8 tsp salt

3 T cornstarch

2-1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 cup dairy free chocolate chips, nuts, etc.

Directions

1. Shake the cans of coconut milk thoroughly before opening. Scoop out 1/2 cup of coconut milk and set it aside. Combine the remaining coconut milk, agave or honey, cocoa powder, and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat until the sweetener thins and is easily mixed into the coconut milk, about 2 minutes.

2. In a small bowl, whisk remaining 1/2 cup coconut milk with the cornstarch until well combined. Stir into the warm coconut milk base and cook until over medium heat until the mixture begins to thicken — enough so that it coats the back of a spoon, 6 to 8 minutes. Do not to allow the mixture to boil. Whisk in the vanilla extract.

3. Remove from the heat and pour the coconut base into a separate bowl. Allow to cool on the counter for 30 minutes, then cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 hours — you need the base to be very cold before you process it in the ice cream machine.

4. Churn the mixture in your ice cream machine following the manufacturer’s instructions. Add the chocolate chunks at the very end. When thickened to an soft-serve ice cream consistency, spread into a large loaf pan (or pie pan) and freeze for a few more hours (or overnight) until the ice cream has firmed up completely.