Honey Coconut Kefir Ice Cream Recipe
Cool, creamy and tangy, this honey coconut kefir ice cream garnished with fresh berries, is the perfect treat for a hot day!
I've hurt myself in some pretty embarrassing ways. There was the time in elementary school when I tore the water cap behind my knee while pretending to be injured. It was all a ruse so I didn't have to go to the pool with my neighbor. I ended up on crutches for 2 weeks. Then there was the time slipped on the wet marble floor outside my sophomore literature class in front of, oh, maybe 100 or so people. I fell on my butt, and bruised it so badly I could barely sit for the next week. And of course, we can't forget the three scars on my face from two separate dog bites...in the same week (not from our fluffies of course). The next week I had to go to the Bahamas with stitches all over my face, somewhat traumatizing for a middle schooler already deep into her awkward phase.
This honey coconut kefir ice cream may be responsible for one of the most embarrassing injuries of my life. Yes, ice cream actually caused me bodily harm and I'm not talking about my arteries.
Scott and I were lounging on the couch watching a really intelligent and deep documentary. Okay, I lied. We were watching The Bachelorette. Anyway, I had just made this honey coconut kefir ice cream recipe the night before and decided to store it still in the ice cream maker in our overpacked freezer. Bad idea.
It was stuck under the ice maker, so I gave it a hard tug. Maybe a little too hard. It came flying out of the freezer and on to my foot.
I let out a loud scream and Scott came running (after finding the remote control to hit pause on The Bachelorette, of course). Woah, it hurt! The pain shot up from my ankle all the way to my knee. Luckily, it hit my foot and not my toes, cause there's no way they would have survived that unbroken.
The next day as I was limping around with my leg wrapped, everyone kept asking me what happened. How awkward to have to say, "Umm, ice cream." I think I was judged. Especially when I was at a student's nutrition presentation where I had served as the outside expert.
Clearly, me and this ice cream didn't get off to a very good start. I could hold that against it, but it's so tasty I quickly forgot about my injury. Especially as I ate a bowl of it curled up on the couch with the cold bowl balanced on my hurt ankle. Multitasking!
Tips for Making Homemade Ice Cream
I hope you don’t see this honey coconut kefir ice cream recipe and feel too intimidated to make it! I had an ice cream maker for years before I felt confident enough to make homemade ice cream on my own, but it’s not difficult to do with a few tricks.
First, make sure the ice cream maker bowl is thoroughly chilled for at least 24 hours. The faster the ice cream freezes, the creamier it is. Also if the bowl isn’t cold enough, the ice cream won’t freeze.
A common problem with making homemade ice cream is that it gets icy and hard when you store it in the freezer. I once literally had to microwave mine for a few seconds to get it to scoop! Then I experimented with a little trick I learned…adding vodka! But this addition isn’t for fun it’s actually for science. Vodka doesn’t freeze, so adding just a little bit to your recipe will prevent your ice cream from getting too hard and keep the texture creamy.
Another tip for making homemade ice cream is to not skimp on the fat! Ice cream really needs fat for a creamy texture and to keep it from getting gritty. In this honey coconut kefir ice cream recipe, using full-fat coconut milk instead of low fat is super important! The same goes for the kefir. Using the reduced fat kefir as opposed to a full fat version will hinder your ice creams taste and texture. With any homemade ice cream recipe, substituting with a reduced-fat or fat free milk will alter the taste and texture of your recipe, as fat acts as an emulsifier, to blend and hold ingredients together, to prevent separation, as well as adding yummy flavors!
Probiotics
One thing I love about this honey coconut kefir ice cream recipe is that it’s also packed with probiotics. So what are probiotics? In a nut shell, they are bacteria and yeasts that live in the gut and have beneficial effects on digestion. Eating foods that contain probiotics can help restore levels of healthy bacteria in the gut, which are needed to properly digest foods and may help alleviate symptoms of digestive problems caused by irritable bowel syndrome. Some examples of probiotic foods are sauerkraut, kimchi, yogurt and greek yogurt, kombucha, and kefir. Probiotic foods are easy to incorporate. Try swapping mayonnaise or sour cream for plain greek yogurt, add kimchi or sauerkraut to a grain bowl, or choose a glass of kombucha over wine every now and then.
Cooking probiotic foods kills off the bacteria, so to get the beneficial effects you’ll want to have it unheated. That’s why in this coconut kefir ice cream recipe, I mixed cold kefir into the cooked kefir and coconut milk custard. The cold doesn’t kill it off, so the probiotics stay alive in the frozen ice cream!
Mix-Ins for Chunky Ice Cream
I am such a texture person so I LOVE all things “chunky”. Any type of nut butter, ice cream, guacamole, you name it! There’s just something about a little crunch that makes me more satisfied. If you’re like me and prefer your ice cream to have texture, feel free to add mix-ins into this recipe. Some examples of mix-ins for my fellow chunky lovers are chopped almonds, walnuts (or any other nut of your liking), chocolate chips, cookies, cacao nibs, coconut flakes, or granola just to name a few. The options are endless since this honey coconut kefir ice cream recipe is so adaptable! Just mix it in when it’s about a soft serve consistency in the ice cream maker.
Ice Cream for Lactose Intolerance
If you have lactose intolerance and normally ice cream and milk don’t agree with you, this coconut kefir ice cream recipe is one to try! What’s awesome about kefir, is that it has just a very small amount of lactose, so you should be able to tolerate it, and coconut milk is naturally lactose free.
Here’s a quick explanation of lactose intolerance for those who may not know. Lactose intolerance is the inability to digest lactose, the sugar that is present in dairy products. When the undigested lactose gets to the gut it causes uncomfortable digestion issues. However, fermented dairy products, like yogurts and kefir, have lactic acid bacteria in them that break down the lactose, essentially predigesting it. This means there is only a small amount of lactose in the products which typically does not affect people.
This honey coconut kefir ice cream recipe has been updated to give you the best possible content.
Honey Coconut Kefir Ice Cream Recipe
Makes 6 cups
Ingredients
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup honey
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 14-ounce can full fat coconut milk
2 1/4 cups plain kefir, preferably full fat
2 teaspoons vodka
Fresh berries, for serving
Instructions
In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks, honey and vanilla extract together until well combined.
In a medium pot, whisk together the coconut milk and 1 cup kefir over medium heat, stirring every so often. When the mixture reaches about 150 degrees on a candy thermometer (very hot with steam forming, but not boiling or simmering), remove from heat and pour slowly into the yolk mixture, stirring constantly. Stir in the remaining 1 1/4 cup kefir and vodka. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
When ready to make, pour mixture into an ice cream maker and churn according to instructions. When the ice cream is very thick, scoop out into a container, placing a sheet of plastic wrap over the surface, and freeze at least 2 hours.
Before serving, let the ice cream sit on the counter 10 minutes to soften.
if you like this Honey Coconut Kefir Ice Cream Recipe, you might also like these dessert recipes:
Chili Mango Popsicles
Frozen Yogurt Bark with Dark Chocolate, Banana and Hazelnut
Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies
