Double Chocolate Iced Coconut Cream
Last week, it was everywhere, chocolate ice cream, in all shapes, flavours, and sizes. If there’s one thing that I love during Summertime – it’s ice cream. However this year, we’ve been dairy free for a while now and our ice cream options are slim. You can’t just waltz into your corner cool treat shop and expect to see a list of coconut or almond milk options. I don’t own an ice cream maker, but I am considering it after this experiment. I think that it could definitely be a worth while investment. So, as I was saying, chocolate ice cream was everywhere – at least I kept bumping into billboards, blog posts, freezer aisles and magazine images, all of which had me craving it badly. I finally decided to take things into my own hands. Cocoa, check. Coconut cream, check. Coconut sugar, check. Pure maple syrup, check. Cocoa Loco Chewy Bars by Enjoy Life, check. Here we go!
I tried finding some recipes online, but kept running into the ones that required an ice cream machine. I didn’t know how much not using one would affect the outcome, so I just winged it. I made plain iced coconut cream before and it turned out well, so I used that basic method and added cocoa and natural sweetener to the mix.
I received some tasty oven-baked chewy bars from Enjoy Life to try out and I thought the Cocoa Loco kind would be awesome in this recipe, adding a brownie-esque quality. Boy did they ever do the trick! And don’t worry, with their brown rice, sorghum flour, and golden flax seed base, they’re a pretty healthy brownie alternative. Little A. is a fan of their Sunbutter Crunch flavour and has been having one bar for breakfast with blueberries on the side and a carrot kiwi apple smoothie to wash it down. He loves his brekky!
Ok, back to the double chocolate iced coconut cream at hand :: I have to tell you, as I was making this recipe, I was getting pretty excited about the final product. To be honest, I was feeling a bit of ice cream envy every time we passed the line up that stretched around the block at our nearest ice cream shop, wishing that just one blended dessert wouldn’t make my stomach hurt and give me an instant headache from sugar overload. But now, I was getting close to it. We would be enjoying a chocolate indulgence within hours and I knew that we wouldn’t have the crash effect afterwards. Sweet.
One age old trick for adding some sweetness to a recipe without traditional sugar is with yummy ripened bananas – especially for the soft serve style I was going for, their texture worked like a charm and didn’t overpower the taste.
The killer ingredient here is the chocolate sauce. I used organic cocoa, water and coconut sugar to make the magic happen. Just enough to create a swirl through the mixture and add some decadence. After following all the steps (see below) I put it in the freezer for one hour, just enough time to get it ice cold, yet still keeping it nice and smooth.
And you know what? This Double Chocolate Iced Coconut Cream kicks butt. Yep, I said it. I think it totally trumps any sugar-packed variety! Major win 😉
Double Chocolate Iced Coconut Cream (Gluten-Free / Dairy-Free)
Makes 8-10 Servings
4 (15 ounce) cans of coconut milk, full fat
1/3 cup of water
1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons of organic cocoa powder
1/2 cup of coconut sugar
3 Tablespoons of pure maple syrup
2 ripe bananas, mashed
3 Tablespoons of arrowroot starch
4 Cocoa Loco chewy bars by Enjoy Life, cut up in small chunks
- Open cans of coconut milk and drain the coconut water – set aside to use for baking or smoothies.
- In a large mixing bowl, transfer the thick coconut cream from the cans into the bowl.
- Whip the coconut cream, using a hand mixer (2-3 minutes).
- Add in 2 Tablespoons of cocoa powder and arrowroot starch. Whip for another 2 minutes, until smooth.
- Add in mashed bananas and maple syrup. Whip 1 more minute.
- Put the mixture in the fridge while you prepare the chocolate sauce.
- In a saucepan on medium-low heat, add water, coconut sugar, and cocoa powder. Stir continuously as the sauce begins to thicken. The sauce should become syrupy in 5-8 minutes.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes. It should be thick and goopy (in a good way!)
- Take coconut mixture out of the fridge and transfer the chocolate sauce into it. Use a fork to create the swirls. Don’t over blend.
- Add in the Cocoa Loco chewy bars chunks and stir gently (as not to loose the swirl).
- Transfer mixture to a freezer safe container, lined with plastic wrap.
- Optional: I put the chocolate sauce pan back on the stove on low, added 1/4 cup of water and lifted the remainder of the sauce that had stuck to the pan. I let it cool for 5 minutes and drizzled it over the top.
- Cover with a top layer of plastic wrap (or freezer safe lid).
- Allow to freeze for 1 hour before serving.
- Should the the Iced Coconut Cream become too frozen for serving, let it sit on the counter for 15-20 minutes and serve when it’s soft again.
- Serve in gluten-free cones or an ice cream bowl. Enjoy!!
Notes: I stored the remainder of the iced coconut cream in the back of my fridge, because it’s quite cold. It stayed perfectly semi-frozen and easy to serve. It was good for 3 days. If you store yours in the freezer, make sure to let it ‘defrost’ in the fridge an hour or so before serving time, for the ideal soft serve consistency.
Emily Smith is the Editor of The Best of This Life who has been writing in the lifestyle niche and creating delicious recipes for over 10 years. Her work has been featured on BRIT + CO, Today's Parent, Chatelaine, Huffington Post, The Pioneer Woman, and Food Bloggers of Canada. She writes about family, food, entertaining, home decor, wellness, travel and a litany of other topics. She loves sharing her three core values - love life, live well, share the beauty - and encourages her readers to enjoy the best of their lives every day. She lives in Ottawa with her loving husband, two darling children, and dreams of one day owning a puppy.
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I loved your iced coconut cream, so am sure this amped up version with chocolate will be just as amazing!
Emily this look awesome!
DEE-licious! I have to try this recipe 🙂
wow can’t believe you made this, looks amazing!
This looks mind-blowing. Can’t wait to try it.
I just gained 10 pounds by looking at this – but I don´t mind! 😀
I’m gona screw my diet, but i don’t care!
I really have to try this one! 🙂
Oh my gosh this looks amazing!! And I LOVE that it’s really not all that unhealthy like regular ice-cream! Also love that I can make it without an ice-cream maker because I don’t have one. Great recipe!!
Omg my friend, a saint could not resist this offering 😀
Cheers
CCU
This sounds AMAZING! My kids love doing “food projects” so they would love helping me with it. And I love that it so much heathier than regular ice cream. Where can I find arrowroot starch, and is there a viable substitute if I can’t find it?
Visiting from SITS. Have a great weekend!
Looks decadent! Great for the hot weather.
Yummy. I have been craving chocolate all day. If I had the ingredients in my kitchen I would definitely make this. I have to do some research to see if they sale Coco Loco in the DC area.
WOW! This looks so amazingly delicious … I must have it 🙂