Coconut & Rose Petal Ice Cream || Vegan

This summer has been a long winded season of hibernation for me. It's almost always that way for me as the days heat up, I get slower and more lazy. My new apartment sits above a laundry mat and is hot AF. I spend most of the day in front of the fan on my belly; laptop open, Fixer Upper playing on one tab and google docs on another. When I'm not doing that, you can find me in the kitchen, succumbing to the heat and my newly rediscovered obsession with baking. If you can't beat the heat with ice packs and circling yourself with multiple fans, like a windy game of duck duck goose, you may as well join it right?

So this recipe was a breeze in comparison to all the other things I've been whipping up lately. Since moving to Missoula, I've developed a real passion for ice cream. Which is unusual for me and not the best thing as I'm pretty lactose intolerant.. but we live down the street from this place called Big Dipper, and they have the best ice cream I've ever eaten. I can't help it. It's so hot. 

But I need to face the facts: dairy and I don't have the healthiest relationship, no matter how much I adore it. I've been thinking about making my own batch of ice cream at home for a while now, but it's something that I've been a little afraid to try. Since I'm trying to eliminate dairy from my daily life, I thought it would be fun to try my hand at this super simple coconut ice cream. It requires only 4 ingredients, depending on what flavors you want to add. Bonus, you don't need an ice cream maker!! You can use whatever sweetener you'd like to, but I opted to combine dried rose petals and raw sugar in a blender, to add some extra rosy bliss.

This recipe was inspired by this rose petal ice cream I had in Sonoma county years ago that actually brought a tear to my eye. (I was suffering from a rose petal addiction at the time.) I believe it was made by Nimble & Finn's.

Also, this recipe is pretty basic and is all over the internet, but here is a good video with instructions for you to get a visual. Keep in mind that my measurements are slightly different than the ones in the video. 

Ingredients 

1 5.4 oz can coconut cream
1 13.5 oz can light coconut milk
1/2 cup sweetener (I used raw sugar)
1 heaping tsp dried rose petals
1 tsp rose water
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp corn starch, to thicken

Method

Start by placing the sugar and dried rose petals in a blender or food processor and mixing till blended. You'll want the rose petals to break down into small pieces and the sugar to get a little pink. Then in a medium mixing bowl, pour coconut cream and light coconut milk and add the rose sugar, vanilla, rose water and corn starch. Using a hand mixer or a whisk, mix ingredients together until slightly frothy. Pour liquid into a freezer proof bowl or tin and lightly stir with a spoon to remove any bubbles. Place in freezer overnight. Once hardened, remove from freezer and let thaw for 10-15 minutes. Serve cold as you would any store bought ice cream. Decorate as you please (my favorite thing to decorate with is sprinkles). 

Serves 2-4