So pineapples are totally my jam. It is my favorite fruit and my children just love it and we can never resist interesting pineapple type desserts. Dole Whips are at the top of the list followed by pineapple sweet breads, fresh pineapple drizzled with chocolate, pineapple grilled with brown sugar… the list goes on and on.
If you ask what my absolute favorite dessert of all time is, I would probably say the Banana Spring Rolls from PF Changs. I have mentioned these before and if you haven’t tried them, you are sadly not living your best life at the moment.
The Spring Rolls are basically fried bananas drizzled in caramel with a pineapple-coconut ice cream. So cold meets warm and gooey and tangy from the pineapple and refreshing from the coconut and sweet from the caramel. Absolutely delicious.
I wasn’t going to undertake deep frying spring rolls at home but I definitely have wanted to create a pineapple and coconut ice cream for a long time. Since it is summer and since ice cream is always a good idea, I have been playing with variations on this recipe and finally found a combination that is really easy to make and so delicious!
Homemade ice cream my friends. It is where its at. This is a great gift idea for BBQs or neighbors or just because for friends and family.
This recipe does call for an ice cream maker, you can get them very inexpensively and they are such a fun little gadget to have on hand. The one we like is available here.
If you do not have an ice cream maker, I have a no churn peach ice cream recipe linked here that can be adapted with coconut milk and fresh pineapple instead.
Ready? Let’s get mixing…
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup coconut milk*
- 1 cup pineapple juice*
- 1 cup fresh or frozen finely chopped pineapple
- ¼ cup sugar
- 4 egg yolks
- Add coconut milk, heavy cream and sugar to a saucepan and simmer gently over low heat for about 4 minutes or until the sugar is completely dissolved. Careful not to scald the milk.
- Remove from heat and pour about ¼ of the milk mixture into your bowl of egg yolks- whisk nonstop as you add the milk and for about 1 minute after.
- Gently add the milk/egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk and let simmer for 3 more minutes. Continue to whisk the entire time so your eggs do not scramble.
- Remove from heat and strain mixture.
- Add 1 cup pineapple juice and your chopped pineapple bits and stir.
- Chill in the fridge for 4-24 hours.
- Pour mixture into your ice cream maker, churn and enjoy!
I promise this is a really simple recipe. The only tricky part is not scrambling those darn eggs- it is important to mix just a little milk in with the yolks, rather than dumping all of it into the milk or they will scramble. Continuously whisking will help too.
Another note is on the coconut milk. Cream of coconut is a totally different product and will result in a significantly sweeter ice cream. I do think this ice cream is sweet enough so I used Coconut Milk. You should get just shy of 2 cups from each can.
The tricky part is the pineapple juice. It isn’t easy to find. I found this pineapple-coconut juice in the deli section of Safeway with the fresh cut fruit bowls and such. I have also found pineapple juice with the cranberry and other juices on the dry shelf at stores like Sprouts or Whole Foods.
If you can’t find pineapple juice, you can always use a can of pineapple chunks and the syrup in the can. I have not tried that but if you do go that route, I strongly suggest cutting way back on sugar or just omitting the sugar entirely.
One last little tip, I think this turned out to be a balanced pineapple and coconut flavor but to amp up the coconut a little more, you can always toast coconut flakes and add those in just before churning the ice cream. Yum!
If you decide to give this recipe a shot, please come back and let me know what you think!
If you’d like more ice cream ideas, here are some good ones!
Peppermint Bark Ice Cream (such a wonderful treat for the holidays!)
Leave a Reply