Almond Joy Ice Cream

While Stephanie was here I showed her how to make homemade ice cream. I let her pick the flavor, but I suggested that we choose something to use up the coconut milk we had leftover from the Piña Colada Cake. Since she LOVES all things chocolate, we both decided to make Almond Joy ice cream. We started with a recipe for coconut ice cream in Williams-Sonoma's Frozen Desserts. To that we added a bit of dark cocoa powder; 3 tablespoons was the perfect amount to deliver a perfect chocolate punch without taking away from the coconut flavor. We mixed cream of coconut with flaked coconut to make that sticky coconut filling you find in an Almond Joy. Then I found some cocoa-roasted almonds in my mom's secret snack drawer. She always hides the good stuff! When the ice cream was complete, it tasted just like an Almond Joy! It wasn't too sweet or too rich, which is a complaint I have with most homemade ice cream recipes. The chocolate flavor was just right, and the random dollops of coconut filling and chopped almonds were perfect! This recipe is a total keeper. Thanks, Stephanie, for helping me make AND eat this ice cream! <33333Almond Joy Ice Cream (based very loosely on the Coconut Ice Cream recipe in Williams-Sonoma’s Frozen Desserts)
Makes about 1 quart

1 ½ cups heavy cream, divided
1 cup whole milk
½ cup unsweetened coconut milk
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons dark cocoa powder
1 ¼ cups sweetened or unsweetened flaked dried coconut, divided
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
6 egg yolks
3 tablespoons cream of coconut
¼ teaspoon coconut extract
pinch of salt
½ cup roasted almonds, roughly chopped

In a small saucepan, whisk together 1 cup of heavy cream, whole milk, coconut milk, sugar, and cocoa powder. Stir in ½ cup of dried coconut and vanilla. Warm over medium heat, stirring often, until the sugar dissolves and small bubbles form around the edges, 4-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand for 10 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a clean saucepan to remove all the flaked coconut. Press on the coconut to extract as much liquid as possible.

Warm the coconut-milk mixture over medium heat until bubbles form around the edges. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and the remaining ½ cup of heavy cream until blended. Whisk ¼ of the coconut-milk mixture into the yolks. Then whisk the yolk mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining coconut-milk mixture. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 4-5 minutes.

Pour the hot custard into a bowl and cool completely in an ice bath, 30-45 minutes. Once the custard has cooled to room temperature, remove it from the ice bath. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard to prevent a “skin” from forming. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 3 hours.

Churn in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions. While mixture is churning, stir together the remaining ¾ cup dried coconut, cream of coconut, coconut extract, and a pinch of salt. Refrigerate until the ice cream is finished churning. When the ice cream reaches the consistency of thick whipped cream, pour it out of the ice cream maker and into a shallow pan. Dollop the coconut mixture over the top and sprinkle with chopped almonds. Without stirring, transfer the ice cream into a plastic freezer container. Cover tightly and freeze for at least 3 hours or up to 3 days.