I was at the store the other day and they were handing out samples of pumpkin custard ice cream. Now you all know that dairy is not my friend, but sometimes temptation gets the best of me and the devil on my shoulder wins out with a “It’s one teaspoon. Live a little!” Lucky for you that I did. 🙂
That one little taste of pumpkin creaminess inspired me to go home and create my own Paleo Pumpkin Custard Ice Cream. But instead of cream, I used canned coconut milk, based the recipe off of a winning recipe over at Williams Sonoma, and wrapped it in my homemade Paleo Caramel Sauce, and BAM! I don’t need no stinkin’ store bought pumpkin custard ice cream!
Ice cream is typically made with a custard. That basically means a cooked egg and dairy “pudding.” I find this to be rather dangerous, because it never fails that I eat half of the custard/pudding before I can get it to the ice cream maker. It’s not my fault. It has to cool, then it needs to be taste tested, and then I have to adjust the flavors, and then re-taste test, and then there’s the pressure and stress because if I don’t get it perfect, then it’s not right for all of you, so I have to taste test yet again…. and now you see that my excuse for only turning out half a batch of actual ice cream is really your fault and not mine. 🙂 (apologies will be accepted in the comments section below)
….and yes, that is a gluten free gingersnap nestled in the middle of that creamy goodness. I LOVE Pamela’s gingersnaps. There one of the best gluten free cookies on the market (IMHO). Not gluten free? Make a fabulous ice cream sandwich with my Molasses Crinkle Cookies. To.Die.For!
Let’s talk a little about how to make this Paleo Pumpkin Custard Ice Cream a success.
If there’s any water in the pumpkin puree, try to pour it off.
Use only full fat canned coconut milk. Canned coconut cream will work as well (but will be very rich). You can use the canned coconut milk that comes in a BPA free can, but honestly, it’s grainy and I just don’t like it as well as either this one, or this one.
You must strain your custard. Here’s a picture to illustrate the importance of this step:
Wrap this divine ice cream in caramel sauce for true bliss!
If you’re dairy free (and want a caramel sauce that isn’t sweetened with honey-which ruins the flavor), you can find the recipe for my Paleo Caramel Sauce in my downloadable ecookbook, The Paleo Sweet Tooth. Click here to take a look at all of the fabulous desserts that you can make while still being gluten and dairy (and egg free too) free!
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Paleo Pumpkin Custard Ice Cream (made with coconut cream)
Cook time
15 mins
Total time
15 mins
Paleo pumpkin custard ice cream that is dairy and gluten free. This rich and creamy custard coupled with pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg create the perfect pumpkin pie pairing. Wrap in luscious Paleo caramel sauce for the ultimate ice cream experience.
Author: Alison
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Serves: 1 quart
Ingredients
1 cup pureed pumpkin (homemade or canned)
1 tsp vanilla
2 (14 oz) cans coconut milk (full fat)
¾ cup maple syrup
6 egg yolks
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp salt
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1 Tbs. Pisco, or other gluten free *alcohol (optional-to keep ice cream scoopable)
Instructions
Whisk pumpkin and vanilla together and let sit up to 8 hours in the refrigerator.
In a heavy 2 qt. saucepan over medium heat, combine 1½ cans of the coconut milk and maple syrup. Cook until just barely bubbling.
Meanwhile, in a medium glass bowl, whisk together egg yolks, spices, salt and remaining half can of coconut milk.
Remove the maple syrup and cream mixture from the heat.
*Gradually whisk about ½ cup of the hot cream mixture into the egg mixture until smooth.
Slowly whisk all of the egg mixture back into the hot cream mixture in the pan.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens.
DO NOT ALLOW custard to BOIL! Turn down the heat to medium-low if necessary to keep the mixture just under a boil.
Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl.
Let cool (see notes below for a shortcut cooling technique).
Whisk the pumpkin/vanilla mixture into the custard.
Taste for level of sweetness and add additional sweetener if necessary (I like to use liquid stevia at this point).
Cover and refrigerate until well chilled- 3-24 hours.
Transfer the custard to an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.
Add the Pisco (or alcohol of choice) during the last minute of churning.
Transfer to a freezer safe container, cover and freeze.
Notes
*The alcohol helps the ice cream not to freeze as hard, and be more scoopable. If feeding to children, eating right away, etc feel free to omit. **This is called "tempering" and will make it so that the egg doesn't immediately seize up and cook when it hits the heated mixture in the next step.
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