Coconut Mango Swirl Ice Cream

It all started innocently enough. A lone mango sat on my counter while whole milk and cream cozied up next to each other in the fridge. The expectation of weekend dinner guests found me thumbing through my favorite ice cream book, The Perfect Scoop, in search of something special. A recipe for mango sorbet made with rum and lime caught my eye. Then I spied a note from the author, David, who suggested swirling it with a toasted coconut ice cream. Mango, toasted coconut, rum, and heavy cream - oh my. There is a reason why this man is famous!

Now one of our dinner guests had a fatal allergy to sulfites, which are found in almost all packaged shredded coconut (they keep it from turning brown). This meant that if I wanted to serve a coconut ice cream I would have to shred the coconut myself. So of course instead of going the sane route and sticking to the mango sorbet, I decided that I would track down a coconut and figure out how to get into it's shell. Because really, it's only when things get crazy that you start having any fun!

Amazingly, I managed to locate a whole coconut in town, and then brought it home to crack open. Thanks to the instructive power of the Internet, I had a good idea of where to start. With a hammer, a nail, a dish towel, and a bowl, I marched out to our front sidewalk to conquer the coconut. Mr. B sat a very safe distance away on our front step with a bemused look on his face as I hammered a nail into the eyes of the coconut. Attempts to drain the juice from holes made by the nails really didn't work too well. I finally gave up and covered the coconut with the towel and gave it a hard "thwak" with my hammer. (Anyone driving by at this point must have wondered what the heck was going on in our front yard.) The coconut split open and juice flowed everywhere. I managed to capture some of it in a bowl for later, and then split the halves into smaller pieces. The dish towel was a hairy mess, but I had successfully cracked my first coconut!

Back inside, the coconut pieces went into the freezer for about 20 minutes, which was supposed to make it easier to remove the flesh from the shell. If this made it easier, I would hate to see it any harder- because it took extreme patience and 30 minutes of careful prying to separate the flesh from the shell. It was obvious how easy it would be to stab yourself with a knife while doing this. In fact given that I almost cut off the tip of my thumb the week prior while working on a tomato, my nerves were on edge the whole time!

Finally the flesh was separated and I used a microplane grater to shred a cup of coconut. Despite a high moisture content the fresh coconut toasted beautifully. I'm always guilty of a short attention span when toasting things and typically go through two or three burnt trays of coconut before I pay attention long enough to toast it. After all this work there was no way I was going to burn the coconut! I fixed my eyes on the tray the entire time until it was perfectly toasted.

Once that was accomplished I finally could start making the ice cream. David's recipe called for a straightforward vanilla bean custard. The toasted coconut steeps in the custard and then is strained out. The mango sorbet was also quite simple, requiring only a quick purée of mango, sugar, lime, and rum before freezing.

When the time came to make the "swirl" I was a bit stumped. How exactly does one swirl ice cream? Online searches provided no answers so I turned back to the book, and again David delivered the goods. Starting with a large container, you simply alternate scoops of each ice cream flavor, rapping the container on the counter occasionally to eliminate air pockets. This worked beautifully and once the ice cream hardened completely, allowed me to scoop large marbled balls of ice cream.

So after all that work how did it taste? Divine. This ice cream is officially my favorite ice cream flavor for 2009. The marriage of creamy toasted coconut with a cool citrusy mango was unbelievably delicious. Our dinner guests, started groaning and scraping their spoons against the bottom of the bowls to get every last drop of the ice cream. It was that good.

If you are interested in a lighter version of this dish check out The Kitchen Witch's recipe for Coconut-Mango Frozen yogurt. It looks delicious!

Coconut Mango Swirl Ice Cream (Printable Recipe)
Makes Approximately 2 Quarts
Adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

Mango Sorbet

Ingredients:

2-3 large ripe mangoes (2 lbs.)
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup water
4 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice, plus more to taste
1-3 Tablespoons dark rum, to taste
Pinch of salt

Directions:

Peel the mangoes, and carefully separate the flesh from the pit. Cut mango flesh into large chunks and place them into a blender along with the sugar, water, lime juice, rum, and salt. Pick up the pits and use both hands to squeeze any remaining juice off of them into the blender. Place the lid on the blender and purée mixture until smooth. Taste the purée and add in more lime juice or rum if desired. (Do not exceed 3 tablespoons of rum, or the sorbet will have difficulty freezing.) Chill the mixture for at least 4 hours or even overnight. Then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer mango sorbet into a sealed container and store in the freezer.

Toasted Coconut Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut (dried or fresh)
1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar
Ample pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
5 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon rum

Directions:

(If you are cracking a fresh coconut, please refer to the instructions below.)
Pre-heat an oven to 350 degrees. Place shredded coconut in a thin layer on a foil lined baking sheet. Place sheet in the oven and bake for 5-8 minutes, watching carefully and stirring the coconut a few times to promote even browning. Remove the coconut from the oven as soon as it looks nicely browned (it will turn from brown to burned very quickly!) Set aside to cool.

Place a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, and warm up milk, 1 cup of cream, sugar, salt, and the toasted coconut. Using the tip of a small sharp knife, scrape the vanilla bean seeds into the pan. Then toss the rest of the bean into the mixture. Once the liquid is heated through (but not simmering) turn off the heat and place a lid on top of the pot. Set aside and let steep for 1 hour.

After the hour has passed, place the pan back over medium-low heat and warm it up again. Place a fine mesh strainer over a second medium saucepan, and pour the warmed mixture into the second pan. Use a spatula to press down on the solids still in the strainer, attempting to press any remaining liquid out of them. Then rinse off the vanilla bean and save it for another use and throw out the coconut. Clean off the strainer as you will use it again shortly.

Take the remaining 1 cup of cream and pour it into a large bowl. In a different medium bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks until they are smooth. Check the coconut mixture to make sure it has cooled slightly and then carefully pour it in a slow stream into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Once the two are combined, use the spatula to scrape the mixture back into the medium saucepan.

Place saucepan over medium heat and stir constantly, scraping the bottom frequently to prevent sticking. Once the custard has thickened and you can see it clearly coating the back of your spatula, remove the saucepan from heat. Immediately pour the custard through the clean strainer into the large bowl which contains the cream. Stir the two together until well combined. Mix in the rum, and then place the medium bowl in a large bowl partially filled with ice and water. Stir the custard occasionally until it has cooled to room temperature. Press a layer of plastic wrap across the surface of the custard (this will prevent a skin from forming) and chill the mixture for 4-24 hours. Once the mixture is very chilled, freeze it in your ice cream maker following the manufacturer's instructions.

Marbling Ice Cream

To marble the two ice creams, you will need a large (2 quart) container, an ice cream scoop, and a spatula. Let both ice creams soften to a scoopable consistency. Using the ice cream scoop, place several scoops of one flavor in a single layer in the bottom of your container. Follow this with a second layer made up of scoops of the other flavor. Firmly rap the container on the counter to try and eliminate any air pockets in the ice cream. Use the spatula to smooth the top of the layers. Repeat this process until you have used up all of your ice cream. Cover the container and place it into the freezer for a minimum of 3-4 hours to firm up before serving.

Cracking a Coconut

Tools:

Hammer
Nail (Clean it off first!)
Bowl
Small towel

Directions:

Locate the "eyes" of the coconut and pound the nail deep into each eye. (Don't go too deep or as I found out it will get stuck and you'll have to call for back-up!) Place the coconut (eyes down) over a bowl to drain the juice.

Wrap the coconut in the small towel and carefully "whack" it once or twice with the hammer until it cracks. Quickly unwrap the coconut and pour any juice remaining into the bowl.

If desired, cover the coconut pieces with the towel and "whack" them again until they are a manageable size.

Clean any hairs off the white flesh, and place pieces on a cookie sheet in the freezer for 20-30 minutes. Using a small pairing knife, and exercising EXTREME caution, pry the white flesh off of the brown outer shell. You will most likely still have an inner brown "skin" on the bottom of the flesh pieces. Use the knife or a vegetable peeler to remove the skin. The pieces of coconut can be wrapped in plastic wrap and then foil and stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.