Tender coconut ice-cream with palm sugar / jaggery (vegan)
No churn tender coconut ice-cream sweetened with palm sugar/jaggery/gula melaka syrup is an addictive, irresistible treat.
We started the glocal food page with the introduction to the local thunder tea rice followed by my adaptation of the wholesome bowl. Continuing with that, last week I wrote about the famous Chendol in Singapore that was listed as one of the 50 world’s best desserts by CNN in 2018. Inspired by that beautiful icy treat, this recipe is based on its flavours using its core ingredients – gula melaka and coconut milk.
Jaggery (gud) or gula melaka as it is known here in Singapore is a traditional sweetner used in chendol and many other local treats. Essentially it is unrefined sugar cane juice or a palm tree sap which is cooked into a concentrated syrup and then set in moulds. It can come in various shapes, textures (hard to soft) and colours (pale yellow to a dark brown). You will find that darker the colour, it will have more pronounced flavour and smell. Almost like a toffee caramel which is beautiful in this ice-cream and or even swirled a spoonful in a glass of plain milk. It is that good.
Food has a way of transporting you back in the past to savour some special moments and of course, reminding you of the treats you’ve grown up eating. The two treats that I was thinking of while making this ice-cream was the Natural’s (one of the famous ice-cream parlour chains in Mumbai) Tender Coconut ice-cream. Mildly flavoured rich ice-cream with those subtle bites of the tender coconut flesh that just melts in your mouth. And second, the Nolen Gur (jaggery) ice-cream at Pabrai (an ice-cream chain from Kolkata) which is their signature flavour. An ice cream scoop jam packed of nolen gur flavour and then drizzled with that liquid gur syrup is simply unbeatable.
So, inspired by all these amazing treats I have had the chance to savour, I tried my hand at making this no churn tender coconut ice-cream using the local gula melaka. If you can’t find gula melaka, look for a dark jaggery or palm sugar block. Choose a block that is slightly soft to touch (if it is too hard, it means that some sugar has been mixed in it) and has a dark brown, almost blackish colour to it.
If you love coconut and caramel, you will totally love this ice-cream. Simple to make with few ingredients, it is a treat worth keeping in your fridge from time to time. Do make and let me know how it turned out for you. It would be so wonderful to know your take on it.
Other sweet recipes that may interest you:
Recipe Card
Tender coconut ice-cream with palm sugar / jaggery (vegan)
Recipe Rating
AUTHOR
Hema B Kathrani
CUISINE
Asian
PREP TIME
15 minutes
COOK TIME
5 minutes + freezing time
SERVINGS
serves 8-10
Author: Hema B Kathrani | Cuisine: Asian | Category: All things Sweet
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 5 minutes + freezing time | Servings: serves 8-10
No churn tender coconut ice-cream sweetened with palm sugar/jaggery/gula melaka syrup is an addictive, irresistible treat.
Ingredients
- For the palm sugar/jaggery sauce:
- 1 ¼ cups packed palm sugar, chopped in small pieces
- ½ cup coconut water
- For the tender coconut pulp:
- 1 ¼ cups tender coconut
- ¼ cup + 2 tbsp coconut water
- For the ice-cream base:
- 500 ml heavy cream (coconut cream if vegan)
- 500 ml coconut cream
Method
- Make the palm sugar/jaggery sauce:
- Combine 1 ¼ cups palm sugar with ½ cup coconut water in a heavy bottom pan.
- Bring it to heat over a low flame till the palm sugar melts
- Turn off the flame when you run your finger through the back of the spoon and it doesn’t run across.
- Keep it aside to cool.
- Make the tender coconut pulp:
- Place tender coconut with coconut water in a grinder and pulse it to get coarse paste.
- Make the ice-cream:
- Combine cold heavy cream (or coconut cream if making vegan) and coconut cream in a whipping bowl.
- Whip it into soft peaks over a medium speed.
- Keep the bowl in the fridge till the palm sugar sauce has come to room temperature.
- Combine:
- Once the palm sugar sauce comes to room temperature, fold the sauce into the whipped cream mix.
- Gently swirl in the tender coconut pulp.
- Remove the mix in a tightly sealed container and place in the freezer overnight.
- After 8-10 hours, remove the ice-cream and run a fork through it to break the ice crystals.
- Place the container back in the freezer and enjoy the delicious scoop once the ice-cream has set again.
Notes
- You can substitute 500 ml heavy cream for 500 ml coconut milk for an enhanced coconut flavour as well as to make this ice-cream vegan.
- I used a dark jaggery (gula melaka) here for this ice-cream as I love the natural caramelized flavour it imparts. You could use a lighter jaggery (more yellowish orange in colour) but it would bring subtle changes to the overall flavour of the ice-cream.
- Keep heavy cream and coconut cream in the fridge overnight or at least 6-8 hours prior to whipping for best results.
- If you live in a hot, humid climate like I do, keeping the whipping bowl in the freezer for at least 30 min prior to whipping helps get soft peaks quickly.
- I use US cup measurement which is 1 cup = 235 ml
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