Saving the best for last: Murphy's Coconut & Rum Ice Cream

The question is, what to do with 5 cups of dessicated coconut? Leaving Christchurch in 3 weeks means I've entered the 'let's empty the pantry' phase. Beens and couscous, flour, three different kinds of sugar (heh) - this I was expecting. But a jar of coconut (fine shreds, organic from Piko) AND a nearly full bag (long shreds, inexpensive supermarket version) left me perplexed. When did I buy all this? and what was I expecting to do with it?!?

Then I found the Coconut & Rum ice cream recipe among those on Kieran Murphy's previously mentionned list of flavours in need of a tester/taster . It looked like I had an answer:

I really like this logo...

Murphy's Coconut & Rum Ice Cream
1 Cup (237ml) Sugar
5 Egg Yolks
1 1/8 Cups(266ml) Milk
3/4 Cups (175ml) Coconut milk
3/4 Cups (60ish gr) Dessicated (dried and shredded) coconut
4 tbs. (65ml) Malibu Rum
1 tbs. (15ml) Lemon Juice
3/4 Cups (175ml) Cream

What to do:
1. Beat the sugar and egg yolks together until thick and pale yellow.
2. Bring the milk to a simmer.
3. Beat the milk into the eggs and sugar in a slow stream.
4. Pour the mixture back into pan and place over low heat. Add the coconut milk.
5. Stir until the custard thickens slightly (around 70C). Use a thermometer, as at 75C the eggs will scramble!
6. Refrigerate over night.
7. Toast the desiccated coconut over medium heat in a dry saucepan, stirring all the time, until they turn a golden colour. Allow to cool.
8. Stir the toasted coconut, rum and the lemon into the refrigerated custard.
9. Whip the cream and gently fold in the custard.
10. Freeze using a domestic ice cream machine, or cover and place in the freezer.

Notes from the creator:
1. Coconut milk has all different strengths, so taste it and make sure you’re happy with the flavour. You can always add a bit more, but remember there will be more coconut flavour coming from the desiccated coconut and rum.
2. To pasteurise the eggs, heat the custard to 73C and keep at that temperature for three minutes. Use a cooking thermometer, though, and keep stirring! If the custard goes any higher than 76C, the eggs will scramble. Immediately cover and place in the freezer until cool.

My Notes:
In the spirit of emptying the pantry, I used what I had on hand and substituted coconut cream for the coconut milk, and amber Appleton Estate rum for the Malibu rum.

I came back from working at the market Saturday afternoon and was able to make the custard, quick and easy, before heading out to Christmas in the Park. This morning, I perfumed the kitchen toasting the coconut, woke up a couple flatmates whipping the cream with my extremely noisy, one-speed-fits-all hand mixer, and tempted everyone with coconut custard for breakfast. Decadent!

The ice cream froze in about 5-6 hours, mixing it every hour or so to keep it creamy and balanced - the coconut tends to fall to the bottom until it firms up a bit - and of course licking the spoon before heading out into the heat again for some gardening.

As opposed to the other two recipes we tried, this one turned out just sweet enough. The coconut taste really develops during the cooling and freezing process, and the rum adds depth and balances the sweetness, without being overpowering. The final result is fabulously delicious.

I found some old ice cream cones in the pantry, but they were rather on the soft side and barely held long enough for a picture. I turned my attempt over into a mug, and ended up eating the whole thing before taking out the camera... I think I'll try it with some crushed pineapple (yep, a can of this in the pantry as well) and make it into Pina Colada ice cream - look out for updates & pictures in a day or two.

Now, if anyone has suggestions/recipes for 4 cups of remaining coconut and 5 egg whites...