I know I said I was looking forward to Autumn cooking from now on and ice cream doesn’t really fit into that imagery. But I love making ice cream any time of year…
It’s perfect served with warm winter desserts and pies, plus you can use Autumn flavours to make seasonal ice creams (eg, my Pumpkin Orange Ice Cream – also dairy-free)
In this recipe, I’ve used brown sugar to add some flavour and depth but ordinary sugar would be fine or you can substitute some maple syrup which would be delicious! (Wish I’d tried that now.) And cornstarch can be used instead of arrowroot if you don’t have any to hand.
Rum & Raisin Ice Cream {Vegan}
Ingredients
- 700 ml 3 cups coconut milk
- 2 tbsp arrowroot powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 150 g 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 115 g 3/4 cup raisins
- approx 5 tbsp rum, more or less depending on how boozey you want it!
Instructions
- Mix the arrowroot with 60ml (1/4 cup) of the coconut milk in a small bowl. Set aside for later.
- Put the raisins in a small bowl and pour over 3 tbsp of the rum. Let it soak whilst you make the ice cream.
- Pour the rest of the coconut milk and sugar together in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring gently. Once it reaches a boil, remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and arrowroot mixture which will cause it to thicken.
- Refrigerate the mixture for at least 2 hours until very cold.
- Follow your ice cream maker's instructions to churn the ice cream. At the last minute, add the soaked raisins and an extra 2-3 tbsp of rum.
- When it's churned, transfer it to a shallow, freezer-safe container and leave it to firm up for at least 1 hour or overnight.
- Take out the freezer 5-10 minutes before you want to serve, to let it soften slightly. Then use an ice cream scoop, soaked in hot water to create the perfect scoops! Enjoy :-)
The ice cream is sweet and creamy with the familiar rum & raisin flavours except with added deliciousness thanks to the coconut milk!
Coconut Milk Ice Cream by Aimee Ryan
For more delicious ice cream recipes that are vegan, paleo-friendly and free from refined sugars, check out my book – Coconut Milk Ice Cream!
It’s available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle format or direct from my site in PDF or EPub format.
What do you mean by ‘Follow your ice cream maker’s instructions to churn the ice cream’
Each ice cream maker has different instructions so I cannot give a universal method for how to use it to churn. Functions and times will vary, depending on your make and model. But the instructions for yours should be available online.
Haven’t made this yet but I’m planning on it, I was just wondering why do I need to use arrowroot powder? Will it be okay without because surely if it’s frozen it doesn’t need to be thickened?
It really helps with the texture and creates a sort of “custard” base but isn’t absolutely crucial. Just make sure to get lots of air into the mixture.
Hi Aimme,. I used light brown sugar. It has lightened up a bit now i have churned it and is the right consistency but v sweet. I think next time i’ll use a bit less sugar or more coconut milk. Thank you!
Glad it turned out alright (if not a bit too sweet) I have a revised version of this recipe in my book that uses maple syrup and is a bit less sweet. Hope you enjoyed it anyway!
Fabulous! Have since tried your Nakd cashew cookie ice cream receipe which was went down a storm and was less sweet so will be using maple syrup for future ice creams. I wanted to ask what type of coconut milk you use? I have used a totally natural one and also a sainsburys one which has a stabiliser in it(but no gums).The sainsbury one turned out super creamy and white but i wasnt sure if it was cheating!
Looks yummy. I actually wanted to ask how can I replace brown sugar with maple syrup or honey? Thanks
Hey Aimee, I’m making this now. Mine seems rather brown and very viscose…is that normal? Thanks! Poppy
Hi Poppy, did you use dark brown sugar? The mixture of mine turned a little brown at first but lightened as it was cooled and churned. What do you mean by viscose? If it’s not thickening enough, add a little more arrowroot to the mixture whilst it’s boiling and stir until it thickens considerably. I hope it turns out ok! Let me know :-)
This looks so good! But I can’t see the recipe – can you help?
Hi Jen :-) Sorry about that, I think I must have accidentally disabled a plugin and it disappeared… but anyway, it’s back now!
Thanks! That was so quick!
Hey,
Thanks so much for posting this recipe. I made it tonight and it is outstanding!
Mine is not vegan, I actually added two egg yolks to it because I read that can give a better texture. Next time I make it, I’ll try it vegan so I can compare.
I also used maple syrup instead of brown sugar (decreasing the amount a bit). And I used tapioca starch instead of arrowroot, because that’s what I had.
It was excellent! I think the base (before the rum and raisins) will be a great vanilla base to use with all kinds of mix ins.
One thing…I used the kind of ice cream maker (compression? I can’t remember what it’s called) where you don’t need to freeze anything in advance. It let it churn till almost frozen (about 30 mins) but when I added in the rum and raisins, understandably, it took probably another 30 minutes to freeze up again. I just wonder if the length of time would make it hard to use one of the ice cream makers that you need to freeze ahead of time.
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it, Carol Ann! It’s one of my favourite ice creams
On the note of the ice cream makers, I actually own one that needs to be pre-frozen but had no issues with this. What I would suggest though, for next time is to stir the rum into the mixture before adding it to the ice cream maker and then adding just the raisins during the last few minutes of churning. Hopefully it won’t take as long :-)
Do you use canned coconut mil and drain the water, or the tetra packs of coconut milk? Excited to make things on the weekend!
I absolutely love how this ice cream looks, what a pretty treat! I’d love a scoop (or 2, hehehe) on some Fall pie.. mmm!
That would be amazing! Warm desserts and cold ice cream = <3
How amazing is this? How much do I want it?! Drooooool!
Haha thanks Emma! :-)
What a lovely post, thank you for sharing this wonderful and delicious ice cream recipe! I love the idea of using rum & raisin, mmmmmmm! Bookmarking this recipe when I get back home in November! Beautiful photos, Aimee! Have a fab Sunday!
Glad you like it Rika! :D
Sounds delicious. I’ve never tried using coconut milk, but did make a Baobab sorbet back in June using almond milk which was lush. I might try the same recipe again using coconut milk instead – I think it may add a different dimension!
Oh wow, I had to look up your recipe on your blog and it sounds gorgeous. Coconut milk would certainly compliment the tropical flavours, I’ll have to try this too! I’ll be keeping an eye out for Baobab powder…
I think it’s a great idea to use coconut milk in ice cream and I can see how well it would work with the rum and raisin flavours! Looks delicious.
Thanks Caz :-) I actually make coconut milk ice cream more than custard based ice creams nowadays, it’s really good!
Okay now I’m craving for ice cream.
So glad you’ve posted this because I’ve been wondering how I could make a vegan ice cream lately. And of course, this one sounds delicious =)
Thanks Laura! Let me know how your vegan ice cream turns out if you try it :-)
Wow, this looks so good! I wish I had an ice cream maker! Oh well, I’ll have to give this recipe a try anyway! Rum and raisins-sounds like a delicious combo! Thanks Aimee!
I’ve successfully made proper ice cream a few times before without an ice cream maker so it can be done! Good luck if you decide to give it a try :-)
I’m not vegan either, but I love to experiment with new recipes and coconut milk instead of heavy cream seems such a fun change. I have to try this soon! Your version looks so creamy that it’s making me want to eat a bowl full of this stuff right now ;)
It is lovely and creamy but is nice and light to have for dessert after a big meal. You should definitely experiment with it, it’s delicious!