Dairy-Free Ice Cream Cookbook & Giveaway
A new cookbook from The Spunky Coconut launched last month.The moment a copy of The Spunky Coconut Dairy-Free Ice Cream landed in my hot little hands, I was off and churning up some sweet cold treats. Here is my review of the book. I hope you find it helpful.
The Intro
The Spunky Coconut Dairy-Free Ice Cream opens with a well-researched history of dairy-free ice cream penned by no other than Kelly's husband Andrew. Andrew is a history buff and knew how and where to find factoids on the subject. Quite an interesting read.
The Chapters
Classics
Coffee & Tea
Cake & Cookies
Yogurt, Pops & Sherbert
The Flavors I've Made
My goal is to churn my way through this book by the end of summer. So far we've made Chocolate, Rocky Road, Chocolate Brownie Batter Swirl, Vanilla, Swiss Almond, Toasted Coconut, Vanilla, the Yummy Yogurt Drink (used for making frozen yogurt), Lemon Lime Frozen Yogurt, and Strawberry Rhubarb Sherbet. All have been ridiculously tasty, but the standouts for me have been Chocolate Brownie Batter Swirl and Lemon Lime Frozen Yogurt. The vegan brownie batter was divine. Half went into the ice cream and half was eaten out of the bowl. The Lemon Lime Frozen Yogurt was like eating frozen cheesecake ... oh my ... so good.
The vanilla, which is the base of many other recipes in the book was quite good. A little heavy on the honey taste—but am sure that can be tweaked by using a milder honey or agave (if you do agave). I have not made any of the toppers or cookies to accompany these flavors so cannot speak to those at this time.
The flavors next up to try are Eggnog, Mint Chocolate Swirl, Rum Raisin, Pina Colada, Pistachio (which Kelly said has been most popular), Honeysuckle Tea, and Apricot Amaretto Frozen Yogurt. There are 55 recipes in the book—which will you try first?
The Ingredients
So you're probably wondering—what ingredients are used? The milks used for the base of the ice creams are coconut, cashew, and/or hemp. My son is nut-free so we make ours with coconut and hemp milk. One secret to Kelly's creamy, won't-freeze-to-a-brick ice cream is guar gum. It definitely helps but may be omitted if it's something you need to avoid.
The frozen yogurts are made using a base of Kelly's Yummy Yogurt Drink (recipe in the book). It requires time for culturing but is well worth it. Plus it will introduce you to making non-dairy cashew/coconut milk yogurt if you've not ventured there yet. Fresh fruit, dates, and coconut water are also ingredients that are called for in some recipes.
Kelly's Got the Tips
One of the greatest things about this book is the pointers Kelly offers for successfully mixing, freezing and storing non-dairy ice cream. Without heavy dairy cream and commercial additives, it can be challenging to get a creamy ice cream that doesn't freeze to a solid brick.
For an ice cream that resembles soft serve, "eat it straight out of the ice cream machine," Kelly suggests. For "pretty scoops," spread out in a shallow dish, freeze until hard, then let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving. Great tips there. Especially the "shallow dish" part. I always scooped mine into a bowl which prevented it from thawing evenly.
Kelly, as do I, uses a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker (use that link to purchase one and support Lexie's Kitchen :). She expertly reminds us that the insert must be frozen for at least 24 hours and to thoroughly chill the milk mixture before pouring into the ice cream maker. Some additional tips from me to you would be to 1) use a wooden/bamboo spoon for scraping off the ice cream that freezes to the sides of the insert and 2) crank your freezer up a bit. You want that insert good and frozen or you'll get soft, soft serve.
Two Thumbs Up
This book is a treasure and not just for the lactose-intolerant, casein-intolerant, and vegans—but for all. It retails for $20.00. If you really want to support Kelly, purchase it through her e-book store where she makes a better profit margin than she does over at Amazon—either way, it's a highly recommended buy!
Cookbook Giveaway
THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED
Between now and 5:00pm CST July 4, 2012 you can enter to win a copy of The Spunky Coconut Dairy-Free Ice Cream here at Lexie's Kitchen.
1. Just leave a comment at the end of this post.
2. For an additional chance to win, share this post with your friends via Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook or other social media then leave an additional comment saying you did so. Help spread the word about this great new cookbook!
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Reader Comments (348)
I would love this cookbook to make treats for my daughter who is allergic to milk and eggs. Thank you for the great review!
Erin
ealohmeier@msn.com
I pinned this post to Pinterest!
Erin
ealohmeier@msn.com
This book looks fabulous, can't wait to try out the recipes and share them with friends.
Thank you for coming up with great food!!!
Sharing this with FB.
I love making healthy ice cream and have tried some of Spunky Coconut's recipes and they are great!
I would love to have this cookbook. I really need to start exploring these types of ice creams. I'm still very new to the gluten free, dairy free, everything else in the world (it feels like) free lifestyle so a sweet and easy treat would be awesome. Plus getting the cookbook would finally give me the iron clad excuse I need to buy an ice cream maker.
Would love to try some of those yummy flavors you mentioned in your review!
thanks so so much for your post and love your recipes !!!!!!!
Would love this ... we have been making some paleo ice cream this summer ... would love to learn some more tips ...
We have gluten, dairy, and egg allergies in our family. I can't wait to try this cookbook!
I want the book AND the ice cream maker. My maker is a cheapo model and I am upgrading to Cuisinart as soon as possible:)
I am new to this way of life but am already finding it very successful for my health!! I really would love to enjoy some ice cream again. Bring on the recipes!!
I would absolutely LOVE to win this book! I am a vegetarian who used to still drink milk on occasion but recently gave it up! This would be such a great treat every now and then!
We love coconut milk ice cream and would like to find out how to make it at home!!
I just went Dariy-Free and would love to make ice cream with coconut milk.
I've made several batches of dairy-free ice cream, but always have trouble keeping it creamy and soft after the first day! I'd love a copy of this book to fix that problem! Thank you!
This looks amazing! Would love to win it!
I'm drooling! Looks fantastic! Thanks for the review.
I'm drooling! Looks fantastic! Thanks for the review. Gaea
heartfelt_1@comcast.net
I would love the cookbook : ) My email is laivinas at gmail.
I love ice cream but haven't had it in years due to sugar and dairy sensitivities. If I win this book, I will purchase the ice cream maker from your site!
Thank you!
Stacey
stacey.losacco@gmail.com
Also posted this on facebook : )
These all sound so delicious!
Tweeted here: https://twitter.com/DistractedDebra/status/220303266930622464
I would love to win this cookbook! I was just searching for some dairy free recipes! Looks delicious! ehutchine @ comcast.net Thanks!
I definitely need some ice cream ideas. Pistachio and Rum Raisin sound interesting. Hope I win!
Although I've made my own ice cream before, dairy-free ice cream would be a new venture for me. Am always looking for something new and would love to give the recipes a try!
Love to get a copy of the book for my family, especially for my mom!
I am sharing this on Pinterest and Facebook too. Thank you for making the long holiday weekend more exciting with this giveaway!
I'm so excited to learn about this new cookbook since I am new to this whole thing! Crossing my fingers it will be me to win!
I would be honored and overjoyed. Looks delish!
Would love a copy of this awesome book!! Pinned it on my board as well to help spread the word. Thanks.
Would LOVE a copy of this!! :)
i just read the reviews about this new book and i am DYING TO GET IT!! Both my kids and myself are
dairy and gluten and free. i want to try all 3 books. i am so excited!
I am a huge fan of both of your sites and creations and I would love to win this cookbook! Allergy free ice cream is nearly impossible to find by me and due to my dietary restrictions I don't get to have it all that often- this would defintitly get a lot of use :)
Have been making ice cream with diary, but your recipes sound great, looking forward to trying them w/o diary. Hmmmm almond or hemp milk sound like good sub.
Have been using light agave (madhava) which works fine , not as strong as darker
rubyred50@aol.com
Happy independence day. I always look forward to this day as it is the only day I make ice cream.
I found an ice cream recipe on elanas pantry using coconut milk. At last healthier ice cream. Found your post this am and would love to have have The Dairy Free Ice Cream book. Maybe I can now enjoy ice cream more than once a year.
It sounds great. I would love a copy. I am still struggling to find things I can eat.
I've read such great reviews for this book, which is so exciting because all of my dairy free ice cream attempts have been awful! Would love to win a copy!
I'd love to win this. Our family loves homemade ice cream and have recently cut way back on dairy.
Just found out about this book and it looks awesome. I just got in the nick of time to enter. Would love to try these recipes.
So excited I found this blog! New to gluten free and allergy free cooking and baking (daughter has autism with many food allergies). Looking forward to trying some recipes. ;)
I'd love a chance to win a copy!
This book sounds awesome! I've tweeted it, shared it, and pinned it!
I love Kelly's recipes! thanks for the chance :)
I also pinned this post on Pinterest!
I would love to know how to make dairy free ice cream. My son is sensitive to dairy and I have a milk allergy, so this cookbook is a must have. We need our ice cream every once in a while!
I would love to receive this cookbook! I have another book of Kelly's that I love.
Oh man, I miss ice cream. I would LOVE to win this cookbook, but sadly my youngest is allergic to cold... ever heard of that one? Now we're in need of dairy free, gluten free recipes as well and here we are. So glad to have found you!
I'll pass your site and contest on to others.. looking forward to reading more :)
I am just starting on a dairy-free diet and would love a copy of this. It's hard to think of giving up my favorite things, but this would definitely help ease the pain. Ice cream. Delish!