Summer is quickly fading away here in Maine, but I can’t say I’m sad to see it go.  It was pretty cold and rainy this year and not very conducive to enjoying ice cream outside very often.

Fall is probably one of my favorite seasons, though and I can’t wait for it to be here already.  The Fall Fever really started to hit for me when food establishments start bringing out the pumpkin flavored items.  I’ve already enjoyed a few pumpkin bagels (yummy!) which reminded me of my failed pumpkin pie ice cream experiment last October.  I think this year I might tweak the recipe or just let Kelly at Ice Cream Alchemy test it out for me.  Maybe she’ll also whip up a batch of Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes, too!

Her pie looks so delicious!

First off, I grabbed a can of pumpkin pie filling from the store.  You know, the one that has everything but eggs & evaporated milk in it?

And then I had 2 cans of coconut milk.  So I blended them together (it was very thick — that should have been my first warning sign) and put it in the ice cream maker.

I ended up with this:

It wasn’t bad.  It wasn’t very sweet or creamy like the chocolate coconut ice cream I made before.  And because I used a 30oz can of pumpkin pie filling and 26oz of coconut milk the consistency was off.  It was so thick my blender gave up on it after a few minutes.  Not good.  I guess next time (if there is one with this recipe) I’ll use more coconut milk than pie filling.

I think a better idea for coconut & pumpkin ice cream is to use pumpkin pie spice and coconut milk.  I would say 2 cans of coconut milk, 1 cup of sugar, and some pumpkin pie spice would make something tasty.

Ice cream making isn’t an adventure if you don’t get lost at least a few times along the way!

Now I’ve got to figure out how to eat all this pumpkin pie coconut ice cream in my freezer. *sigh*

Faith at Mekuno Cooking offered up this recipe:

Pumpkin-Coconut Ice Cream

4 egg yolks
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 can coconut cream (not coconut milk – Coco Lopez, found with the drink mixers)
1 cup cream
1 cup half and half (or whole milk)

Whisk the egg yolks in a medium saucepan with sugar, salt and spices. Whip them until yellow and lightened in texture and volume. Whisk in the pumpkin.

Stir in the can of Coco Lopez. Add to the yolks. Whisk thoroughly then whisk in cream and half/half.

Put over medium low heat and cook, stirring constantly, for 10-15 minutes. Do not let it boil. Stir until temperature is 175-180ºF. Remove from heat and strain into a bowl.

Refrigerate for four hours or overnight, then freeze in your ice cream maker. Store for up to two weeks, tightly covered with a double layer of plastic wrap or foil underneath the lid of the container.

Since I’m not a big fan of making egg based ice creams, I’m going to try a variation on this recipe.  And since I like to keep it simple I think I’m going to try it with just coconut milk instead of coconut cream, cream & half n half.

Wish me luck!  I hope mine turns out as tasty as hers!

pumpkin coconut ice cream

1 cup mashed cooked pumpkin
1 3/4 cups whipping cream
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger

Combine pumpkin, cream, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg & ginger. Mix well. Pour into your ice cream maker. Freeze according to instructions.