Pina Colada Ice Cream
If you like Pina coladas, get ready for some awesome ice cream. Nothing says the islands or vacation like an ice cold pina colada. That perfect combination of sweet coconut and tart pineapple mixed with just enough rum to let you know it’s there. Pina colada, it could quite possibly the most appropriate island drink. But wait, that’s not the drink I have pictured. Indeed it is ice cream, and you are going to love it.
How did I come up with this concoction? It all started with bananas. It seems I have somehow collected enough bananas in my freezer to feed a small monkey, so I thought why not make banana ice cream? I didn’t want to do just bananas so I thought of what I could combine with it. Hmmm, I also had pineapple. Back up. Bananas and pineapple? No way, scratch that. Oddly enough, I had heard someone on the radio talking about having pina coladas while they were on vacation last week. Okay….pineapple and coconut….ice cream….eureka! Unfortunately I still have a bunch of bananas in my freezer, but I have made a darn good ice cream to make up for it.
If you have never made ice cream before, you are in luck because I am going to give you a step by step tutorial here. The base recipe gives you good ‘ole vanilla ice cream. Stop right there and you can add whatever you want and make whatever your taste buds tell you too. But today, we are doing it a little different and making something very familiar in a different form.
If you do not have an ice cream maker, you can still make ice cream. You just have to churn it periodically as it hardens in the freezer for a few hours. But, I want to inform you now that if you do not have one, you may want to buy one just for this recipe.
This is what you will start with: Light cream, half & half, cream of coconut, plus an 8 oz can of crushed pineapple, some sugar, 4 eggs and some rum.
Whisk together 4 egg yolks and 3/4 cup sugar (only 1/2 cup if you like ice cream a little less sweet).
In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup light cream to a light simmer (do not boil!). Slowly pour some of the cream mixture into your egg mixture. This is called tempering the eggs. If you put the eggs directly into the pan without bringing them up to temperature, you will have breakfast instead of ice cream, because they are going to scramble. Pour the egg and cream mixture into the saucepan and keep it at low heat. Again, you do not want it to boil. What we are doing here is making a custard and it should become thick and stick to the back of your spoon.
You should be able to run your finger across the spoon and leave an impression. That is when your custard is done.
Meanwhile, put 2 cups half & half into a small bowl surrounded with ice to keep it cool. Strain your custard through a small strainer into the half & half. If you want to stop here, add a tablespoon of vanilla or the seeds from a vanilla bean, then you have made vanilla ice cream. Proceed with cooling the mixture and freezing in your ice cream maker.
This is what you will get in your strainer. We do not want these eggy bits in our ice cream!
Add 2 tablespoons of rum. I used Bacardi Gold because it is what I had. As you can see, we are almost out – time for a liquor run.
This is where the impatience kicks in. Let the mixture cool in the fridge a minimum of 4 hours or overnight (you could let it cool in the freezer a few hours, but don’t forget about it!). When very cool, add your ice cream base to your ice cream maker and let it churn for 20 minutes. It will churn to a semi-frozen goodness.
After 20 minutes, toss in your crushed pineapple bits and juice. Let churn another 5 minutes. If you are not fond of the frozen fruit textures in your ice cream, you can crush the pineapple bits even more using a food processor before you add them to your ice cream. Right now you have soft serve ice cream, you can have some now or transfer to a container and freeze for 2 hours to get a hard ice cream texture.
Oh darn, my containers are full. I’ll have to eat what’s left over in the ice cream machine 
I got these nifty ice cream containers from Sweet Bliss containers which can be bought on Amazon in pint and quart sizes. This recipe fills 2 pints.
And that’s it! Sit on your back deck and have a bowl, because you will feel like you are on vacation!
What are your favorite ice cream flavors to make?
Pina Colada Ice Cream
*Mangoes and Chutney Original*
2 cups half & half
1 cup heavy (or light) cream
1- 8oz can cream of coconut
4 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar (1/2 cup for less sweetness)
1- 8oz can crushed pineapple (blend further for smaller bits)
2 Tbsp light or dark rum
Whisk together egg yolks and sugar. Bring cream to a simmer in a saucepan and pour some of the warmed cream into the egg mixture. Pour everything back into the saucepan. Mix continually on low heat until thickened.
Strain cream mixture into 2 cups half & half (that has been sitting in an ice bath). Add cream of coconut, 2 Tbsp rum, and combine until well mixed.
Cover and cool mixture in refrigerator for 4 hours minimum, optimal overnight.
When mixture is thoroughly cooled, pour into ice cream machine and let churn for 20 minutes. Pour in your crushed pineapple with juices and churn another 5 minutes. Transfer to an airtight container for 2 hours to get desired hard ice cream texture.
What a gorgeous tutorial, with the pale creamy yellows. This ice cream sounds delicious.
Thank you, it turned out great. I hope you will give it a try as well!
Yum. I'll save this one for my next ice-cream party. Thanks for all of the great photos (I'll know if I'm doing it wrong).
Awesome, let me know how it turns out!