Pina Colada Ice Cream.

I grew up on classic Caribbean ice creams which were homemade and usually flavored with many of the fruits that grew at the back of our home in Guaracara Trinidad. Coconut, mango, sour soup and barbadine (Giant Granadilla) were the flavors of the day. Unless it was the odd time mom would bring home Flavorite (brand) from the grocery store, where we’d get a taste of chocolate, vanilla, strawberry and the odd time .. rum and raisin. After having a superb pina colada in old San Juan (Puerto Rico) a few years ago, I knew I had to give this a spin in my ice cream maker.

You’ll Need…

1 medium pineapple (ripe)
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1 cup coconut cream (sometimes called cream of coconut)
1/2 cup pineapple juice
2 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup rum

*Important – Add more sugar if needed as I’m cutting back on the amount of sugar I use daily.

I guess you can use a can or two of diced pineapple, but with ripe pineapples being very affordable and so much better to use (no added sugar and preservatives), I’d suggest you use the real deal. Peel, core, cube and place in a blender with all of the other ingredients.

Puree until everything is smooth. Then place in the fridge to chill for a couple hours to make it easier for your ice cream maker.

Then it’s just a matter of placing the chilled mixture into your ice cream maker and running it according to the machine’s instructions. For me it took about 25 minutes. As I mentioned in the Sour Sop Ice Cream Recipe it may have the consistency of soft-serve ice cream at this point, so I usually remove the finished ice cream from the maker and place it in a freezer proof container.. then into the freezer for a couple hours to get a bit more firm.

With the summer we just had in Southern Ontario (temperatures in to 40’s with the humidex – that’s Celsius) , this Pina Colada ice cream was certainly enjoyed on many occasions.  I would assume you can make it without the rum, but why? Ah lil sip won’t hurt the kids (smile)