Low Carb Bangkok Peanut Ice Cream

I found this ice cream recipe from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams. It was included in her book and checked off all the boxes for a low carb conversion.

Jeni explains her inspiration for this ice cream:

For years, there was a rivalry in the North Market about who had the best pad Thai. One shop’s sign said “Best Pad Thai in the Market,” which was answered with another shop’s “Best Pad Thai in Columbus.” One of the battling merchants was a young Thai woman named Nida. Hers was everything pad Thai should be: fresh and light, exquisitely spiced, and slightly sweet with layers and layers of flavor.

As the debate heated up, I decided to throw my hat in the ring. Using locally produced all-natural peanut butter, ground toasted coconut, and cayenne pepper, I created Bangkok Peanut Ice Cream and, with tongue firmly in cheek, touted it as the “Best Pad Thai in the World!”

For more authentic flavor and a lighter finish, add a bruised lemongrass stalk and 4 “coins” of ginger during the boiling stage, then remove before whisking in the cornstarch slurry.*

* Jeni’s sweet cream base uses cornstarch since it binds water molecules. Making ice cream is much easier when you don’t have to worry about excess carbohydrates.

She uses ¼ cup of natural peanut butter in her version and you’re welcome to do that, but I used peanut butter ice cream flavoring instead. (I doubled the normal amount to give it a fighting chance alongside the abundance of coconut flavor sources.) The original recipe uses honey, so I’m using honey flavoring, too. Shockingly, the original ice cream recipe doesn’t include peanuts as a mix in. I suggest adding some as a topping. Spanish redskin peanuts would be perfect. I used ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper because I thought ⅛ would be too little. I’ve got to admit that a little goes a long way. I like the spicy finish it has, but if you have a low tolerance, keep it ⅛. This came out crumbly, so I added additional glycerine to compensate.

I modeled this recipe closer to my Low Carb Coconut Ice Cream with Saffron. Also, this recipe leaves the toasted coconut in the ice cream mix, unlike my other toasted coconut ice cream low carb conversion. Yay!

Here’s a cute idea: make low carb fortune cookies using my low carb waffle cone recipe! Fold the round discs into a big cookie. Makes a great garnish.

Ingredients

2 cups (476 g) heavy cream
1 can (14 fl oz) Trader Joe’s Coconut Cream
½ cup 60g unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted
1½ tablespoons Truvia
Big pinch salt
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
21 drops EZ-Sweetz
2 tablespoons (38 g) vegetable glycerin
2 tablespoons LorAnn Oils Flavor Fountain Flavorings, Peanut Butter
½ teaspoon honey flavoring

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 °F. Put the container for the ice cream including its cover upright in the freezer now. This serves two purposes: it keeps the container cold and it forces you to make sure that there’s space in the freezer.
2. Spread the coconut on a baking sheet and toast in the oven, turning and stirring every few minutes, until evenly browned, about 7 minutes. Watch carefully, as coconut can burn quickly. Remove from the oven.
   
   
   
   
   
3. In a medium-sized saucepan, bring the heavy cream, coconut cream, toasted coconut, and Truvia to a boil.
4. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the salt and cayenne pepper, remove from heat, cover with lid, and let stand for one hour. It should be room temperature by then. Transfer to Pyrex mixing cup. Add the EZ-Sweetz, vegetable glycerin, peanut butter flavoring and honey extract, and mix with a silicone spatula. Cover and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least four hours.
5. Follow your ice cream maker’s directions for making ice cream. Remove from the ice cream using a silicone spatula and to the container. Freeze until solid.