Easy Salted Caramel and Coconut Ice Cream - Dairy Free. Gluten Free.

My goodness it's hot! Too hot; but at least it's an excuse to eat ice cream. Ice cream is one of the joys of summer; but since I'm trying to go dairy free, I've really missed the yummy, cool treat.

I even treated myself to a very lovely ice cream machine last year and thought it was going to go unused. I was wrong.

I've been Googling dairy free ice cream recipes (without banana because I can't stand the fruit). There were a lot that came up; but most needed a homemade custard and right now I don't have the energy. It needs to be nice and easy or not at all.

That's when I stumbled upon a recipe in the Sainsbury's magazine for Salted Caramel and Chocolate Ice cream, it looked really quick and easy - perfect! 

I thought I'd have a go; but to make it dairy free, I decided to substitute the cream for coconut milk. It was a bit nerve racking as it's not something I've tried before. Turns out I had nothing to worry about. It was delicious, you have to try it.

Don't worry if you don't have an ice cream machine, you can also do this in the freezer overnight.

Easy Salted Caramel and Coconut Ice Cream

• 1 can Carnation Caramel
• 1 can Coconut Milk (normal, not light)
• pinch of salt
• chocolate chips (personally I wouldn't use these again)

1. Chill the cans before using - your ice cream will freeze quicker.
2. Mix the caramel, coconut milk and salt together. Add the chocolate chips if using; but I found they got really hard and weren't pleasant, so personally I'd say leave them out then sprinkle a few on at the end if you feel the need.
3. Either pour into your ice cream machine and follow your usual instructions. Or pour it into a Tupperware pot and freeze overnight.
4. If you make it in the freezer, take it out 15 minutes before serving. If you're lucky enough to have an ice cream machine you can eat it straight away and freeze any leftovers in a Tupperware pot.
5. I served mine with raspberries, the slight tang balanced the gorgeous sweet creaminess. Yum!

Do you have any dairy free ice cream recipes you think I need to try?