Coconut milk or coconut cream is a great alternative to dairy cream and it’s a boon to those folks who are lactose intolerant. I made this pansy blossom ice cream for Rani’s birthday in early March with coconut milk and coconut cream as one of Rani’s friends recently developed an intolerance to dairy.

We decided to make this ice cream in vanilla flavor with pansy blossoms to give the ice cream that unique purple color. Pansy flowers add delicate purple colored flecks to a simple vanilla ice cream without altering the delicate vanilla flavor. Our vanilla ice cream with pansy blossoms turned out so good that all the kids even the ones who could have dairy devoured it 😋.

Pansy Blossom Ice Cream:
makes 6-8 scoops

Ingredients:

• 1 400 ml or 13.5 oz can coconut milk or coconut cream. For a creamier ice cream use coconut cream.
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar. You can add more sugar if you like your ice cream sweeter.
• 2 tbsp strawberry, raspberry, or any sweet jam of your choice.
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp fresh chopped pansy flowers (pesticide free).

Directions:

• In a mixing bowl add powdered sugar, jam, vanilla, and coconut milk. Using a hand mixer or a manual whisk mix all the ingredients together into a smooth texture.

• Remove stems from pansy blooms and gently cut the flower petals.

• Pour the coconut cream mixture into the ice cream maker and start the machine. Wait 5 – 8 minutes until the mixture starts to thicken slightly then add the pansy blooms.

• Continue to run the ice cream maker until a thick soft-serve ice cream consistency is formed.

• Turn the machine off. Scoop ice cream into a container and place in freezer. Pansy blossom ice cream is ready.

• Serve pansy blossom ice cream  with a garnish of fresh pansies and mint leaves.

Pansy
by Clyde Tombaugh

How does a pansy, for example, select the ingredients from soil to get the right colors for the flower?
Now there’s a great miracle.
I think there’s a supreme power behind all of this.
I see it in nature.