What better to pair with cupcakes than homemade ice cream? Sure, it's easy to buy a container of ice cream from your local grocery, or even a local ice cream shop, but it's very satisfying to taste freshly made ice cream.

To go with Pina Colada cupcakes from Scrumptious, I thought I'd make Lychee Ice Cream. Lychees are summer fruit from Asia, but have more recently been grown in Florida and Hawaii. It's light and tropical tasting - goes well with coconut, rum, ginger, or lime. Almonds also make a nice flavor pairing with lychees. Soy milk adds creaminess without all the fat.

Earlier: Scrumptious Cupcakes Debut

You can find fresh soy milk and lychees in your local Asian supermarkets. After purchasing, you may keep lychees refrigerated (or even frozen) for months. The fruit peels easily and is typically eaten raw. Lychees also come canned and usually in a light syrup.

Adding lychees into your ice cream mixture halfway through the freezing process gives the frozen treat a nice texture.

Lychee Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups soy milk, unsweetened
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup sugar (divided)
• 1 tbsp. vanilla bean paste
• 2 cups chopped lychees (divided) plus 1 tsp. reserved syrup (approximately 12-14 whole lychees in 1 cup)

Mix heavy cream, soy milk, salt, 1/4 cup sugar and vanilla bean paste in a saucepan. Warm over medium heat, until it reaches slow simmer but not boiling. Simmer for 2-3 minutes, then turn heat off and let steep for 30 minutes, covered.

Take one cup of lychees and finely chop, or pulse in food processor. The fruit will give off juice, so it's best to strain. Coarsely chop remaining cup of lychees.

After milk has steeped, pour into ice cream maker bucket, and combine with remaining sugar and finely chopped lychees. Prepare your ice cream according to your ice cream maker instructions**. Halfway through the mixing process add the coarsely chopped lychees. Continue mixing, then freeze for 3-4 hours.

**If you do not have an ice cream maker, you could use a hand mixer, or electric mixer, and whip the ice cream mixture until frothy. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes, then take back out and mix again. Return to freezer and check in another 30-45 minutes. Add coarsely chopped lychees when mixture resembles yogurt so lychees will not sink to the bottom. Repeat mixing and freezing until ice cream is at your desired consistency and frozen.