Transfer the bowl of your ice cream maker to the freezer and freeze for at least 24 hours before making the ice cream. This ensures the ice cream maker does its job properly by thoroughly freezing the base while churning air into it. Note: If you don’t own an ice cream maker, skip the ice cream machine directions and simply freeze the vanilla ice cream base in an airtight container once everything is mixed together.

Add the two cans of coconut milk, pure maple syrup and sea salt to a medium sized saucepan and heat over medium heat. Stir and heat the ingredients just until they are well-combined and creamy. Taste test this mixture for sweetness and add more pure maple syrup to your personal taste if desired. Note: It is typical for canned coconut milk to separate when sitting at room temperature or cool temperatures. We perform this step to help melt the coconut flesh and water together so that we’re left with a creamy consistency.

Remove the ice cream base from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

Transfer the vanilla ice cream base to an airtight container and refrigerate until completely chilled, about 2 hours (the length of time depends on how hot your liquid got).

Place the frozen freezer bowl of the ice cream maker into your ice cream machine.

Pour the chilled ice cream custard into the ice cream machine and follow the manufacturer instructions for operating it. Allow the ice cream to churn until thick and it reaches a soft serve consistency, about 20 to 30 minutes (or longer if need be).

Once your ice cream reaches the consistency of vanilla soft serve, you can serve it right away as is or freeze it for a traditional firmer consistency.

To do so, transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container. Many people use a loaf pan then cover it with plastic wrap. I like using an airtight container like a glass tupperware container for longer term storage. Freeze until completely frozen, at least 2 hours.

When you’re ready to serve the creamy vanilla ice cream, bring it out of the freezer and thaw at room temperature for a few minutes. Serve vanilla ice cream with any toppings such as fresh fruit (berries are delicious!), chocolate sauce, chocolate chips, cookies, peanut butter, caramel sauce, hot fudge, etc.