 Last week, I wrote a Throwback Thursday post about vegan ice creams, including homemade recipes. I don't seem to have gotten over that, since today I found myself mixing up an all new recipe. For some reason I had planned on chocolate, and had one of those moments (rare moments) where I thought, "I'm just not in the mood for chocolate." Instead, I wanted maple and pecan. I got some maple extract recently, to amp up the maple flavor in baked goods, in addition to maple syrup as my sweetener of choice. I can't get enough of the maple-y goodness. As I started mixing the ingredients, it tasted to me like french toast, which I've also been craving lately. The cinnamon was an afterthought that turned into the perfect addition to give it the flavor I wanted. You could use more cinnamon, but my husband isn't a fan, so I went mellow on it. Recipe2 cans coconut milk 1/2 cup maple syrup 1 tsp maple extract 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 tsp cinnamon pinch salt Mix all ingredients in a bowl or ideally a large measuring bowl with pour spout and put in ice cream maker for about 20 minutes. Top with pecans and more cinnamon for the full effect, or be like my kids and go simple. The Gadget
0 Comments
Nice Cream, You Scream, We all Scream for Dairy-Free Ice Cream!
It's been about a decade since I cut dairy from my diet completely. I wish I could say it was for the cows, who I have always felt such love and esteem for, but it was my own selfish digestion that caused that particular dietary change. I have always been lactose intolerant, but in my early-mid twenties, something shifted and milk no longer just gave me discomfort, it began making me violently ill. It was super fun times- not.
Since then, I've spent many moons learning to replace dairy in my diet, and ice cream was definitely on the short list of Things I Need Dairy-Free Versions Of. Over the years, I've met many people who share my dairy discomfort, as well as many vegans who have an ethical repulsion for dairy. Whatever the path, if you find yourself seeking dairy free ice cream options- you are in luck! Head to the Store
Most grocery stores (even in areas that don't seem "vegan-friendly") have a few dairy-free options. Peta Kids has this great list of common brands that you can find in the grocery store. If you have more options, there are all kinds of ice creams available commercially that are smaller batch. My personal favorite is Nada Moo, which isn't as widely available (I can't get it in my small town), as it's the creamiest. I DID recently find the new Non-Dairy Ben and Jerry's options and they did not disappoint. The peanut butter cookies and cream is my favorite, ideally mixed with the coffee and caramel one. The options in the store these days not only have the non-dairy goodness, but they also come with rice, almond, coconut, or cashew base, so there really is something for everyone. You can also often find vegan sorbets, like Haagan Daz mango or raspberry sorbet.
Make Your Own
My husband and I are both allergic to dairy, so when we got an ice cream maker for our wedding, we were thrilled to try out making our own ice cream! It took a while to get the hang of it though, and we had many flops. Finally, my friend Tara gave me a foolproof recipe:
1 can coconut milk (full fat) 1 small can coconut cream (or just the cream from a second can of full fat coconut milk) Then you add sweeteners/flavors/add ins of choice. I like maple syrup, vanilla, and crushed up Newman's O's for a cookies and cream that is perfection. Really, the possibilities are endless: You can use various extracts or fruit or nuts for whatever flavor you can imagine! For a Cashew Coconut Blend, you can try the ice cream I used for my birthday ice cream cake. It was so creamy and delicious! Nice Cream
Nice Cream is a term used primarily for blended up frozen bananas and/or other frozen fruit. You can use a quality blender, food processor, a machine specifically designed for it like "YoNanas" or similar, or in my case you can use a Champion Juicer like our Rainbow Sherbet recipe.
There's a million ways to make this, just blending up frozen bananas and other fruit (bananas aren't essential, but make it creamy and sweet naturally). You may need to add a tiny bit of juice or non-dairy milk to blend it, but if you add too much you get a smoothie- so beware. My favorites are banana peach, banana mango, or banana blueberry. You can also blend in peanut butter, cocoa powder, or matcha powder for peanut butter, chocolate, or green tea ice cream. Toppings
Peanut Butter Caramel Sauce: This was a huge hit at an ice cream demo my daughter and I taught last night. It's simply 2 parts Brown Rice Syrup and one part creamy peanut butter. It is gooey, sweet, and caramely good. Stir both ingredients together and try not to just eat it all with a spoon. It's nice on top of our ice cream or swirled in.
DIY Magic Shell in either chocolate, green tea, or peanut butter flavor: Mix some warmed coconut oil (just warm enough to be liquid) with either cocoa powder, matcha powder, or powdered peanut butter and then add some maple syrup to taste. It should be like a nice thick syrup consistency, but then when you pour over your ice cream it will harden. Sprinkles: Let's Do Organic makes great vegan sprinkles that are fun for baking and for topping sundaes Healthy Toppings: Fun health food toppings like cacao nibs, hemp seeds, chia seeds, goji berries, and nuts give the look and whimsy of a classic sundae and give great nutrients as well!
If these aren't enough, check out this list compiled by Buzzfeed:
29 Amazing Vegan Ice Cream Recipes It's my birthday!
My great grandma was a firm believer that one must eat birthday cake on their birthday. While I do kick back some and my husband made breakfast (Zucchini Pancakes from You Won't Believe It's Vegan), I like to make my own birthday cake.
This year, I opted for an ice cream cake to compliment our warm spring, and a simple Whacky Cake for ease. Gadgets
Springform pan (or cake pan)
High Speed Blender (like Vitamix or Blendtec)
Ice Cream Maker (I have thisCuisinart one and love it)
  
Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream Cake
For the cake
This is a TWO DAY job, so there's day 1 prep and day 2.
Day 1
First, make your cake. This is a Whacky Cake, which is an age old recipe dating back since at least The Great Depression, but likely further back. It wasn't intended to be vegan, simply less expensive and easier to source the ingredients for. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Combine all your dry ingredients right in your cake pan. I used a springform pan, but another is fine too, Even square would work just fine. Once your dry ingredients are all mixed, make 3 little wells in the mix. Pour the vinegar in one well, the vanilla in another, and the oil in the last. Top it all with the water and combine everything completely (right there in your baking pan- happy birthday to me with this ease). Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool to room temp, then store in refrigerator overnight. My refrigerator has some magical humidity control and doesn't dry things out, but if yours doesn't, then make sure to cover with sedan wrap or similar. Next, the ice cream. Put all ingredients in your high speed blender and blend until silky smooth. Then put in a sealed container and refrigerate overnight. This step *could* be skipped, but I find that having a cold base makes the ice cream maker more effective, so if you forgot this, no big deal. Make sure your ice cream making bowl is in the freezer (I just keep mine there so I am always ready to make ice cream at a moment's notice). 
Day 2 (My birthday! Or whatever your occasion is)
Put ice cream mix into the bowl and set it and forget it. Let it go until it's the consistency of soft serve. While that goes, slice your cake in half as best you can. I just eyeballed it and used a large bread knife, but there are special cake cutting gadgets if you are into precision. Put the cake back in the baking pan and layer bottom half, soft serve ice cream, and then top. Put in freezer for a couple hours (I left mine for about two and the ice cream was firm, but still soft and smooth. It was the exact perfect amount of time, so that's what I recommend. 
Look at that! No drips, moist and creamy and sorry if those words gross you out.
My husband is not generally a coconut fan, but loved it. I drizzled our slices with coffee liquor for a tiramisu-like flavor and left the kids' plain. I didn't think it needed frosting at all. It was just right the way it was. |
I wrote a children's book, How Our Vegan Family Celebrates, to help vegans and vegan allies know how to include vegans in their celebrations and give affirmation to vegan kids who may feel alone. The book goes through holidays throughout the year and has a section at the back with parent tips!
Order your copy here today!   Follow me on Facebook and Instagram for even more tips, tricks, and fun!
See what I'm pinning on Pinterest! Check out my YouTube Channel!
AuthorI love cooking and playing in the kitchen with my toys, so let me share that joy with you and your family to bring the FUN back into the kitchen! Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
