Vegan Coconut Date Ice Cream

Home made ice cream is simply awesome. The kids feel like they are getting a treat (which they are, even if it’s “healthy”), I get to choose exactly what goes in it, and it is cheaper than the store bought kind. It’s an all around win! I really love the simplicity of coconut ice cream. Coconut flavored things is kind like the vanilla of the raw food world. Simple, elegant, non pretentious. I spruced it up by putting some date pieces in it to imitate chunks of caramel. It worked 🙂 And then toasting some coconut pieces to really bring depth to the coconut cream. It was so delicious!!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup soaked cashews
• 1/4 cup almond milk or liquid of joice
• 1 cup coconut cream (from the can, the cream on top)
• 1/2 cup coconut nectar (Plus extra to drizzle on top)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla powder
• 1/3 cup coconut shreds
• 1/4 cup date pieces

Steps:

• put everything but coconut shreds and date pieces in blender and blend on high until creamy
• add the coconut shreds and date pieces and continue blending until well incorporated but not broken down.
• if using an ice cream maker, follow those directions
• if not, then place in a shallow dish and freeze overnight,
• take it out about 10-15 minutes before eating and scoop it in to your bowls
• top with what ever makes you happy!

For the toasted coconut I just threw a handful of coconut pieces in a skillet and heat it up until they started to turn lightly brown, maybe 5 minutes? Easy!!

Advertisement

Carob Banana Ice Cream

Rich, creamy, smooth and decadent, this ice cream was a total hit. The coconut nectar gives it this nice depth of flavor, almost like molasses but not so intense. I normally would have used honey but didn’t have any and I am so glad I had to use this instead as it really adds to the richness of this dessert. I used carob because again, that is what I had on hand, but you can use cacao just the same. I will for sure be making this again.

First off though I just want to say, my ice cream maker is a pain in the ass. I am not a huge fan of the machine, but I am a huge fan of the end result, so for now I will stick with it. If anyone has an ice cream maker they love, please do tell!!! I have the kitchenaid brand and it just doesn’t work the way it promised. Anyways, I still use it because I love deserts, and I allow myself to complain about it too.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup soaked cashews (at least 4 hours in cold water, or 30 minutes in hot water)
• 1 cup coconut milk (from a can, the thick and rich kind)
• 1/2 cup carob powder
• 1 banana
• dash of salt
• 1 TBS soy lecithin
• 1/8 cup coconut nectar (because the carob is already a little naturally sweet I didn’t have to add too much sweetener, I suggest you taste your mixture before moving on to make sure it is sweet enough for you).

Steps for making with an ice cream maker:

• blend everything together until nice and creamy
• follow your ice cream maker’s instructions

Steps for making it in the blender:

• blend everything together until nice and creamy
• put in ice cube trays and freeze several hours
• put back in blender and blend, turning off the machine frequently to scrape down sides and push down mixture
• You can add a little bit of milk to aid the process, keeping in mind that the end result will be a little more soft

Steps for among it in the freezer:

• Blend everything together until nice and creamy
• put in a dish in the freezer
• mix every 30 minutes to allow a creamy texture to form and not a frozen block
• do this until desired consistency, I would say at least 2 hours. I know its long, but it is SO worth it.

Steps for making it in the Champion juicer:

• blend all ingredients until nice and creamy
• freeze in ice cube trays several hours
• run ice cubes in the juicer with the blank attachment
• this will give more a soft serve consistency, for a firmer one, follow up with the freezer steps, but it will only take you about 30 minutes

I topped our ice cream with some jalapeño salted almonds and a drizzle of coconut nectar. I absolutely loved this combo, but of course you can get as creative as you want here 🙂

This makes enough for 4. My husband and I split it in two as it didn’t look like that much, but in all honesty, and this doesn’t happen often, we had a really hard time finishing our bowls and this is so rich, in a really good way. We were dedicated though 😉