Which vegan ice cream will be YOUR favorite?
Hello my friends! Here is a quick and breezy post for three vegan ice creams three different ways.
Vegan Ice Cream featuring Aquafaba
The first is a strawberry fluffy vegan ice cream…think the consistency of frozen cotton candy. Or if any of you are old enough…remember Jello 1-2-3?…it’s kind of like the middle layer. Light, sweet and loaded with strawberry flavor, it’s made with only 3 ingredients…aquafaba (chickpea water) confectioner’s sugar and fresh strawberries. That is it. A stand mixer is really helpful, but you can use a hand bender…it will just take a skosh longer.
Aquafaba plus sugar plus strawberries equals fabulousness!
- 1/2 cup aquafaba
- 1 cup confectioners sugar
- 1 cup strawberries finely chopped
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Pour chilled aquafaba into bowl of stand mixer.
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With wire whip attached, whip on high for about 10 minutes until frothy.
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Turn off and add confectioners sugar.
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Gradually increase speed to high and whip for about 10 min more until white and shiny but not stiff.
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Add in strawberries and whip for about 5 minutes.
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Scoop into airtight container and freeze for at least 4 hours.
Mint Chocolate Chip (and it takes like the real deal)
Next up, is my favorite (and most caloric… no surprise there 😉 ). Inspired by Serious Eats this mint choco-chip vegan ice cream recipe uses coconut cream and coconut milk, fresh mint, sugar and a wee bit o’ scotch. You also need an ice cream maker (I bought a refurb Cuisinart 2 quart on eBay for under $50). Serious Eats’ recipe calls for corn syrup, but I used simple syrup and it was perfect.
Mmmm, looks like you could lick this right off the page (do not attempt!)
- 1 can coconut milk I used Trader Joe’s
- 1 can coconut cream
- 1/4 cup simple syrup
- 3/4 cup organic vegan sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon scotch whiskey
- 1 tsp salt
- handful of mint leaves
- 1 empty vanilla bean pod
- 4 ounces of vegan chocolate shaved or grated
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Combine coconut milk, cream, syrup and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat.
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Stir until mixture comes to a simmer.
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Take off heat.
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Toss in mint leaves and vanilla bean pod.
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Stir, cover for 2 hours.
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Strain mixture and remove leaves and pod.
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Toss in remaining ingredients (except chocolate) and blend with immersion blender.
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Pour into airtight container and chill for at least 2 hours.
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Pour mixture into ice cream maker following manufacturer’s instructions. The Cuisinart took about 20 min.
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During the last few minutes, add in the chocolate to blend.
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Pour ice cream into lined bread mold and cover.
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Chill in freezer for at least 4 hours.
Classic Nice Cream Revisited (and creamier than ever!)
Last but certainly not least is probably the first ice cream attempted by many a vegan, the famous “nice cream.” Who know frozen bananas blended a high speed would produce such creamy lusciousness? Though I do like bananas, I’m not thrilled with overt banana flavor that is typical of nice creams. Enter the cocoa bean! Cacao powder really emphasizes the chocolatey-ness of this nice cream. It gets a little sweetness from maple syrup and dates and I threw in some cashew butter which just makes this more ice creamy. It’s great on a cone or served in a bowl with a plop of CocoWhip!
- 3 frozen bananas already cut in chunks prior to freezing
- 1/4 cup cashew butter
- 1 vanilla bean pod scraped
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 3/4 tablespoons cacao powder
- 2-3 seeded dates
- Add all ingredients to high speed blender.
- Blend until smooth.
- Enjoy immediately as soft serve or freeze in an airtight container for a few hours.
Let me know which is your favorite!
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