This post is also available in: עברית (Hebrew)
Spring is already here, and has brought with it some warm days. For this reason, I’d share with you today my recipe for a home made vegan ice-cream, no ice-cream maker needed.
I don’t fancy the in between seasons time that much, all that uncertainty of “which weather are we going to have today?” makes me feel uncomfortable, as I’ve already explained in a recent post, its easier for me when things are clear and organized. Spring confuses me: you have to check the weather forecast to know what the girls need to wear, explain to my older one that although its hot outside already it will take 2 more months before the swimming-pool will be open, store the coats upstairs but still leave some warm cloth nearby, start checking when is spring break and arrange some activities for the girls. Like I said, I prefer clearer breaks, either it is winter or it is summer. So let’s say it is summer already, and get back to the ice-cream. This recipe was developed by mistake, after I froze some leftover whipped coconut milk, then I looked at it and thought I should try blending it with some frozen fruit and sweetener, and I discovered this amazing ice-cream!
A few comments about this recipe: I’ve many numerous tries to get to what I consider the perfect creamy texture for ice-cream. The great thing about this recipe is that it doesn’t require an ice-cream maker. However, you need to have a high speed blender, that can deal with ice or similar strength products. I use a Vitamix, while I know many people think it costs more than what they are willing to pay for a kitchen appliance, I still have to fully recommend it. I had different blenders along the years and with time they all broke, and even when they were working their results were not always homogeneous and they hardly could deal with frozen products. The Vitamix is able to blend anything I ever trued, it is quick, it s easy to clean, you can make soups with it in minutes, it is awesome for ice-cream, smoothies, nut butters and nut milks, and if there’s one kitchen appliance I recommend you’ll spend on, it will be this, especially for vegans who’s diet is based on many recipes requiring a good blender.
The ice-cream take one minute to make, however you do need to plan ahead, as the coconut milk needs to sit in the fridge overnight at least, and after you whip it it has to freeze in the freezer for a few hours. One more thing, this ice-cream has to be consumed immediately (and I’m sure you wont find issues doing that :)), as it doesn’t keep the nice creamy texture if you re-freeze it.
I sometimes use the term coconut milk and sometimes coconut cream, but I mean the same thing, the important thing is that you need the full fat version of the milk. The coconut milk should be kept in the fridge overnight (at the least), and preferably somewhere at the back of your fridge, where temperature is likely lower. This helps the fats separate from the liquids in the milk, and create the cream that will be used for whipping. In summer times it is even more important to make sure it is kept for a long time in the fridge, and preferably for a couple of days. I personally always keep one can of coconut milk in the back of my fridge, and take it out whenever needed. After (at least) a night in the fridge, take out the can/carton, open it carefully, and scoop out the cream spoon after spoon.
Continue spooning out the cream until the spoon reaches the liquid, then stop. Don’t throw away the leftover liquids, keep it in a jar in the fridge and use it to make curry, smoothies, or pancakes.
Whip the cream for a few minutes until you reach a fluffy cream. Tip: if you put your mixing bowl in the freezer for a few minutes beforehand it will help the whipping process.
Scoop the whipped cream into silicon mini-muffins tins, shape doesn’t matter, I use it just because it makes it easier to pull the cream out after it freezes. Cover it and move to freezer for a few hours. Note that the ratio of cream vs. liquid can change according to the brand of milk you use and how cold it is, so you may get different amounts of whipped cream than what I got here. Just keep it in the freezer for next time, or use more in the ice-cream recipe if you like the coconut flavor.
And that’s it, as soon as the cream has frozen, you are one minute away from a creamy delicious ice-cream! All you need is the frozen whipped cream, frozen fruit (I used blackberries here but feel free to use any other frozen fruit), maple syrup and vanilla extract. Put it all in your high speed blender, blend away, and enjoy your ice-cream right away.
The Dishometer Rating:
- 1 can full fat coconut cream
- 1 cup frozen blackberries
- 5 tbs maple syrup
- 1 ts vanilla extract
- Place the coconut cream in the fridge (at least) overnight, see notes up in the post
- Take the coconut cream can out of the fridge and open it carefully. Using a spoon, scoop out the cream spoon after spoon, until you reach the liquid part (save the liquid in the fridge for other uses). Whip up the cream for a few minutes until it reaches a fluffy texture
- Scoop the whipped cream to a silicon mini muffins tray and place in the freezer until frozen
- Once the whipped cream has frozen, pull it out of the mini muffin tray and place in a high speed blender with the frozen blackberries (1 cup), maple syrup (5 tbs) and vanilla extract (1 ts), and blend until it reaches an ice-cream texture. You may have to stop and scrape the sides of the blender in the process to help reach a smooth consistency