Cashew Coconut Coffee Ice Cream

So yeah, you can go out and buy vegan ice cream that tastes pretty bomb or you can get off your couch and make your own in about 5 minutes.  That 45 dollar cuisinart ice cream maker in your cabinet is just begging to be used.  Give it a whirl.  If you don't have an ice cream maker, go out and buy one - it will pay for itself.  If you think about it, over time, it's a lot cheaper than all those 8 dollar pints collecting ice crystals in your freezer right now.  Go make some.  You know you want some.

Cashew Coconut Coffee Ice Cream

1/2 cup raw cashews

1 cup coconut cream

1 cup coconut milk

1 T melted coconut oil

3 T instant espresso powder

2 T sugar

1 t salt

Blend all at high speed.  Taste and adjust sweetness to your liking.  Refrigerate mixture at least 30 minutes.  Add to ice cream maker.  Yum!

Coconut Candy

Among the many foods I lust after, coconut and dark chocolate are two that rank high on my list.  Thankfully they are both vegan and go together like bread and butter.  This 3 ingredient decadent treat is so delicious you will probably not have any leftovers the next day.  So if you want it to last I suggest you either make A LOT or hide it from yourself and any children you have running around.

Coconut Candy

2 cups flaked unsweetened coconut (toasted)

6 ounces dark chocolate (melted)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Spread coconut out on a cookie sheet in a single layer and bake for about 7 minutes at 350 degrees F or until golden brown.  Watch coconut carefully as oven temps vary and it can burn quickly.  Remove from oven and allow to cool until crisp.  Meanwhile melt dark chocolate over a double boiler or in your microwave just until melted.  

Do not add any liquid or other ingredients to the chocolate or it may seize up while melting.  Add coconut to chocolate and sprinkle with sea salt.  Transfer immediately to parchment paper, foil, or wax paper on a flat surface like a cookie sheet.  Allow chocolate to re-harden.  Break into bite size pieces and store in a sealed container in freezer or fridge.  If you are impatient for the chocolate to re-harden (like I ALWAYS am) place mixture on flat surface directly in freezer for 5-10 minutes.  Voila!  

Vegan Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream

This Ice Cream will blow your mind.  I am sure you could make it using any non-dairy milk you prefer.  I just really like the creaminess that is achieved with the use of a combination of soy milk and soy creamer.

Vegan Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream
1 1/2 cups Vanilla Soy Milk
1 cup Original Silk Soy Creamer
4 Tablespoons Peanut Butter
1 Tablespoon Agave Syrup
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
2 frozen Bananas
2 Tablespoons Coconut Spread Butter (I used Earth Balance brand)
1 small bar Dark Chocolate (crushed)

Place all ingredients in your blender (EXCEPT Coconut Butter and Dark Chocolate) and blend at high speed.  Add Coconut Butter and blend at low speed for a couple pulses (you want the butter to be a little chunky for texture).  Add mixture into ice cream machine.  Halfway through cycle, add crushed dark chocolate and finish cycle.  When it completes, it will be soft serve consistency.  If you want it more firm (as pictured) transfer to a freezer safe dish and freeze for several hours.  If frozen solid, I suggest letting ice cream sit out for 20 minutes prior to serving.  Enjoy!  This frozen concoction is one of a kind!

Vegan Espresso Chip Ice Cream

Chia seeds as the egg component in Vegan Ice Cream - Stroke of genius. I decided to try my hand at chia seed pudding so I made two batches. One vanilla, one espresso. I used almond milk for the liquid component.

As I was tasting my puddings (both creamy and rich) it dawned on me that I might be able to use the pudding as an ice cream base. So Voila! My Vegan Espresso Chip Ice Cream was born. I combined my two batches of pudding and topped with some very large chips (or rather, SLABS) of dark chocolate.

The photos are a progression of my ice cream that I popped out of a mold. Most homemade vegan ice cream straight from the freezer needs to sit out and soften to be fully enjoyed (unless you add stabilizers like arrowroot and other things). I don't have this stuff on hand.

So after my creation sat out for a full 15 minutes I thought I would reconstitute it with some more non-dairy milk (this time I used Silk Vanilla Soy). After all, it was after midnight and I was craving a milkshake. I plan on experimenting further with this recipe before revealing it.

However (spoiler alert) just follow any chia seed pudding recipe (my chia seeds from Trader Joe's had a recipe on the package!). Add a good healthy dose of instant espresso powder, vanilla extract, cocoa powder, sweetener of choice and chocolate chunks (or whatever you like) and toss in your ice cream machine. Be sure to blend mixture well so chia seeds get fully dissolved. Anyone else out there in cyberspace have any Chia Seed Ice Cream Recipes? I'd love to brainstorm on ways to improve and expand on this one!! Happy Eating!

Vegan New York Cheesecake

I have always been a little famous for making cheesecakes for my friends and family but those versions always contained lots of eggs, cream cheese, sour cream and a lion's share of vanilla extract.  Like many folks out there, vegan or not, I won't settle for anything less than the best when it comes to cheesecake.  I ventured out to make a version of New York Style Cheesecake without the use of vegan cream cheese.  The result?  Spectacular.  This baby could be topped with your choice of fruits or the addition of citrus or chocolate but it is also great on it's own.

Fair warning:  This is a VERY time consuming recipe.  Like 3 or 4 days time consuming but it can certainly be made ahead and stored in refrigerator for a good week and trust me, it is completely WORTH EVERY MINUTE!  The Chia seeds act as the "egg" and the cashews act as the "cream cheese".  The Cashew Sour Cream Topping is optional but I suggest you make a batch of it anyway because you will fall in love with the stuff.

Vegan New York Cheesecake

Crust
2 Cups Granola (vegan)
1/2 Cup Vegan Butter (I used Melt Brand Honey flavor that is not technically vegan for vegans who don't use honey.)
2 Tablespoons Sugar

Filling
1 1/2 Cups Raw Whole Cashews (soaked for 48 hours)

2 Tablespoons Chia Seeds (left whole or pre-ground to a fine powder)

6 Tablespoons Warm Water

1 teaspoon Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
3 Tablespoons Sugar
4 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract
6 Tablespoons Unsweetened Almond Milk (or other non-dairy milk of choice)

Cashew Sour Cream Topping (suggest making this the night before making the cake)
3/4 Cup Raw Whole Cashews (soaked for 24 hours)
1 teaspoon Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
6 Tablespoons Cold Water

Equipment
10-inch Springform Pan
Parchment Paper
Baking sheet (with sides)
Food processor (or high speed blender)

For Cashew Sour Cream Topping process all ingredients in food processor until completely smooth.  Put into an airtight glass container in refrigerator overnight.  This is a great staple to have in your refrigerator for sweet and savory recipes of all types so you might want to make a double batch.

For Crust, Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Begin by preparing and pre-baking crust mixture.  Prepare springform pan by wrapping circular section in parchment paper and secure in fastened pan.  Put granola in food processor with 2 Tablespoons sugar and melted vegan butter (melt for about 40 seconds in microwave or on stovetop till just melted).  Slowly drizzle in melted butter while food processor is running.  When mixture is sticky crumb consistency it is ready to put in prepared springform pan.  Press mixture to form even layer on bottom of pan and place in oven for 10 minutes.  Remove and place on wire rack to cool to touch.

For Filling, Turn oven DOWN to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.  For filling begin by adding chia seeds to warm water in a glass bowl.  Stir thoroughly and set aside for about 15-20 minutes.  Place pre-soaked cashews in food processor and process till paste forms.  Add remaining ingredients in the following order (while food processor is running) prepared chia seeds and water, vinegar, salt, sugar, vanilla extract and almond milk.  Be sure to scrape down sides intermittently so ingredients are fully incorporated.  Continue to process mixture until is is creamy.  This may occur quicker if you have a high speed blender but in my food processor it took a good 15 minutes total, processing for a few minutes at a time so the motor wouldn't overheat.  The chia seeds may have a slight crunch but it should not be very noticeable.  If you like a completely smooth texture you can certainly pre-grind chia seeds to a fine powder but they still need to be hydrated in the water to act as the "egg" in the recipe.

By this time your crust should have cooled slightly.  Spray or butter the inside sides of the pan and place strips of parchment paper all around.  The spray or butter should help the parchment pieces to stick to each other.  Pour filling mixture into pan and spread evenly.  Place in 300 degree Fahrenheit oven for 1 hour.  Remove from oven and top with cashew sour cream topping.  I would have used more sour cream topping like the recipe calls for but I just used what I had left over from my dinner the night before.    Place back into the oven for 15 minutes.   Placing back in the oven for 15 minutes with topping is optional as you can also just leave the cashew sour cream raw. The texture of the topping will be much creamier if you DON'T bake it.

Remove cheesecake from oven and allow to cool completely on counter top.  Once cooled, wrap entire cake (pan, parchment and all) in saran wrap and place in refrigerator for 12-24 hours.  Remove fasteners from pan, remove parchment from sides and slice.  Serve alone, with fresh fruit or other toppings of choice.  I will post more pictures of the finished product as mine is cooling on the counter as we speak.

Vegan Haagen Dazs Chocolate Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

3 Cups Non-Dairy Milk
(I used 3 varieties, 1 cup of each "dream blends(cashew, hazlenut and almond)", "silk slmond original" and "silk soy vanilla")
3 Tablespoons Instant Espresso Powder
1 Tablespoon Cocoa Powder
2 Tablesoons Evaporated Cane Sugar
1/2 small bar Dark Chocolate
2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
1/8 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg

Blend all ingredients in high speed blender for 4-7 minutes. Pour into ice cream maker. Serve when set.

I am a huge fan of this flavor ice cream and I guarantee this copy-cat recipe vegan style won't disappoint.

Vegan Espresso and Cream Ice Cream

Please be aware this ice cream is very rich, robust and strong. If you like a less strong coffee flavor, use half or one third the amount of instant espresso powder.

Vegan Espresso and Cream Ice Cream

3 cups Mocha Mix Brand Non-Dairy Creamer (or your preferred non-dairy milk or coffee creamer)
3 heaping Tablespoons Instant Espresso Powder
2 Tablespoons Evaporated Cane Sugar (or your preferred sweetener)
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt
Crushed dark chocolate peices to taste (optional)

Blend all ingredients in blender at high speed and put mixture into refrigerator. After an hour or so, reblend mixture and add into your ice cream maker. Halfway through cycle sprinkle in crushed chocolate. Finish cycle till ice cream is firm or softserve consistency. Serve immediately or transfer to a freezer safe dish and put in freezer. If freezing, allow ice cream to sit out for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Chefs note: Although I realize Mocha Mix Non Dairy Creamer is not a natural product due to it's chemical content, it makes for a very rich and creamy ice cream that can be enjoyed on certain occasions if you so choose. It is vegan and nut-free but it does contain soy.

Vegan Ice Cream Experiments

Since going vegan I have enjoyed a tasty mint chip ice cream by So Delicious (Coconut Milk Base).  It was good as I figured it would be and I practically ate the entire (and pricey) container in one sitting.  I knew the day would come when I embarked on making my own ice cream.  Today I decided to try my hand at a couple of different versions that I made up after perusing a few recipes folks had out there.  I'm not going to post the actual recipes because I didn't measure anything so I don't want it come back and haunt me if someone out there decides to try these out.  Nonetheless, you will get the gist and I'll be sure to follow up with recipes once I have perfected some of these concoctions.  The flavor list and milk base selections is sure to grow and grow.

First up, Peanut Butter Vanilla Ice Cream (Almond Milk Base).  I used a couple cups of unsweetened vanilla almond milk, vanilla extract, pinch of sea salt, squeeze or two of agave syrup and a good two or so heaping tablespoons of smooth creamy salted unsweetened peanut butter.  This got blended up in my blender at the highest speed possible and then transferred to glass jar where it now sits in my fridge while I wait for my ice cream maker vessel to freeze.  I am hoping it is sunny in San Francisco tomorrow so I can truly enjoy a large bowl of this on my outdoor deck.  Let it be known, however, that the mixture tasted so good, I probably could have just drank it all as is.  It was so much creamier than I expected it to be and clearly when it comes to calories this will have far less than the usual pint of Ben and Jerry's I would have downed in the past.

Second round, Peanut Butter Vanilla Ice Cream (French Vanilla Silk Coffee Creamer Base).  Ok, so with this bad boy I was a little less patient.  I wanted ice cream today and I had it.  And then, I had some more.  As did my children who slurped it down without batting an eye.  Pats on the back Mom!  For this one I did a couple unorthodox things, in my opinion, when it comes to making authentic ice cream.  Number 1, I put ice in the actual blender (oh dear) so I could have ice cream as fast as possible.  Number 2, I used Jif peanut butter instead of the natural unsweetened stuff because I was out of the other kind.  Used it all up on batch number 1.  I was shocked at how good this came out.

I thought I was going to dislike it because I assumed it was going to be too sweet and too laden with ice crystals to even resemble ice cream (oh and because I DO NOT LIKE, or so I thought, French Vanilla Silk Coffee Creamer).  But in this application, it worked and the payoff was fantastic.  So let me rephrase, I don't like French Vanilla Silk Coffee Creamer in my morning coffee, but, as an ice cream base, come to Mama!

Ingredients are as follows:  2 or so cups of French Vanilla Silk Coffee Creamer, vanilla extract, pinch of sea salt, and a good two or so heaping tablespoons of Jif creamy peanut butter.  Repeat high speed Blender on high speed until desired consistency achieved.  The result was definitely surprisingly good.  I mean, we are talking, could not stop eating it good.  It reminded me of soft serve more so than a shake and I'm sure it would be amazing thrown into my ice cream machine (minus the ice cubes of course).

So after today's random Vegan Ice Cream Experiments, it got me to thinking that I am going to go nuts with my flavor combos.  I can't wait to make some really strong espresso vegan ice cream and cream of coconut vegan ice cream, naturally, oh, and Kahlua and cream vegan ice cream.  Anyways, I'm rambling, let's do this again soon because seriously folks, I think I may have found my new crush - vegan ice cream (LOL) Oh, that, and Justin Timberlake.  You too?!  Awesome.  Happy Friday Folks!  See  you on the flipside. xoxo

Pics soon.