As a child, I once told a “fib” to my mom about ice cream… made up this whole story about how it wasn’t me who polished off the container – and of course, my mother knew it was me, because I love ice cream. So, if that gives you any indication about ice cream history in my life…
For years, I stayed a vegetarian for 2 reasons: ice cream and cheese… I didn’t want to cut those items out of my diet because I loved them too much. However, when I finally “made the switch” to a full-fledged vegan diet in 2008, my ethics trumped my desire (for once!) and I cut dairy and eggs out. There wasn’t even time for the ice cream-shaped hole to form in my heart; manufacturers were already producing dairy and egg-free desserts. In recent years, this market has taken off – so clearly I am not the only one looking for quality vegan options.
With the help of two books - Veganomicon
~Strawberry with Dark Chocolate shavings~
Armed with my two guides, I borrowed my mom’s ice cream maker – the Cuisinart Automatic Ice-Cream Maker
driving” mom’s for the last few weeks.
As long as the chemistry of ingredients is right, you can make almost any ice cream flavor you dream up. I tried a recipe from The Vegan Scoop
The recipe does use some soy products, but I am experimenting on how to eliminate them – with so many non-soy vegan ice creams on the market, I know there must be some way to get that consistency without it. I am not sensitive to soy, but I know that it is an allergen to many people, and I like to find alternatives to it whenever I can. The common substitution of almond milk in place of the soy milk works well, and one could also use more coconut milk than the recipe calls for a creamier texture. The recipe also includes sugar and I haven’t made any substitutions there; I am using cane sugar over refined sugar, but I have not tried using syrups or agave – perhaps another experiment is in order!
Here’s the Veganomicon base recipe ~ could be plain vanilla ice cream, or the base to “dress it up” in different ways:
1/2 c coconut cream (the cream that forms at the top of coconut milk cans)
1 c soy milk (or almond, hazelnut, possibly rice, although I haven’t tried that)
3/4 c sugar
6 oz silken tofu
1 T vanilla extract
Puree all ingredients in blender or food processor and add to ice cream maker. Yield is 1.5 pints of ice cream.
Following this recipe, I have made several variations – the strawberry chocolate above, strawberry blueberry sorbet, hazelnut, mint chocolate, and most recently, peanut butter. I am interested in trying some others before I have to give it back… rum raisin is sounding good to me…
(*ahem* and don’t delude yourself… just because it’s vegan doesn’t necessarily mean that this is a 0 calorie/low fat health food. I believe it is healthier than store-bought dairy ice cream any day – only 5 ingredients over the 20 or 30 unnatural additions you see in stores! – and the fact that it does not have milk or eggs makes it healthier – in my eyes – than the alternative.)
I’ve been thinking about buying the ice cream attachment for my KitchenAid, but I developed a sensitivity to dairy in the past couple years. I still eat dairy when I’m feeling weak-willed, but while it tastes good, I’m not so pleasant to be around a couple hours later.
It never clicked in my brain that I could make soy ice cream! I might have to get that attachment after all.
Long time no post/comment. I’m finally back. Awake. Blogging and reading. How do you like your Vitamix? I’ve been looking at their 5200 (hot or frozen model). Both my KitchenAid and the back up have now died. Do tell!! Hope All’s well! xx
Yum, I love making my own ice cream! Have you seen the blog “A Vegan Ice Cream Paradise”? She doesn’t really update anymore but her recipe archive is amazing, the blueberry cheesecake ice cream is one of my all time faves
We have the same Cuisinart ice cream maker and have had great luck with recipes from the Vegan Scoop. Our favorite is the coconut ice cream, closely followed by peanut butter choc chip and strawberry. You definitely need to make sure that the ice cream mixture is cooled for it to work right. 30-45 minutes in the freezer is all it takes.
Thanks for the tip, Rebekah! I will definitely try this. I need to buy arrowroot powder in bulk, methinks!
When I make traditional ice cream, I chill the cooked mixture in the fridge overnight. I also need to stick it in the freezer for a while after it’s done churning, or else it will look like a thick milkshake rather than ice cream. I have a very old manual ice cream maker and live in a house with no air conditioning, so I need all the help I can get.
Have you looked at the blog Bittersweet? She’s got tons of vegan recipes for well, everything, but especially sweets!
I’m not vegan, but had a great dairy and soy free ice cream when I was in the UK – the ingredients were just: water, cashews, agave, vanilla. (There might’ve been one more ingredient, I can’t remember.) So maybe cashews are the way to go for soy free ice cream?
The peanut butter version sounds amazing!
I have that same ice cream maker. I love homemade ice cream – your strawberry looks intense!!
Ah, ice cream.
If you ever visit New York, you need to go to Lula’s Sweet Apothecary. Lots of vegan ice cream choices, and they’re incredible. (I say this as an omnivore…)
http://www.lulassweetapothecary.com/
Ooh, that looks so delicious! I’m not vegan but I dairy and I don’t get along, so I’ve been toying with the idea of making dairy-free ice cream.
And, pfft, who cares if it’s healthy? I mean, dessert is supposed to be an indulgence–I’m a bit believer in having a little bit of an unhealthy treat that’s delicious and satisfying than a lot of a healthy alternative that isn’t what you really want. When I try the latter I usually end up eating a lot…then having the treat anyway because it’s what I really wanted all along!
Yummy! I want to try making “ice cream” with the frozen bananas. I doubt it is like real ice cream but might do the job for me.
I had the same experience the first time I used The Vegan Scoop. I’ve found that I need to make the mixture in the morning and keep it in the fridge all day so it’s really really cold before I use the ice cream maker. Recipes from that book also work best if they’re the consistency of thick pudding before they go in the maker.
If you want healthier alternatives in vegan ice cream cookbooks have you looked at Vice Cream? It uses nuts rather than soy. Lick It is another option and it uses coconut milk as it’s main ingredient. Oddly the coconut milk mixture still turns into ice cream even though it’s much thinner than the soy based ones from The Vegan Scoop, some chemistry going on there that I don’t understand!
Hm… Another appliance to aid in my quest to make more of my own stuff from scratch, to be considered for purchase when I have a kitchen big enough to house them all… The concept of making my own insanely chocolately, but not insanely sweet, exactly-suited-to-my-own-tastes ice cream sounds divine.
Mmm. I just made my own frozen yogurt. I used The Perfect Scoop recipe, and it was really tasty, but I agree with you on the consistency. It is hard to mimic the creaminess without using full-fat dairy products. Keep up the search!
I bet the peanut butter ice cream was tasty. That sounds delicious.
I have that same ice cream maker and have had the same frozen smoothie vs. ice cream problem. Letting the mixture cool completely and for a long time has helped. The best one I made recently was with some cherries we got at a local U-pick farm — yum!
Oops. I thought you were talking about “Vice Cream” and not “The Vegan Scoop.” (the arrowroot comment threw me off). We have had good results with Vice Cream (cashew and maple syrup based). Next time I’ll read things correctly.
You really need to make sure that:
a) Your bowl is completely frozen (at LEAST 24hrs, more is better).
b) Your base is completely chilled (at LEAST 24hrs).
I have the same machine. I put the core into the freezer at least 3 days ahead of when I need the ice cream and make the base 2 days before I want to eat it. The base chills for a complete day and then on the 3rd day you can actually run the machine. Then the ice cream needs to freeze overnight again cause it will often be soft and runny after coming out of the machine (remember, the machine is beating air into your mixture and incorporating ice crystals throughout).
My favorite vegan ice cream is Alton Brown’s Mooless Chocolate Pie base with 1/2 cup of soy milk or creamer added.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/moo-less-chocolate-pie-recipe/index.html
It’s amazing.
Even if you’re making vegan ice cream I still recommend reading David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop to get ice cream making theory under your belt. It is literally the best ice cream book ever written. He also has a ton of sorbets that are vegan and lots of sherberts that could be made with soymilk (or if you’re not into soy, use ricemilk).
Ahh, this reminds me of my favourite ice cream of all time… strawberry Häagen-Dazs. I haven’t been able to find it in Iceland for a couple of years now, but it is definitely one of the best things I have ever tasted. The ingredients are all natural, although not healthy.
Cream, sugar, egg yolks, strawberries, skim milk.
Now I’m really craving some. I miss it so much.
Your strawberry ice cream looks amazing! Thanks for mentioning you like the Veganomicon base recipe; I have the book but somehow hadn’t noticed there was an ice cream recipe in it (how that is possible, I wonder…).
I really need to use my ice cream maker more often!
Your vegan ice cream looks yummy!
Just a little hint for getting more of the coconut cream to separate from the watery part: place the coconut milk in the fridge overnight before ready to use. Open the can from the end that was on the “bottom” while the can was chilling. The coconut cream will solidify at the top and the coconut water is easier to pour off from the bottom.
I usually have a can or two of coconut milk in the fridge for curry and this method works really well to get the water separated.
Yum! I’ve been buying the So Good coconut milk ice cream from the store and I can attest that it is not lo cal in the least. Or my growing belly can. But man, is that stuff delicious. And I’m saying that as a non-vegan.
HI. Love the update. I’m not vegan but I know another vegan who’s doing amazing work in this sort of area and thought you would like to know about her if she’s not been on your radar before
http://www.mysweetvegan.com/
and I follow her blog as much as I follow yours, always full of great vegan ideas: http://bittersweetblog.wordpress.com/
best of luck getting those recipes just so, I know if you look back at Hannah’s blog you’ll find some nice ideas there too.
Yum! We have the Cuisinart ice cream maker, too, and although it’s a little noisy, making your own ice cream is a lot of fun! We tend to use the no-cook recipes because they’re faster (and less mess in the kitchen), but the cooked recipes definitely produce a more custard-y texture.
And if none of the ingredients came out of a chemical plant, I’m going to call it healthy!
I’ve had success making ice cream from cashews. I presoak a cup of cashews in a cup of water, then whizz them in a blender, add 2/3 cup cocoa powder, and agave nectar to taste, then put in the ice cream maker. GORGEOUS.
YUM. It looks amazing. I wonder how well that would work with our hand-crank maker…
Oh I’m just after making some experimental strawberry and orange ice cream for a dairy intolerant friend of mine! it was just alpro soy cream, sugar, strawberries and orange juice. (some of the sugar was my ‘home made’ vanilla sugar) and we thought it was a little like a frozen smoothie or frozen yoghurt. i must try this recipe, it sounds like it might make a richer creamier ice cream!
i have ‘vegan with a vengeance’ but was disappointed with it, i was looking for meat and dairy free recipes, alternatives rather than substitutes. I’m not vegan or vegetarian, but rather try to eat natural unprocessed foods, and not eat meat very often, and i’m trying to cut down on dairy. The idea of vegan ‘chicken’ or ‘bacon’ disturbs me at the moment, but i’m pretty sure if i actually became vegan/vegetarian i wouldn’t be able to live without it!