Homemade Vegan Ice Cream!

Creamy frozen fun! :) I have always enjoyed ice cream, but have found many frozen vegan ice cream is not only expensive, but also has a graininess or odd texture, so rarely treat myself to it. I do have a few favorites, but they are not always available.

Vegan Matcha Vanilla Ice Cream

Last month I bought a commercial ice cream maker for the shop and I have had a bit of fun making ice cream with some of our teas. I had not made my own vegan ice cream before, but found a few recipes with ingredients that I can easily get and so started with the simplest one, just to get myself up to speed with my machine and also to play with flavors. The recipe I used is simple - 2 cans of high fat coconut milk, 1 cup of soaked cashews (overnight), 2/3 cup of raw organic sugar, sprinkle of sea salt and flavoring of your choice. This gets blended for 4-5 minutes on high until all well mixed. Then it sits in the refrigerator for 4-5 hours before being put in the ice cream maker to stir and cool into a very creamy ice cream. I believe you can also just freeze the mix in your home freezer at this step, and then scoop out after a few hours.

Vegan Matcha Vanilla Artisanal Cone

When I got my machine, I didn't realize was that my commercial freezer is too cold (-4) to be able to scoop ice cream from it as it turns into an ice block. For ice cream to be scoopable it should be between 4-10 degrees. So, what to do? I tried scooping a few scoops and freezing that in a soup cup (see above pic). That worked okay, so I also filled some vegan cones I bought. They end up similar to drumstick prefilled frozen treats and I am pretty happy with them. A pro is that because they are so cold, they do not melt very quickly, so you can enjoy it without having to eat it too fast as it won't drip. So far I have tried Strawberry Hibiscus, Matcha Mint Chocolate Chip, Chai and Vanilla - all were creamy and stay creamy even after being frozen a few days. For folks who need gluten free options, I made a few brownie sandwiches with ice cream filling and they are a really nice treat too.

Red, White & Blue Tea Float

For the 4th of July, I wanted to try a colorful tea float, so came up with a Red, White & Blue drink with vanilla ice cream, butterfly pea flower tea and hibiscus ice using both butterfly pea flower and hibiscus powder to make it look sprinkled with color. I also a little organic agave for a little extra sweetness. Again, found it to be very creamy and also refreshing :) I am curious how long it will stay 'nice' in the freezer without getting icey or grainy, but as it is pretty new, I have only a few weeks of 'testing' and it is all good so far.