Vegan chocolate ice cream - from cashews

I've done a little internet research on ice cream makers, and discovered that although users of the Donvier ice cream maker that I have are generally satisfied, the "experts" rate it very low. It's very easy to operate, and if you have the freezer space to store the metal canister, ready at a moment's notice. However, the pricier electric machines apparently make a creamier product. In addition, some machines create a product that stays creamy in the freezer during storage, something that the Donvier does not. Also, you must refreeze the canister for 7 hours if you want to make a second batch. (And, I can tell you for a fact that this is true.) I don't take ice cream making seriously enough to warrant buying a new machine. You can spend $50-$700 on a machine, but I plan to continue using my $5 garage sale Donvier. You can read an article about ice cream makers here.

This recipe is dairy and soy free and tastes amazing. It is creamy and smooth and maybe a little too sweet. My husband disagreed with me about the sweetness. He thought it was just like ice cream, and what most people expected from a frozen dessert. I found the recipe on a cooking video on you tube, quite by accident. Lilla, the ice cream chef, says in the video that you must use a professional blender to achieve the right level of creaminess. (Hers is an enviable Ktec Champ HP3 that costs $400.) But I used my regular KitchenAid with great success. I blended the mixture for several minutes until there was no trace of grainy texture. She also used an interesting ice cream maker that made the ice cream in the freezer. You can watch the video here. I will also note that Lilla used raw ingredients including something called really raw chocolate. I used natural cocoa powder. I'm not sure about her maple syrup and chocolate chips. Or the vanilla. Can those be raw? By the way, this ice cream did not get icy in the freezer. After several days, it's hard but still smooth and creamy.

Easy vegan chocolate ice cream

2 cups cashews
2 cups water
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup agave syrup
1/4 to 1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 Tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Soak the cashews in the water (in the refrigerator) for four hours. Blend the first six ingredients in a blender or food processor until extremely smooth and creamy. Blend, blend, blend! Stir in the chocolate chips and chill the mix for an hour or overnight. Freeze in your ice cream freezer.

note: My son tried to make this, and while it was delicious, it was a challenge for his blender to get the cashews really blended to a creamy consistency. You might want to do a little test to see if your blender is up to the challenge before making an entire batch.

Non-dairy ice cream

First, I'd like to say that it's been really hot in Southern Wisconsin, and we don't have air conditioning in our house. The kitchen seems to be the hottest room and this makes me not want to cook. It also makes me think of cool foods like fruit, salad, iced tea and ICE CREAM. Actually, I wasn't thinking specifically about ice cream until I read my friend Claire's post about making tofu ice cream, and how it was so amazingly creamy and delicious. She made it the hard way by repeatedly freezing and beating it until it was sufficiently aerated to be "creamy and delicious." When I saw the pictures of her ice cream, I became a little obsessed with making something cold and creamy of my own. But like I said, it was just so darn hot. By the time I walked home from work, and we got around to throwing something together for dinner, it was too late and I was too tired and hot to do it. I ended up convincing my husband to walk down to Trader Joe's and buy some soy stuff.

Well, this weekend I finally decided to experiment with making two kinds of ice cream. One is tofu based, and the other is made from raw cashews. Both are chocolate, although there's no reason you couldn't make other flavors easily enough. The tofu one that I found on Claire's blog came from Marie in Dodgeville, Wis., and was a reader-contributed recipe on the Web site of Dr. Zorba Paster. Paster has a show on Wisconsin Public Radio called "Zorba Paster On Your Health." (I guess it's a national show.) Paster lives and practices family medicine in a small community just outside the city where I live. (Recently, I heard his familiar voice and turned to find him standing behind me in line as I waited to enter the building where the Dalai Lama was to give a public address. Then he appeared on stage to introduce the governor, who was introducing the Dalai Lama.) Anyway, in spite of my general skepticism (health and taste related) about sweetened tofu desserts, based on Claire's raves, I decided to give this one a try. I have a one quart Donvier ice cream freezer that needs no salt or ice. You just keep the metal insert in the freezer until you need it. (I found mine at a garage sale a number of years ago, and just bought another one for Claire at a garage sale this weekend. It had been used once and I paid $5. They work well and are extremely easy to use. More about ice cream makers later...)

The resulting ice cream was, in fact, creamy and delicious, and it was very easy to make. However, I could detect just the slightest tofu mouth feel, if you know what I mean. My husband had no such problem and loved it. And there is still the little problem I have with tofu as a dessert. But, it's still hot, and a little ice cream, even tofu ice cream, on a hot day can't be all bad. You can find the original recipe here. This is where I got the recipe but I don't know where Marie got it. I can only assume she perfected it herself.

Marie's chocolate tofu ice cream (somewhat altered by Andrea)

1/4 Cup Cocoa powder
2 packages Mori-Nu Silken Tofu
1 Tbs Vanilla
1/2 Cup Sucanot
1/4 cup agave syrup
1/2 Cup Banana (or 1/2 banana, whatever)

If you are using a Donvier or similar ice cream maker, place the canister from the ice cream maker into the freezer overnight.

Place all ingredients into a food processor and blend until very, very smooth and creamy. (I can't emphasize this "smooth and creamy" part enough.) Transfer to pitcher and refrigerate to chill for at least an hour. Place frozen ice cream maker bowl onto ice cream maker. Add mix to bowl then start the freezing process. (About 20 minutes) Serve cold and enjoy! Or follow the directions for whatever ice cream contraption you have.

Servings: 5

Why the changes. My stevia was so old that it smelled and tasted weird so I used 1/2 cup of sucanot and 1/4 cup of agave syrup. I added the extra sweetener because the mix didn't taste quite sweet enough to me. I also used 1/2 of a banana which was probably closer to 1/2 cup. And I put the plastic blade of the ice cream maker into the refrigerator to chill while the mix was chilling.

Coming up next: Chocolate ice cream made from cashews. Then, frozen fruit sorbet.