Vegan "Ice Cream"

I am bound and determined to quit buying store brands of "ice cream." However, I still haven't found that perfect recipe. So far, I've tried the Chocolate Ice Cream from the book "Raw for Dessert" by Jennifer Cornbleet. (I didn't even KNOW about raw desserts but we'll save that for another day!) The ice creams from that book basically use almond milk, soaked and blended cashews, cocoa power and agave syrup. The result is a very wonderful chocolate flavor but I didn't think it was creamy enough. And rock hard after sitting in the freezer.

So - on to "The Vegan Scoop" by Wheeler Del Toro. His whole take is to use soy creamer in the recipes. I made the chocolate ice cream which uses soy milk, soy creamer, cocoa powder, sugar, and chocolate chips. I was underwhelmed. It was creamy but too sweet and not enough chocolate flavor. Next time I'm going to use less sugar and use a "good" dark chocolate bar instead of chocolate chips.

LATER
Modified the chocolate ice cream recipe that uses soy milk and soy creamer. This time I did in fact use 4 ounces of 60% dark chocolate and 1/8 ounce of 85% dark chocolate that I happened to have on hand. I also used 1/2 cup agave syrup instead of 3/4 cup sugar. What a difference! Creamy with intense chocolate flavor. My only critical comment was a slight "dustiness" in the flavor that I imagine is from the cocoa. I just used regular supermarket cocoa, maybe next time I'll use a more "high end" cocoa. But really, this ice cream turned out just great!

Here is the modified recipe:

Chocolate Ice Cream
Ingredients:
1 cup soy milk
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
2 cups soy creamer
1/2 cup agave syrup
1/4 cup cocoa powder
4 ounces 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate
1/8 ounce 85% cacao bittersweet chocolate
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Mix 1/4 cup soy milk and arrowroot in small bowl. Stir well and set aside.

Mix soy creamer, 3/4 cup soy milk, agave syrup, cocoa powder, and chocolate bar (break into chunks) in sauce pan. Stir continously over medium-high heat until it comes to a boil. Take off heat, give the arrowroot mixture a stir (tends to get thick just sitting around!) and add to chocolate mixture. Add vanilla extract. Should be thick. Put in bowl, cover and chill for at least 2 hours. Process in ice cream maker and enjoy!