Chocolate Ice Cream

Whenever I buy ice cream from the grocery store, I am so disappointed. Many are way too sweet, have strange additives, etc. Making your own ice cream really doesn't take all that long, you just need to plan a little. The secret to the creaminess of this ice cream is fresh coconut meat from a young Thai coconut. While it may seem daunting to crack a coconut and extract the juices and meat, it's really rather simple after you've done it once. It's one of those things that I get great satisfaction doing. Here's a quick video on how to do it.

This particular ice cream recipe was adapted from "Raw Food for Everyone" by Alyssa Cohen. It's incredibly rich, creamy, and ever so chocolatey. You might also be surprised to learn that it doesn't have a heavy coconut taste. I think the chocolate overpowers the coconut. The next time I make this recipe I'm going to make a fruit version.

One final note: coconut water from a fresh coconut is so much better than the store bought. I don't enjoy drinking pre-packaged coconut water but I can see myself sipping a chilled glass of fresh coconut water.

Ingredients
1 cup cashews
1 cup raw coconut meat
2 cups coconut water*
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup agave nectar
3-4 medjool dates, pitted

24 hours ahead of making ice cream, place ice cream container into freezer to chill.

Crack your coconut according to video instructions. Invert the coconut and drain coconut water into large measuring container. If you get lucky, you will get about 2 cups of water from the coconut. Pry off top of coconut and scrape out the meat. Combine everything in VitaMix blender and blend until completely smooth. It will probably be warm from all the processing. Cool in refrigerator for at least four hours. Process in ice cream maker.

*If you don't get a full 2 cups of liquid from coconut, top off with soy milk, coconut milk or any other non-dairy milk of your choice.

This is what young Thai coconuts look like in the store.
I like to check the bottom and make sure it looks nice and fresh.

Chocolate Ice Creme made with MimicCreme

I was in the health food store looking for amazake (another story) and I came across this dairy-free liquid called MimicCreme made from almonds and cashews. I had never seen it before and thought it might be a good candidate for ice cream. I don't know too much about the company but if you're interested here is their website: www.mimiccreme.com. What interested me was the pedigree of the MimicCreme:  dairy-free, lactose-free, gluten-free, vegan, cholesterol-free, non-GMO, kosher, no trans fats, and no saturated fats. I bought the unsweetened, although they did have sweetened, sugar-free and coffee creamer. I made a small batch of ice cream that I could fit into my little Hamilton Beach ice cream maker. You could easily double this recipe. As usual, the ice cream was pretty damn hard after it had frozen in the freezer. You will need to let it sit out on the counter for 10-15 minutes to let it soften up a bit.

Chocolate Ice Cream with MimicCreme 12 oz.
Ingredients
3 TB cocoa
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 cup unsweetened MimicCreme
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
I blended the ingredients in a Tribest Personal Blender because it's small. Combine cocoa, maple syrup, and half of the MimicCreme and blend. Add the rest of the MimicCreme and the vanilla extract and blend well. Pour into small container and chill for several hours; overnight is best. Be sure your ice cream maker bowl is chilling in the freezer 24 hours before you plan on using it. Process using your ice cream maker instructions.

Chocolate "Moose" Ice Cream in Hamilton Beach Half Pint Soft-Serve Ice Cream Maker

I love, love, love ice cream, new kitchen gadgets and appliances. Target had this mini-size ice cream maker on sale for $27.99 and who was I to resist? I already have a perfectly fine Cuisinart ice cream maker but I've realized that home made ice cream is best served fresh. The texture after it's been frozen is generally rock hard. This little puppy is "soft serve" meaning the ice cream is not going to be as firm as store bought but guess what? It doesn't matter, it's delicious and you are in control of all the ingredients. The directions instruct you to churn for 5 to 8 minutes; next time I'm going to stop mixing right when it starts to stick to the sides, about 5 minutes. I think then it will be perfect. This recipe makes 2-4 servings.

Chocolate "Moose" Ice Cream
3/4 cups chocolate rice milk or soy milk
3/4 cups semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips
6 oz (or 1/2 package) of Mori-Nu firm silken tofu
4-1/2 tsp Kahlua
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp chocolate extract

Freeze ice cream maker bowl for a minimum of 8 hours before making this ice cream. Overnight is even better. I like to make the ice cream and let it chill overnight too.

Heat milk in small saucepan until it begins to simmer. Take off heat and add chocolate chips, stirring constantly until melted. Have the rest of the ingredients ready and waiting in a small blender. Add the milk/chocolate mixture to blender and process until smooth. Put in container and chill for at least 2 hours.

If you are using the Half Pint Ice Cream maker, take freezer bowl out of freezer. Process in ice cream maker until it's the desired consistency – soft serve! Enjoy.

Note: If you're wondering what to do with the rest of the package of Mori-Nu tofu, see my March 3, 2011 post about Susan's Lite Goddess Dressing – the recipe calls for 6 ounces of Mori-Nu tofu.