Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream

 

Vegan cashew chocolate ice cream with baked meringue chunks

 This is a wonderfully refreshing favorite recipe of mine.

I am not the biggest fan of ice cream, but sometimes the addition of an ice cream scoop to another dessert is just perfect. I personally love my ice cream right next to a hot piece of chocolate cake... Yummy.
Recently I tried it with a buttery vegan croissant and let me tell you - It is amazing!

Vegan cashew chocolate scoop in a vegan butter croissant

If I do have to eat ice cream by itself, I would always choose chocolate because that is just my style :) 
If you prefer a different flavor to chocolate (who are you? :)), this recipe is still perfect since it is so easy to play with.
Just replace the melted chocolate with you favorite flavor or just remove it altogether and get a sweet Vanilla touch.

Variations  Instead of melted chocolate, you can add the same amount of creamy peanut butter / pistachio paste / Vegan white chocolate / Dulce de lech.. pretty much any paste-like substitution. Try adding chunks of chocolate / sprinkles / nuts / cookie crumbles after the last mixing step.

 

Dark chocolate
I can write so many good things about dark chocolate, my personal opinion is very clear if you already know me :) I love it.
Now, as objectively as I can, I will write a little bit of important info about this amazing material

• It is one of the best sources of antioxidants on the planet
• 100 grams of Dark chocolate contains 11 grams of fiber 
• Dark chocolate is rich in other nutrients, for example ,iron, magnesium, copper, and manganese
•  It has been proven that consuming quality dark chocolate is linked to a reduction of heart disease

So, chocolate is amazing! Just make sure to choose quality dark chocolate and eat it in moderation!
 

Cashews 
Cashews are the most common nut used to make vegan cheese and it is very clear why. Cashews are low in sugar and rich in fiber, heart-healthy fats, and plant protein. They’re also a good source of copper, magnesium, and manganese — nutrients important for energy production, brain health, immunity, and bone health. They are very neutral in taste so you can make them into any flavor cheese you would like. 

Whenever I go into the kitchen, whether it is for cooking or baking, I need to have my music with me. I thought it would be nice to share with you the exact song that describes my feeling towards each recipe. That way you can have a similar experience while cooking... 

Recipe's song:

This recipe is all you need on a hot summer day so it reminds me of Good Vibrations by The Beach Boys.

Let's start:

Prep time: 8 hours soak	Freeze time: 2-3 hours
Difficulty: medium	Servings: 18 servings

  

Tools: Electric mixer Rubber spatula Mixing bowl Scale Cool resistance sealed container Small water pot

Ingredients: 175 g all-purpose whole wheat flour 50 g powdered sugar 1/4 tsp of table salt 1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon 142 vegan butter 1/2 vanilla extract 60 g of sliced almonds 80 g raisins

Instructions: Soak cashews for at least 8 hours, drain well and put into a blender. Add the milk, the coconut cream and the vanilla. Blend well. Add the confectioners sugar and blend until smooth, this might take a few minutes. Stop and make sure there aren’t any more lumps on the sides or bottom of the blender with your rubber spatula.  Add the melted chocolate and mix in quickly to prevent the chocolate from firming up. Finally add the Xanthan gum and blend for 30 more seconds. Transfer into a freezer-friendly, sealed container and freeze for 1 hour. After 1 hour, pour back into the blender and blend for 30 seconds. Put back in the container and freeze again. You can also transfer into a bowl and use a hand blender instead. Repeat step 7 2-3 more times. Blending the mixture while it slowly freezes is what gives the ice cream it’s texture. This repetition action tries to imitate the cooling while blending of an ice cream machine. After 2/3 times of blending the ice cream you can see how the mixture got a nice texture, now is the time to add your favorites. It can be everything, Nuts/ Chocolate chunks/ Fudge/ Cookie dough/ Sprinkles etc.  I chose to add little pieces of meringue because I love the crunchiness it adds to the ice cream Enjoy!

Vegan cashew based chocolate ice cream with vegan meringue and buttery croissant