easy vegan ice cream 3 ways
Recipe Tuesday
When I started dabbling with this recipe, I was feeling optimistic. England was in the grip of a heatwave & I had in mind a summer of warm evenings, al fresco dining, pub courtyards, barbecues, riverside walks, picnics, tennis, bike rides - and copious ice cream. Who needs the continent, the PCR tests and the quarantine, when the sun comes out in England? For those fleeting periods when I can feel the sun on my skin from my own street, and wear summer dresses to the supermarket, life feels like a holiday even if nothing else has changed. Here is summer in all its fullness; here is aliveness; here is redemption from the last 18 months; here are the lilies and the grassy hillsides and the Pimms.
This recipe comes too late for that; the hot, airless days gave way to rain on a monsoon-esque scale without so much as a breath. But in truth, ice cream is seasonless anyway. I will just as soon eat it while listening to the calming patter of the rain on the windowpane, or smelling the earth and the fresh cut grass after a downpour, waiting for that aliveness once more.
This recipe is unbelievably simple and infinitely customisable. I’ve given three different flavour options, but once you’ve got the base recipe you can experiment to your heart’s delight.
Cookies & Cream
This particular variety stems from a batch of cookies I tried to make on a hot day. The coconut oil was already liquid from the heat, and I was in a rush so didn’t chill the dough for long enough - sure enough, they spread into an omnicookie. Not presentable enough to give as a gift, I didn’t want them to be wasted either - so crushed them up into ice cream.
Ingredients:
270 ml whippable vegan cream (I use Elmlea Plant but there are a few brands on the market now - the key thing is that you can whip it)
160g sweetened vegan condensed milk (I use the Nature’s Charm brand)
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3-5 cookies, crumbled up
Method:
Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Whip in the condensed milk and finally add the vanilla extract and crushed cookies, stirring these in with a spoon. Tip the mixture into a container and freeze for at least 6 hours, or ideally overnight.
Raspberry Ripple
You could really use any fruity flavour here, if you have the fruit puree on hand. You could also make your own puree, but I lose interest in any recipe that requires that level of time and energy commitment.
Ingredients:
270 ml whippable vegan cream (I use Elmlea Plant but there are a few brands on the market now - the key thing is that you can whip it)
160g sweetened vegan condensed milk (I use the Nature’s Charm brand)
1 tsp vanilla extract
125ml raspberry puree
Method:
Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Whip in the condensed milk and finally add the vanilla extract. Pour into a container, then slowly drizzle the raspberry puree over the top, using a knife to create the swirling effect and to integrate it throughout the batch whilst keeping the swirly look. Freeze for at least 6 hours, or ideally overnight. You can always drizzle over more puree when you serve, as a nice sauce.
Rum & Raisin
This is an odd one to explain to people who aren’t used to the concept of the rum and raisin combo (I’ve met a few) but to me it’s a classic. If you like it super boozy, double the rum content to 100ml - otherwise stick to 50ml.
Ingredients:
270 ml whippable vegan cream (I use Elmlea Plant but there are a few brands on the market now - the key thing is that you can whip it)
160g sweetened vegan condensed milk (I use the Nature’s Charm brand)
50ml golden rum
150g raisins
Method:
Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Whip in the condensed milk and finally add the rum and raisins, stirring in with a spoon. Pour into a container and freeze for at least 6 hours, or ideally overnight.
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Currently…
Eating: a lot of Vietnamese-style spring rolls. Cookie + Kate has a recipe I like
Enjoying: Alison Roman’s Pie 101 video