The much anticipated icecream flavour is here!
- Addicted to dates
- Apr 9, 2017
- 3 min read
Choc Chunk Cherry Icecream
Hello hello! If you have clicked on this page, I can already tell that we have a lot in common... Like a love for all things cherry and chocolate for instance. But whats not to love about fragrant sweet tangy cherries paired with rich chocolate.. An must have for all those cherry garcia fans out there!
So if you haven't already noticed, I've been on a bit of an icecream buzz lately. See, I recently discovered a wonderfully creamy base recipe for vegan icecream and ever since my mind has been bursting with new ideas ( as has my freezer with new flavour experiments!!). Cherry garcia was by far my favourite icecream before going vegan (even though its near impossible to find here in Ireland). I remember scanning freezers in hope that they might have had my favourite in stock. But now things are better right? Because this homemade version its much healthier and doesn't contain any nasty ingredients. I'm still repeating this in my head every time I go for a second helping, because trust me... you will too!
Recipe
Ingredients:
Raw Chocolate Chunks: - 1/2 cup cacao butter - 2 heaped tbsp raw cacao powder (add more if you like it more bitter) - 1/4 cup maple syrup Icecream Base: - 100g cashews (soaked for minimum 6 hours and rinsed) - 3 medjoul dates (soaked for 10mins in hot water, or 4 hours in cold water) - 1 can coconut milk (full fat)
- Juice of 1 lemon - 2 tsp vanilla extract or 1 vanilla pod - 3tbsp brown rice syrup or maple syrup - 2 tbsp coconut butter (melted) Cherry sauce: - 200g frozen sour cherries (fresh of you can get your hands on them) - 1/2 tsp agar agar powder - 2 tbsp brown rice syrup or maple syrup
- Some extra cherries for garnish Method: Raw Chocolate Chunks: - Place the cacao butter into a bowl and melt it by sitting it on top of a saucepan with some simmering water. - Remove form the heat and stir in the cacao powder and maple syrup. Stir well. - Line a baking tray with cling film or parchment paper and pour the chocolate out on it, spreading evenly. - Place into the freezer for about 20 minutes to set. - Once the chocolate is hard, remove it from the freezer and cut in into chunks. Icecream Base: - Add the cashews, dates, lemon juice, coconut milk, vanilla and brown rice syrup to a high speed food processor. Blend for 3-5 minutes or until the mixture is completely smooth and silky. Taste and add more brown rice syrup if you want it to taste sweeter. - Add the melted coconut butter to the mixture and blend for another 30 seconds to incorporate it into te mixture. Pour into a large bowl and set aside. Cherry Sauce: - Add the cherries and their juice to a bowl. Place them on top of a pan of simmering water. - Add the agar agar powder and stir the mixture for about 5 minutes until it thickens slightly.
Add the cherry sauce and 3/4 of the raw chocolate chunks to the bowl with the icecream mixture. - Carefully fold the mixture while ensuring not to over mix so that you can see those beautiful dimensions!. - Pour the mixture into a loaf tin lined with parchment paper. - Garnish the top of the icecream using the remaining chocolate and some whole cherries. - Cover the icecream with cling film or tin foil and freeze for a mimimum of 6 hours. - Remove the icecream from the freezer about 15 minutes before serving and dip your icecream scoop into hot water before scooping :)
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