Dairy-free Ginger Chocolate Ice Cream

A good friend of mine is practically addicted to dark chocolate-covered ginger candies, and he got me thinking about what a great ice cream flavor that would be. In my cookbook Lick It! Creamy Dreamy Vegan Ice Creams Your Mouth Will Love, I have a Chocolate Ice Cream and I have a Ginger Ice Cream . . . so with a little tweaking, I combined them into a cold, creamy, chocolaty treat with a spicy ginger burn. And it's just as addicting as those candies, let me tell you. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Ginger-Chocolate Ice Cream

We wanted a really strong ginger taste, but if you want it to be a little more subtle, use the lesser amount of ginger.

1 1/3 cups nondairy milk

1/3-1/2 cup peeled and grated ginger (3 – 4 ounce piece)

1 ounces dark unsweetened baking chocolate

1 can full-fat coconut milk

2/3 cup sugar or agave nectar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place nondairy milk in a small saucepan. Add the grated ginger, squeezing it a bit to release the juice. Cover and heat until just beginning to boil. Cover and steep 30 minutes. Pour through a fine sieve into a heatproof bowl, pressing all the liquid out of the grated ginger. Return the strained milk mixture to the saucepan. Add the baking chocolate and heat enough to melt the chocolate. Let sit. Pour the remaining ingredients into the heatproof bowl. Wisk in the heated chocolate/milk mixture. Chill in the refrigerator for three hours or until very cold. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Makes 1 quart

Cranberry-Apple-Walnut Galette

How wonderful to have a long weekend to get caught up after this last crazy month. And with having both Friday and Monday off, I even got to do some things I haven't had time for . . . like getting through a whole yoga video, a walk on the beach, going out with friends, and baking! Here's a yummy treat that combines some of my favorite winter foods.

Cranberry-Apple-Walnut Galette

Crust:
1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry or unbleached white flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons unbleached granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) vegan butter
3 to 5 tablespoons ice water

Filling:
2 cups fresh (or thawed frozen) cranberries
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced apples (about 2)
1/2 cups chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon cardamom
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar

A little nondairy milk and granulated sugar

Prepare pastry crust by placing flour, salt, and sugar in a bowl or food processor. Mix to combine. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 3 tablespoons water and mix until the pastry holds together when pinched. Add additional water, a tablespoon at a time, if necessary to get the dough to hold together. Form the dough into a ball, place in a small covered container or wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place baking rack to slightly below the middle of the oven. Mix filling ingredients together in a bowl. Roll dough out on a piece of parchment paper to a 12-inch circle. Place the parchment/dough onto a baking sheet. Spread the cranberry-apple filling over the pastry dough, leaving 2 inches of border around the perimeter. Carefully, fold the pastry edges up around the filling, pinching closed any cracks that appear. Brush the crust lightly with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until crust is golden. Cool about 15 minutes, before serving. (This is best served warm but you can make it ahead of time and heat in 350 oven for about 5 minutes before serving.)

Makes 6 to 8 servings

A Very Vegan and Delicious Holiday Week!

What a delicious week this has been . . . family, friends, cooking, and of course eating. Here's a sampling of our favorites:

For friends and neighbors, we baked: Harvest Cookies from Quick-fix Vegan -- plus my own chocolate chip cookies to which I added a little orange extract and Global Garden's Dream Dust.

For dinner:

Hearty Lentil and Mushroom Shepherd's Pie, Agave and Mustard-Glazed Green Beans and Red Wine-Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Challah Bread (made with squash instead of eggs!) from Vegan Holiday Kitchen

For dessert:

Chocolate Chai Ice Cream Pie with Gingersnap Crust and dusted with Dream Dust (ice cream and crust recipes from Lick It! Creamy Dreamy Vegan Ice Creams Your Mouth Will Love)

Vegan Lemon Gingersnap Ice Cream

So, I've been eyeing this new ice cream flavor at Trader Joe's called Lemon Triple Gingersnap Ice Cream and decided why not make a nondairy version. I used the Lemon Ice Cream recipe from Lick It! Creamy Dreamy Vegan Ice Creams Your Mouth Will Love (I used Meyer lemons), and at the end mixed in grated lemon peel and crushed gingersnap cookies. OMG -- heaven. Just heaven.

Here's the recipe if you want to try.

Lemon Gingersnap Ice Cream

1 (14-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
1 cup nondairy milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar or agave syrup
6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
Grated peel from 2 lemons
2/3 cup crushed gingersnap cookies (about 10)

Place the coconut milk, nondairy milk, and sugar in a medium bowl and whisk until well combined. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Whisk in the lemon juice and freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions. When the ice cream is firm, add the grated lemon peel and crushed cookies. Process another minute, or until they are distributed through the ice cream.

Makes about 1 quart

Dairy-free Chocolate Raspberry Ice Cream

Wondering what to do with all of those luscious raspberries in season right now? How about making ice cream. This is one of my favorite recipes from Lick It! Creamy Dreamy Vegan Ice Creams Your Mouth Will Love. It tastes like a truffle.
















Chocolate-Raspberry Ice Cream
Makes about 3 cups
Rich dark chocolate tinged with fresh red raspberries—a wonderful flavor combination. To make this even more decadent, add a couple of tablespoons of Chambord liqueur.

1 (14-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups raspberries

Place the coconut milk, sugar, and cocoa powder in a medium saucepan and whisk until well combined. Warm on medium-low heat until the mixture just begins to simmer and get foamy. Remove from the heat and stir in the raspberries. Let rest for 20 minutes.
Pour the mixture into a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a medium bowl (or, to save on dishwashing, over the saucepan you used to heat the coconut milk). Pour the blended mixture into the strainer and press it through to remove the seeds. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. Then freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Boysenberry-Blueberry Buckle

My daughters and I just could not resist the amazingly flavorful berries at Windmill Farms in Arroyo Grande. The blueberries in particular are so delicious. I talked to the owner and he told me that his blueberries are the Sharp Blue variety. Most farmers grow Jewel because the berries are bigger and the plants yield more--but unfortunately they don't have much flavor. The Sharp Blues on the other hand taste absolutely amazing.

So my daughters and I wanted to make a special dessert with our boysenberries and blueberries, but we couldn't agree on what to make . . . a cake? a crisp? a pie? a tart? So we decided to make a buckle . . . sort of a cake, pie, and crisp all in one. Oh--and it's vegan too!

Boysenberry-Blueberry Buckle

Topping:
1/2 cup whole wheat or spelt flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup rolled oats (regular or quick)
1/3 cup slivered almonds
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch cardomom
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons oil

Fruit filling:
2 cups boysenberries
1 cup blueberries
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice

Cake:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinammon
1/8 teaspoon cardomom
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup nondairy milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Oil a 9-inch square baking pan.
Place all topping ingredients together in a small bowl. Mix with a fork until combined.
Place fruit in another bowl. Pour sugar and juice over the fruit. Toss gently until fruit is coated.
To prepare cake. Place flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Stir gently with a fork or whisk to combine. In a larger bowl, whisk sugar and oil together until smooth. Add the vanilla and milk and whisk until smooth. Add the flour mixture to the oil mixture and whisk until combined.
To assemble buckle, pour cake batter into the prepared pan. Carefully, spoon the fruit filling evenly over the batter. Use your hands to crumble the topping evenly over the batter and fruit. Bake for 50 minutes, or until edges are golden brown and tester comes out clean (other than berry juice). Cool 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Birthday Goodies

My oldest daughter turned 12 yesterday. I can't believe it!!!! For breakfast she requested chocolate chip pancakes so I made her a vegan version that came out very well. The girls gobbled them off as soon as they came off the griddle . . . I was lucky to get one for myself! We decided that recipe is a keeper.

Then for her birthday dessert, she wanted homemade ice cream. Since a friend gave me a bunch of meyer lemons (and since she LOVES lemon anything), I made the Lemon Ice Cream and Vanilla Sandwich Cookie Crust from Lick It! Creamy Dream Vegan Ice Creams Your Mouth Will Love and make her a pie.

Here's the recipe in case you have a lemon loving family members:

Grate and save the zest from the lemons to decorate the top of the pie.

NonDairy Lemon Ice Cream
Makes 1 quart
This is slightly milder and creamier than Lemon Sherbet.

1 (14-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
1 cup soymilk or other nondairy milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar or agave syrup
5 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Place the coconut milk, soymilk, and sugar in a medium bowl and whisk until well combined. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Then whisk in the lemon juice and freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Vanilla Sandwich Cookie Crust
Makes 1 (9-inch) pie or torte crust
If you’re using a food processor to make the crust, you can crush the cookies in the processor before adding the oil.

18 vanilla crème-filled sandwich cookies, finely crushed (1 1/2 cups)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil or nonhydrogenated margarine, melted

Combine the cookies and oil in a small bowl or food processor and mix until well blended. Press evenly into an unoiled 9-inch pie pan or springform pan. Freeze for 15 minutes before filling.

To assemble the pie, spread the freshly made ice cream into the frozen crust. Sprinkle grated lemon peel on the top. Freeze for 2 hours or until firm. If the pie is frozen solid, you will need to leave at room temperature about 15 minutes or in refrigerator 30-45 minutes, to soften for slicing.

Ginger Pear Cake

Had some pears, some ginger, and came up with this treat that was a big hit with the family. I think it would be yummy with apples, peaches or plums too . . .

Ginger Pear Cake
This European style cake is spiced up with chunks of ginger and topped with pear slices. Serve with a dollop of freshly whipped cream (or dairy-free alternative below) if desired.

2 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup butter or non-hydrogenated margarine, melted
1/3 cup minced crystallized ginger
1 pear, cut into thin slices

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil an 8-inch cake pan. Sift the flour and ground ginger together. Stir in the sugar and crystallized ginger. Add the beaten egg and melted butter. Stir just until combined. Press batter into the prepared cake pan. Arrange the pear slices in a spiral on the cake and press them gently into the batter. Bake about 40 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges and middle is set. Cool before serving.

Makes 8 servings

The following dairy-free whipped topping is from Lick It! Creamy Dreamy Vegan Ice Creams Your Mouth Will Love.

Whipped Cashew Cream
Makes 2 cups
Cashews are amazingly creamy and make a wonderful, thick topping similar to whipped cream.

1 1/2 cups raw cashews
1/2 cup rice milk
2 tablespoons maple syrup or agave syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place the cashews in a blender and grind them into a powder. Add the rice milk, maple syrup, and vanilla extract and process until smooth. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour, or until cold and firm.

When it's this hot . . .

there's only one thing worth cooking . . . or should I see freezing--ICE CREAM. Or how about this refreshing Raspberry Sorbet from Lick It! Creamy Dream Vegan Ice Creams Your Mouth Will Love.

Raspberry Sorbet
Makes 1 generous quart
Since I like red wine with a hint of raspberries, I thought I’d try raspberries with a hint of wine. Don’t worry if you don’t have any wine on hand; this sorbet is wonderful without it as well.

5 cups raspberries
3/4 cup agave syrup
1/2 cup water
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup fruity red wine, such as Syrah (optional)

Combine the raspberries, agave syrup, water, and lemon juice in a blender and process until smooth. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a medium bowl, pour the blended mixture into the strainer, and press it through to remove the seeds. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or until cold. Whisk in the wine, if using. Then freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Note: If you use the wine, the sorbet will need to harden in the freezer for several hours, or until it reaches the desired consistency.

Sea Salt Brownies

I was at someone's house and they had these little brownie bit things with sea salt from Trader Joes and they were so good I thought I'd try to recreate them. I used the brownie recipe from the Ghirardelli Chocolate Cookbook (I used whole wheat pastry flour and cut down the sugar) and then sprinkled the top with coarse sea salt. They were TO DIE FOR!!!!

Peach Frozen Yogurt

We made a batch of peach frozen yogurt today with fresh, local peaches. We served it with Trader Joe's gluten-free ginger snaps. Yummy!

Here's the recipe from Lick It! Creamy Dreamy Vegan Ice Creams Your Mouth Will Love:

Peach Frozen Yogurt
Makes 1 quart
Use ripe, juicy peaches and the peel will slip right off as you slice them--don't worry if you don't get it all though. It's fine to have some of the peel.

2 cups vanilla or peach yogurt (dairy or nondairy)
2 cups peeled and diced peaches
2 tablespoons granulated sugar or agave syrup, if needed

Combine the yogurt and peaches in a blender and process until smooth. Sweeten to taste, if needed. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Special Food Groups ezine

If you have food allergies, you may want to check out the ezine Special Food Groups. The new issue was just posted and I have an article on making dairy-free ice cream.

You'll also find a few of my favorite recipes including Chocolate Raspberry Ice Cream and Lemon Thyme Sorbet.

Memorial Day Dessert

Here's an healthy, easy, and best of all delicious dessert to serve or bring to your Memorial Day BBQ. This recipes if from Lick It! Creamy Dreamy Vegan Ice Creams Your Mouth Will Love. It can be made vegan or with dairy yogurt, if you prefer.

Strawberry Frozen Yogurt Pie

Cookie Crust:

18 crème-filled sandwich cookies, finely crushed (1 1/2 cups) -- (Newman's cookies are vegan and organic)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil or nonhydrogenated margarine, melted

Combine the cookies and oil in a small bowl or food processor and mix until well blended. Press evenly into an unoiled 9-inch pie pan or springform pan. Freeze for 15 minutes before filling.

Strawberry Frozen Yogurt (Makes 1 quart)

2 1/2 cups strawberry or vanilla yogurt (can be dairy or nondairy)
2 cups halved strawberries
2 tablespoons granulated sugar or agave syrup, if needed

Combine the yogurt and strawberries in a blender and process until smooth. Sweeten with the sugar to taste, if needed. If the mixture is cold, it may be frozen immediately; otherwise, chill it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Note: If the strawberries are very sweet, omit the sweetener. With fresh ripe strawberries, I usually don’t need it; but sometimes with frozen strawberries, or those at the start of the season, I do.

Assembly:

Spread the frozen yogurt in the frozen pie crust. Top with strawberry halves--or chopped nuts, chocolate chips, or whatever sounds good to you. Cover the pie with parchment paper, plastic wrap, or aluminum foil and freeze for at least 3 hours, or until firm. Serve with the sauce or whipped topping of your choice, if desired. This is a great dessert to make ahead, but once it's frozen solid, you will need to let it sit at room temperatore about 20 minutes or in refrigerator about 1 hour to soften enough to slice.

Have a great holiday weekend!

Very Berry Frozen Yogurt

I was planning to make a batch of Strawberry Frozen Yogurt from Lick It! Creamy Dreamy Vegan Ice Creams Your Mouth Will Love . . . but didn't have enough strawberries, so I came up with this one and it was GOOD!

Very Berry Frozen Yogurt
The berries can be fresh or frozen.
Makes 1 quart

1 (32-ounce) tub of vanilla yogurt (2 1/2 cups) -- can be dairy or nondairy yogurt
1 cups halved strawberries
1/2 cup blueberries
2/3 cup raspberries
2 tablespoons granulated sugar or agave syrup, if needed

Combine the yogurt and berries in a blender and process until smooth. Sweeten with the sugar to taste, if needed. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.

More goodies with local grains

Rolled oats from my local grain box, made a delicious breakfast. These need to cook a little longer than the rolled oats I get at the store, but my kids like them because they come out firmer and chewier. We did find quite a few hulls in them however which I found annoying to keep spitting out . . . not sure if I soak or rinse them if it would help this problem. I'll have to experiment (but please comment if you have a tip). It didn't bother the girls though--they had two servings each.

We also made a batch of our favorite cookies from The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook.

Everything Cookies

These easy cookies are bursting with different tastes, textures, and flavors.

1/2 cup softened unsalted butter or coconut oil

1/2 cup evaporated cane juice

1 egg or egg replacer

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup brown rice flour, barley flour, or whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup rolled oats (or other rolled grain)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 cup raisins

1/3 cup chocolate chips or unsweetened carob chips

1/3 cup sunflower seeds or chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 375°F. Oil cookie sheet. Beat together butter and evaporated cane juice until creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla. In separate bowl, whisk together flour, oats, sea salt, and baking powder. Mix flour mixture into liquid ingredients until combined. Stir in remaining ingredients. Drop by tablespoonfuls on prepared baking sheet leaving space between cookies for slight spreading. Bake 6 to 8 minutes, or until bottoms are golden. Let sit one minute before removing to wire rack to cool.

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen

Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream -- dairy-free

The weather's been so wonderfully warm here on the central coast of California -- perfect ice cream weather. Here's a delicious flavor from Lick It! Creamy Dreamy Vegan Ice Creams Your Mouth Will Love that's perfect for fall.

Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream

Makes 1 generous quart

You can cook a fresh pumpkin for this recipe if you like, but canned works just fine. You can also substitute puréed sweet potato or squash for the pumpkin. Try this ice cream topped with Whipped Orange-Cashew Cream (recipe follows).

 1 (14-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk

1 cup puréed cooked pumpkin

1/2 cup soymilk or other nondairy milk

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Then freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Whipped Cashew Cream

Makes 2 cups

Cashews are amazingly creamy and make a wonderful, thick topping similar to whipped cream.

1 1/2 cups raw cashews

1/2 cup rice milk

2 tablespoons maple syrup or agave syrup

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place the cashews in a blender and grind them into a powder. Add the rice milk, maple syrup, and vanilla extract and process until smooth. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour, or until cold and firm.

Whipped Orange-Cashew Cream: Add 1/8 teaspoon of orange extract along with the vanilla extract.

Vegan Soapbox Review

Vegan Soapbox -- great ezine if you haven't check it out -- just ran a review of Lick It! Creamy Dreamy Vegan Ice Creams Your Mouth Will Love. They're running a giveaway too so be sure to check it out.

How about a treat?

We all deserve a treat every now and then. How about a slice of dairy-free Chocolate Chai Ice Cream in a chocolate-creme cookie crust topped with chopped walnuts? 

To make the pie, place 18 chocolate-creme cookies (like Newmans) in your food processor. Grind to crumbs. Add 3 tablespoons oil. Process until combined. Press the crust into an 8-inch square baking pan or pie pie pan. Freeze 15 minutes. Fill the crust with ice cream, top with chopped walnuts or chocolate chips. Freeze for about 3 hours!

An easy but delicious treat -- makes an impressive dessert for guests too! And don't forget about all the benefits of coconut milk. 

Chocolate-Chai Ice Cream

Makes 1 generous quart

This ice cream combines creamy, rich chocolate with hints of Indian spices. 

1 1/4 cups soymilk or other nondairy milk

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

10 whole cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate

1 (14-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk

1/2 cup granulated sugar or agave syrup

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pour the soymilk into a small saucepan and add the cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom. Warm on medium-low heat, whisking occasionally, until the soymilk just begins to boil. Cover and remove from the heat. Steep for 15 minutes.

Use a slotted spoon to remove the cloves. Add the chocolate and stir until it is melted. (You may need to reheat the soymilk on low heat if is not hot enough to melt the chocolate.) Whisk in the coconut milk, sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla extract. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. Then freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.

recipes from Lick It! Creamy Dreamy Vegan Ice Creams Your Mouth Will Love

Video: Vegan Chocolate Raspberry Ice Cream

See how easy it is to make this luscious flavor from Lick It! Creamy Creamy Vegan Ice Creams Your Mouth Will Love. Click here for the complete recipe.

Chocolate Chai Ice Cream Pie

Try this--Chocolate Chai Ice Cream in a cinnamon graham cracker crust, topped with crushed crackers and chocolate chips!