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

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)

Hot Cocoa with a twist

Tis the season for hot cocoa . . . fa la la la la la la la la

Oh yeah, the weather around here has been downright chilly and while I love my green tea, sometimes we just want something a little special to warm us up--and hot cocoa is just the thing. Lately, we've been experimenting with flavored chocolates to make a special thing, even more special. Like . . .

Orange Hot Cocoa: Add 1 tablespoon Triple Sec or 1/8 teaspoon orange extract to 1 cup cocoa.

Peppermint Hot Cocoa: Add 1 tablespoon Peppermint Schnapps or 1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract to 1 cup cocoa.

Mocha: Add 1 tablespoon Kahula or 1 teaspoon instant coffee or coffee substitute (like Pero) to 1 cup cocoa--or you can have half brewed coffee and half a cup cocoa.

It's also fun just to add a little hint of spice to your cocoa -- cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamon, or a chai spice mixture--or a little chili powder too.

One more idea for something really special is the Hot Chocolate Float from Lick It! Creamy Dreamy Vegan Ice Creams Your Mouth Will Love. Try replacing the vanilla with one of the variations above as well!

Vegan Hot Chocolate Float
Makes 4 servings
Who needs (vegan) marshmallows! Try a scoop of ice cream in your hot chocolate instead.

3 cups nondairy milk
1 cup nondairy dark or semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 scoops nondairy Vanilla Ice Cream

Place the milk and chocolate chips in a saucepan on medium-low heat. Heat, whisking occasionally, until the milk just starts to boil. Remove from the heat and whisk until smooth and foamy. Pour evenly into 4 mugs. Carefully drop a scoop of the ice cream into each mug.

So, this is what we've tried so far . . . what are your favorites?

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.

Vegan desserts with no added sweeteners

After my appearance on KCBX yesterday, I received many requests for these cookies from my cookbook Simply Natural Baby Food. They are sweetened only with bananas and raisins, and have been very popular at my book signings.

Banana-Oatmeal Cookies
These moist cookies contain no sweeteners, butter, eggs, or wheat.

2 cups rolled oats
2/3 cup almonds
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups mashed banana (about 3 bananas)
1/4 cup safflower or other flavorless oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil baking sheet. Grind oats and almonds to a coarse powder in food processor or blender. Pour them into a large mixing bowl. Stir in baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.In separate bowl or in food processor, beat together bananas, oil, and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Add banana mixture and raisins to oat mixture. Mix well. Drop cookie dough by tablespoons onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for 13 to 16 minutes, or until bottoms are golden brown.

Makes 3 dozen

Variation: You can also replace the raisins with chocolate chips if desired (you can get grain-sweetened chips from Sunspire).

And here is a sorbet from Lick It! Creamy Dream Vegan Ice Creams Your Mouth Will Love made without sweeteners.

Blueberry-Banana Sorbet
Makes 1 quart
No sweeteners are used in this delicious sorbet—it’s all fruit!

3 bananas
1 cup blueberries
1 cup unsweetened apple juice

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. 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.

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.

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.

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.

Vegan Crunk

The Vegan Crunk likes Lick It! Creamy Dreamy Vegan Ice Creams Your Mouth Will Love. Check out her blog post about her experience making vegan Rocky Road Ice Cream.

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!

Got a kindle????

I just found out that you can get the e-book version of Lick It! Creamy Dreamy Vegan Ice Creams Your Mouth Will Love for the Amazon Kindle. It costs $9.99 -- of course, they sell the print version for 10.17 so it's not much cheaper but you do get it instantly and of course there is no charge for shipping. Either way . . . now that the weather is warming up, it's time to start thinking ice cream.

Since it's strawberry season here in CA . . . I'll share this yummy recipe for Strawberry Sorbet.

Strawberry Sorbet
Makes 1 generous quart
This sorbet just bursts with sweet strawberry flavor. Best of all, it’s quick and easy to make.

5 cups halved strawberries
1/2 cup agave syrup
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. If the mixture is cold, it may be frozen immediately; otherwise, chill it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Then freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Strawberry Daiquiri Sorbet: Replace the lemon juice with the juice of 1 whole lime and add 2 tablespoons of light rum. Serve it soft, like a slushy, or harden the sorbet in the freezer for a few hours.

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.

Best Vegan Cookbooks for Holiday Baking and Gifts

Check out this feature on the Go Dairy Free website: It’s All About Dessert: The Best Vegan Cookbooks for Holiday Baking and Gift-Giving.

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

Strawberry Milkshake

I didn't realize this would be the last shake my Osterizer blender would make . . . Here are my daughters and their friend enjoying a Fresh Strawberry Shake.

And here's the recipe from Lick It! so you can make your own.

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.