The Only Dairy-Free Ice Cream Recipe You Will Ever Need: Cashew Milk Ice Cream (2024)
What would summer bewithout a gigantic bowl, heaping with delicious ice cream and topped with a cup of rainbowjimmies?
Terrible, that’s what.
But the alternate scenario that involves a whole-lotta dairy treats is an equally terrible and sometimes horrifying summer. You know the story. You indulge and have a gigantic bowl of delicious frozen delight and everything is butterflies and rainbows. A short time later, the clouds roll in and you’re in the throws of the most debilitating lactose intolerant episode of your life. All while wearing a bikini.
The bloating…
Ever since I was a child this has been my life. Resist the ice cream, feel sad and envious. Eat the ice cream, be full of sickness and regret. I really had to have some serious grown-up thoughts at a very young age. Tough decisions.
-The Search For Dessert-
For the longest time I had just accepted that I had one of two choices. Either eat “Nice Cream” which is just blended frozen bananas, or go to the grocery store and buy dairy-free ice cream that is full of sugar and stabilizers, and not full of a yummy ice cream taste.
Guys, those choices suck.
As I grew into full-sized adulthood, I decided “I have a degree in Dietetics. I get food science. How hard could it possibly be???” I became determined tohave my ice cream and eat it too.
I can’t begin to tell you howmany pints of homemade ice cream I’ve made, tasted, been disgusted with, and then still ate. The reason why it never tasted right was because of the science of ice cream. I kick myself for not thinking of it sooner. For instance, cow milk and heavy cream are two important parts of traditional ice cream because they give the finished product a smooth and creamy texture. The higher the fat content of the ice cream, the softer the product. Sugar is also important because it not only makes it sweet, it keeps the ice cream from getting rock solid.
These key ingredients just so happen to be the ones I’ve been avoiding all of my life.
SO after far too many misfit pints and growing disdain for my lactose-tolerant friends, I finally found the perfectingredient. Cashew Milk.
Here’s why this recipe is the shiz:
Cashew Milk is much creamer and milder in flavor than its popular cousins Almond and Coconut. I am in love with the Silk brand.
The recipe you’ll be drooling over is prepared as a traditional “frozen custard” lending to a softer, more full-bodied product while still maintaining a solid nutrition profile.
It’s not that hard. Seriously.
***I HIGHLY recommend investing in an electric ice cream maker. I bought mine at the end of summer last year on clearance for a whopping $20. You can find the one I use HERE and even full price is pretty reasonable. ***
1 can full-fat Coconut Milk, unopened, refrigerated
3/4 cup Truvia Baking Blend Sweetener
2 Eggs, beaten
1/2 tbsp Vegan Butter, or real butter if not dairy free*
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tsp Salt
-In a large pot, combine sugar, butter, vanilla, and 1 cup of Cashew Milk. Heat on medium until well combined.
-Open the chilled can of coconut milk and scoop out the “cream” which is the portion that has hardened, and add to the pot.Save the liquid portion for other recipes. (Maybe THIS from accidentally wonderful blog)
-In a separate bowl, beat the eggs well.
-Once the milk mixture begins to “steam” but not boil, remove a cup of the hot milk mixture and slowly stream it into the beaten eggs while mixing continuously until you have added about half of the ice cream base to the eggs. This is called tempering the eggs and ensures you won’t have scrambled eggs in your ice cream.
-Add the tempered egg mixture to the pot and cook on medium-low heat for about five minutes. Remove from heat and pour into a large container.
-Add remaining Cashew Milk and stir. Refrigerate overnight (or at least until cool) and then pour into your ice cream maker. *Make sure to follow the operation instructions on the ice cream maker. Most of them have a base that needs to freeze overnight before use.**
Trust me, it is not as complicated as it seems. I always keep the tumbler portion of my ice cream maker in the freezer when it is not in use. Then, if I want to whip up a batch the machine is ready.
As it turns out, finely processed cashew butter acts as a fat and stabilizer when blended with non-dairy milk. When this combination is churned and frozen, you get a rich and creamy frozen treat. Make no mistake — the flavor is decidedly nut-forward, although the maple syrup gives it a caramel sweetness.
Pints made with almond, soy, cashew or other nut milks tend to be lower in saturated fat and calories than those made with coconut cream or milk. While great for creating creamy frozen treats, coconut's high saturated fat count may elevate harmful LDL cholesterol levels, increasing risk for heart disease.
Kaminsky says that you'll get the best results from dairy-free counterparts that are higher in fat such as canned coconut milk. She typically uses almond milk as her base, but other non-dairy milks can work (steer clear of rice milk because it tends to be too watery).
Dairy-less frozen desserts replace milk and cream with alternatives like coconut, soy, oat, cashew, or almond milk. Many other ingredients remain the same between the dairy and dairy-free versions. And, just like dairy ice cream, non-dairy ice cream can vary widely in terms of sugar, fat, and calorie content.
Oh-so-creamy cashewmilk frozen dessert blended with oh-so-indulgent flavors. From Peachy Maple Pecan to Snickerdoodle, every smooth spoonful is dairy-free, Non-GMO Project Verified and Certified Vegan.
Compare this to the nutrition information for our Cashew Cream recipe, and you'll see that cashew cream has fewer calories, total fat, saturated fat and sodium. Going by these numbers, cashew cream is healthier than heavy cream.
From a nutrition standpoint it is a high-calorie and high-fat food, just like dairy cream. But most of the fat in cashew cream is the heart-healthier unsaturated type, and dairy cream is a significant source of saturated fat.
Compared to cow's milk and even almond milk, storebought cashew milk is low in calories. At just 25 calories per cup, this seems like a calorie-saving food swap as long as you're mindful not to overeat elsewhere.
If you're looking for an affordable homemade plant-based milk, I have an answer for you: oat milk. Yes, oats, the unassuming grain that we devour every morning actually makes incredible, creamy milk. Plus, it's cheap and fast.
Most vegan ice creams are made with coconut milk, almond milk or soy milk. All of those bases come from plants, and none include anything that comes from an animal. If, however, an ice cream is made with coconut milk but contains egg, it is dairy-free but not vegan, since it has egg.
It's not made with low-fat or skim milk, or anything like that. Dairy-free frozen desserts typically substitute regular milk with plant-based milk such as almond, soy, coconut, or cashew milk, although there are some amazing brands (*cough, cough, Eclipse*) that take it even further.
For example, So Delicious' Creamy Vanilla soy milk ice cream has only 120 calories and 0 grams of saturated fat per half-cup serving. Similarly, Dream's vanilla-flavored almond milk ice cream has 140 calories and 1 gram of saturated fat per half-cup serving.
Albans Cooperative Creamery in St. Albans, Vermont. At the Co-op , the milk is separated into heavy cream and condensed skim milk, then shipped by tanker truck to our St. Albans and Waterbury Vermont factories.
From a nutrition standpoint it is a high-calorie and high-fat food, just like dairy cream. But most of the fat in cashew cream is the heart-healthier unsaturated type, and dairy cream is a significant source of saturated fat.
It's a lot more neutral tasting than coconut milk, and I think it comes closer to replicating real dairy or cream than silken tofu does. Cashew cream can feel like a bit of a project if you've never tried it before. Truthfully, though, it's a 3-4 ingredient recipe that takes very little time or effort.
The word cashew is derived from the Tupi word “acajou” which means “nut that produces itself”. This is most likely in reference to the fact that the cashew shaped fruit dangles below the fleshy, squash-shaped stem of the fruit (called the cashew apple). We think it looks like something Dr. Seuss would have illustrated!
Cashew cream is not the same as cashew milk, since the ratio of cashews to water is much higher. You can use cashew cream to make cashew milk, however, by diluting it in water. To make cashew milk from cashew cream, combine 2 tablespoons of cashew cream in 3/4 cup water and stir well.
Introduction: My name is Dean Jakubowski Ret, I am a enthusiastic, friendly, homely, handsome, zealous, brainy, elegant person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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