Sunday, March 8, 2009

Raw Style: Vanilla Strawberry Swirl Ice Cream



I was inspired to create this raw, non-dairy Strawberry Swirl ice cream recipe on a rare and beautiful 60° day this March. I drove to Stanley’s with the windows down and tunes blazing on the stereo. Magicalness indeed. In typical ChiTown style, the next few days were cold and rainy (oh, Chicago, I still love you). So, for the next few months I will have the memories of making this Strawberry Swirl ice cream with the breeze blowing through an open balcony door with sun dancing around the kitchen...you’ll be able to taste the sunshine in this recipe, promise. Bonus: You don’t need an ice cream maker!

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makes approx. 4 cups
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Tools needed:
Blender

What you need for: Vanilla Ice Cream
2 cups fresh raw vanilla almond milk
1/3 cup raw agave nectar (light color if available)
1 tbsp raw honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp raw coconut oil
1/4 tsp pink Himalayan sea salt (can use regular Sea Salt instead)
2 1/2 cups of fresh young coconut meat (approx 3 young coconuts. How do I open them?)

What you need for: Strawberry Swirl Sauce
15-20 organic strawberries
A pinch of pink Himalayan sea salt (can use regular Sea Salt instead)
3 tbsp raw honey

Let’s get started: Vanilla Ice Cream
Put all vanilla ice cream ingredients in the blender and blend for 3 minutes. You want to blend it for a while to bring it to the creamy consistency that an ice cream maker would create.



Once properly blended, pour mixture into a deep dish, cover it and place in the freezer while you make your strawberry swirl sauce (Don’t let ice cream freeze yet. You just want to chill it).



Strawberry Swirl Sauce
Rinse your berries.



Select 3-4 of the prettiest strawberries and chop them into small pieces and set aside. Take remaining berries and strawberry swirl sauce ingredients and blend until liquified. Spoon chopped strawberry pieces into blended strawberry liquid and gently stir with a spoon.



Viola! You now have strawberry swirl sauce. Transfer the sauce to a container or tiny pitcher (a container for creamer works well) that makes it easy to pour.



Remove vanilla ice cream from freezer and carefully pour strawberry swirl sauce in a—you guessed it—swirly pattern into your vanilla ice cream mixture. Cover your container, place in freezer and once your creation is frozen, go to town.



Psst! Share with friends, they will love you for it.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes, they will! I already ate all mine up and couldn't believe there wasn't any dairy in it. Yum, yum, yum!!

Jmkdreak said...

Mine came out more like frozen popsicle then icecream. Any idea what I may have done wrong?
My daughter cant have sugar or dairy so this looks wonderful.
thank you.
Andrea

ps what the difference between cacao and unsweetened cocoa?

inspiredbyeverything said...

A few tips since everyone’s freezer is a tad different. You can take your ice cream out of the freezer, make a call or pay a bill and after about 10mins, the ice cream will thaw enough to reach that creamy consistency. If is more like a "popsicle" it's probably just REALLY frozen. You could also add more coconut oil to the recipe and/or 1/2cup soaked cashews.

Raw Cacao is pure, raw (active enzymes) and full of superfood, antioxidant goodness with no added sweeteners.
http://tinyurl.com/d5bpco

Unsweetened cocoa can be raw OR processed (inactive enzymes) with no added sugar. Depending on the brand, dried dairy products or other ingredients may be added to it. I use raw cocoa or cacao, but if sugar is your concern, I'd go with either one if it is unsweetened.

Hope that helps. Stay tuned for more ice cream recipes...

Vanessa said...

Where do you find young coconuts? I tried this with a regular one and it turned out like almond milk with coconut chunks in it...

inspiredbyeverything said...

Vanessa~
There are many places online to purchase Young Thai Coconuts and Whole Foods (if you have one nearby) or organic grocery stores usually have them in stock (or will order for you). For the ice cream, you will need to use a young coconut b/c the meat inside is the texture of a hardboiled eggwhite or rice noodle and becomes creamy when blended. I purchase mine from Whole Foods here in Chicago, but I know people who order them from online stores. Good luck!