Experiment: Vegan Carrot Cake Ice Cream

The past few days my mind has been a-flurry with ice cream inspiration. Flavor concepts, plating ideas, scoop & sweet pairings, I even drew out a potential logo for my future ice cream shop! All in all it has been the brain-waves that I have been dying for lately. I was in a super rut, and now it feels like I'm in four-wheel drive and gettin' outta the mess!

I began my come-back with two experiments. The first was an all-vegan version of my Matcha Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream (Please remember to rate my recipe!) which actually did not turn out well at all. The mint overpowered everything and for some reason it came out very gritty. My second experiment was a new concept for me: Vegan Carrot Cake Ice Cream. I had it all worked out in my head...The base would be freshly grated carrots soaked in soy milk, mixed with date paste, agave, cinnamon, and fresh ginger. The final product would be round balls of ice cream coated in crushed walnuts...YUM!

The flavor turned out spot on...the texture, however, could use some work. I found out the hard way that soy milk is pretty much water. It makes the ice cream incredibly icy and impossible to scoop even WITH stabilizers and alcohol! What stabilizer did I turn to, you ask? Well...I made my own! I was disappointed in all of the options presented to me, so I decided to use my BFF science to my own advantage. Of course there is no way for me to tell if it worked yet because the soy milk pretty much nullified any chance, but here was my theory.

I blended fenugreek seed, kuzu root, and flax seed together in a specific ratio until it created a powder (each of those ingredients has emulsifying and thickening qualities while also being incredibly healthy for you) and mixed it with enough water to create a paste. For the sake of this recipe I am leaving the stabilizer out and switching in soy creamer. Of course, I do not know yet if that will help with the texture, but if it is still super hard- just leave it out for a little bit :P

Vegan Carrot Cake Ice Cream

1qt soy creamer
4 ea. dates (blended to a paste)
1/4c. silken tofu
1/4c. agave
1t. cinnamon
freshly grated nutmeg to taste
2ea. peeled carrots (freshly shredded with microplane- separated)
1t rum
1/2c. chopped walnuts

In a blender, combine silken tofu, dates, and soy creamer. Over very low heat, mix together date mixture and agave until combined. Add spices and 3/4 of the shredded carrots. Allow to sit overnight. Strain carrots out of mixture, add rum, and churn until thick. During the last 5 minutes, add the remaining shredded carrot. Store in a freezer proof container. When serving, scoop ice cream into balls and toss in chopped walnuts. Top with some dairy free whipped cream or vegan cream cheese frosting for extra authenticity!