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!

Concept: Chocolate Trail Mix "Gelato"

To start, please vote for my original recipe: Matcha Mint Chocolate Chunk on Foodista. If I get a high enough rating, my recipe will be published in their book. This would be incredible, so I encourage you to please participate and forward the link to your friends. Thanks in advance guys! (Click with button to be directed to the page)

Last week I was given the amazing opportunity to try some free gelato down at OTHERS! Gelato and Coffee in Portland, ME. Those who know me well know that I hope to one day open an ice cream/tea shop...so to see a business who does close to what my dream is (and does it sucessfully) was amazing. The owner took the time to speak with me about his gelato, why he preferred it over the standard ice cream, and gave me some information about emulsifiers. After trying his Nutella Gelato, I practically died inside...the texture was unbelievable, and the flavor was magnificent. I immediately jumped at the opportunity to vote for them as Portland Phoenix's Best Ice Cream Parlor 2010.

With that, I have broken out the ice cream maker and am on my way to churning up some more ice-cream-goodness. I use the terms "Ice Cream" and "Gelato" loosely, because I think that my product is sort of a different beast altogether. At the moment I primarily use soy milk as my base and egg yolks as an emulsifier...this makes the fat content closer to that of gelato, but my lack of actual dairy product sort of throws it into a completely different realm. Ideally, I would like to work with some different emulsifiers and create a variety of all-natural vegan ice creams...but it might be awhile before I try those, and even longer before I have some perfected recipes.

I started thinking about springtime...snow still flurries every once in awhile here, but that hasn't been stopping me from breaking out the winter coat and going for a nice long hike. One great thing about Portland is the numerous amounts of trails, I honestly don't think I could count them all! Looking around my pantry I decided to pay homage to the hiker/backpacker/outdoorsman in all of us (sure, it might be hiding in some of us...but it's there!) and make a Chocolate Trail-Mix "Gelato." The texture isn't as creamy and thick as most kinds of gelato, but it tastes fabulous. The chocolate flavor isn't heavy and overpowering...it tastes more like chocolate milk. Plus, the combination of sweet and salty when you get a piece of dried fruit or nuts is just great. It's like a Rocky Road spin-off with dried fruit and nuts. It is important to rehydrate the fruit in the soy milk before adding it in at the end, otherwise you'll end up with what feel like pebbles all through your ice cream!

Dairy-Free Chocolate Trail Mix "Gelato"

1 quart vanilla soy milk
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup dried cranberries
2/3 cup sugar
7 egg yolks
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup shredded coconut (reserve 2 tablespoons for garnish)

Soak raisins and dried cranberries in soy milk. Let set while making the custard. In a double boiler, whisk together sugar, egg yolks, and cocoa powder. Be sure to whisk constantly to ensure that the eggs don't scramble. Heat the mixture to 140* and remove from heat. Add soy milk to mixture and strain. Rinse the rehydrated fruit, and set aside. Churn the chocolate soy milk base until it starts to thicken. Add fruit, nuts, and coconut during the last 5min. Transfer to a freezer proof container and chill until firm. When serving, sprinkle remaining coconut over the top.

Challenge: Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

When Heather challenged me to a Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream duel, I had to accept. She had mentioned how last year she had tried to make the concoction with coconut milk rather than dairy, so I figured I should abide by the same general rule. I immediately ruled out coconut milk due to her previous research, and knew that my recipe would not contain milk, cream, or eggs.

I used Libby's Pumpkin Pie Mix (I have literally had it sitting in my pantry for a year now) and soy creamer as my base ingredients. Since the pumpkin itself is already thick, I wouldn't have to do much to change the thickness. In retrospect I wish I had added some rum to the mix to make the outcome softer...but then again it would have effected the overall flavor. I'll definitely try this one again, but I think it was a great first start.

In the end my recipe went a little something like this:

Dairy-Free Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

1c. pumpkin pie mix
2c. soy creamer
2T brown sugar
1/2t. cinnamon
gingersnap cookies for garnish

Whisk all ingredients together and churn in ice cream maker until thick. Freeze until solid.

Tastes magnificent with gingersnap cookies to go with it....crumbled on top or used as an ice cream sandwich!