I can’t help but snicker a bit when I walk into the frozen treat section at the grocery store. Really!? $5.99 for a pint of mango sorbet? When I can make my own at home using just 4 ingredients? Sticking it to the man one pint of ice cream at a time.

Summer is in full swing around here and a bowl of ice cream or sorbet is the perfect thing to cool off with. While our house has lots of victorian charm, it also lacks central heating and air. A big bummer when temperatures reach 106 like they did last weekend. Sure, sticking my head in the freezer helps for a moment but I would much rather cool off with a big bowl of mango sorbet. It is so refreshing! Luckily I have BL around to help me eat it so I don’t have to admit that I may or may not have eaten the entire thing myself this week.

Mango-Mongo Sorbet

Ingredients:

2 cups coconut milk (use the kind in the carton, like the one by Silk)
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups mango chunks (frozen or fresh)
1 lime, zested and juiced

Toss the mango, sugar, lime zest and juice into a blender and process until silky smooth. Add the coconut milk and puree for another minute- until combined. Place into the fridge to cool for 1 hour.

Pour the mixture into your ice cream machine and process according to your manufactures directions.

Serve immediately (it will be similar to soft-serve in texture) or place in the freezer to harden.

Optional- you could add a thickener to this- like xantham gum or arrowroot if you wish. I didn’t add it to this recipe as I wanted this recipe to be as uncomplicated as possible.

What flavor of ice cream would you like to see next?

Another ice cream recipe for you! If you missed the previous two, last week  featured chocolate-banana-peanut butter “Elvis“ Ice cream and Maple Pretzel.

This is one of my favorites, a combination between vanilla ice cream and cherry pie. I received a big bag full of fresh cherries from my CSA this week and thought this ice cream would be the perfect place to showcase them. Adding crumble topping and creamy almond milk makes this even more special than regular cherry ice cream. I have had so much fun creating these ice cream recipes, perfect for these 100+ degree days we have been having in Sacramento.

Cherry Crumble Ice Cream

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups soy creamer
1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. Xantham gum (can also use 2 tbsp. arrowroot powder)
1 cup chopped cherries
Crumble topping (recipe below)

In a blender combine the almond milk, xantham gum, sugar, and cinnamon together. Add the soy creamer, vanilla extract and pulse together a few more times.

Place in the fridge for 1 hour until chilled. Put into your ice cream maker and freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions. The last 5 minutes of freezing, add the chopped cherries and crumble.

Crumble Topping:
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter

Combine the brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.

Three more ice cream recipes to come!

Dare I say this ice cream recipe is “healthy?” Low sugar, dairy-free and full of flavor, this might be my favorite new ice cream recipe.

Appropriately called “Elvis,” this ice cream combines chocolate, peanut butter, and bananas. The perfect ingredient to add creaminess and flavor, bananas are a lower calorie sub for cream. If you didn’t know any better, this ice cream taste just like regular chocolate ice cream so don’t think your subbing flavor for fat.

I’ve got 4 more delicious, dairy-free ice cream recipes for you coming in the next two weeks so stay tuned! And if you haven’t bought that ice cream maker yet, well, what are you waiting for?

Elvis Ice Cream

1 1/2 cups almond milk
2 tbsp. unsweetened chocolate powder
4 tbsp. sugar
3 tbsp. Peanut Butter (I like Peanut Butter & Co brand)
2 very ripe banana

Blend together the almond milk, sugar, and chocolate in a blender for 30 seconds until sugar is dissolved into the milk. A high powered blender will do this for you; if your sugar isn’t dissolved in the milk then heat the chocolate milk mixture over low-heat until it is smooth and non-grainy.

Add the bananas and peanut  butter and blend for 1-2 minutes. Place the mixture into the fridge for 30-45 minutes until mixture is cool.

Place mixture into your ice cream maker and process for ~20 minutes until thick. Serve immediately or place into the freezer for a firmer ice cream. 

Let me know what you think,

My new ice cream maker has been the best and worst thing to happen to my kitchen. As someone who very rarely purchased frozen desserts, I have made (and eaten) more ice cream in the last few months than I probably have in the last few years. Sigh. I suppose there are bigger problems.

The good news? Besides making BL one very happy man is that I get to experiment with different flavors and combinations to bring to you. There are a whole slew of dairy ice cream recipes out there for you to find, so mine will all be dairy-free. Using a combination of nuts, coconut milk, and almond milk, I think my ice cream has the same creaminess and richness of dairy ice cream.

This creation combines my love for sweet and salty;  Sweet maple ice cream studded with salted pretzel rods. I used cashews, the perfect nut for obtaining a creamy texture similar to cream and real maple syrup.

Ingredients:
1 cup cashews
1 cup maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla syrup
1 cup water
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup pretzel rods, chopped

In a VitaMix/Blendtec or other high powered blender-food processor, combine the cashews, maple syrup, and water. Blend until very smooth, about 4-5 minutes.  You don’t want it to be grainy at all. If you are using a “normal” blender and can’t get it to be silky smooth, then strain out any chunks. Add the vanilla and salt and pulse a few times to combine.

Place in the fridge for 2 hours until chilled.

Pour the maple mixture into your ice cream maker and make according to manufacturers directions. It might take longer than “normal” ice cream to process, this is OK. The last few minutes of churning, add the pretzel pieces.

The final result will be soft-serve consistency, the best if you ask me! However, if you like things harder then place the ice cream in the freezer for another 1-2 hours until firm.

What other flavors would you like to see?