Tag: So Delicious

No Chill

Everyday, there’s a new absurd, excessive food trend blowing up on the internet. For as many as of these over-hyped edibles as we love to hate, it’s impossible to deny the appeal of a select few crazy concepts. Thanks to the advent of flexible silicon molds, no food is safe from doughnut-ification. It didn’t take long for visually stunning sushi doughnuts to emerge as a clear winner, captivating hungry followers across all social media platforms, but the hits keep on coming.

Trust me, ice cream doughnuts are more than just another excuse to capitalize on the irresistibly attractive ring shape. Haters will be the only ones with no chill, because these frozen treats are as much fun to admire as they are to eat! Pretty in pink, the glaze is actually a beet-tinted approach to magic shell, flavored with vanilla and finished with those classic rainbow sprinkles. It just wouldn’t be a doughnut without them.

…Or would it? Almost as soon as the initial batch was devoured, I realized the opportunity that had been missed. Cinnamon sugar doughnuts, singing of warmth and comfort, are equally worthy candidates of imitation. Contrasting against the cold, creamy base, the spiced coating seals in a frozen surprise for the unsuspecting eater. Far more refreshing than the usual oily cake, it may even have an edge on the traditional treat, especially as temperatures outside skyrocket.

These treats were inspired by the call to action from Go Dairy Free and So Delicious to celebrate #FrozenFridays this summer. It’s hard to improve on their creamy dairy-free desserts, but simply playing with the presentation turns an everyday sort of indulgence into a candidate for the next big Instagram obsession. Absolutely any flavor will work, so go wild and play with colors and textures, dressing up your doughnuts with edible extravagance befitting the “So Delicious” title.

Ice Cream Doughnuts

1 Pint So Delicious Very Vanilla Cashew Milk or Vanilla Bean Coconut Milk Ice Cream

Doughnut Glaze Magic Shell:

1/2 Cup 100% Food-Grade Cocoa Butter, Melted
1 Tablespoon Refined Coconut Oil, Melted
1/4 Cup Confectioner’s Sugar
2 Tablespoons Arrowroot
1/2 Teaspoon Beet Powder (Optional, for Color)
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Pinch Salt
Rainbow Sprinkles

Cinnamon Crumb Coating:

4 Ice Cream Waffle Cones
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1 Cup So Delicious Original Culinary Coconut Milk (Full-Fat Coconut Milk)

To make the ice cream doughnuts, have silicon doughnut molds at the ready and soften your pint of ice cream. Once thawed to the point of being spreadable but before it completely melts, smooth the ice cream evenly into your mold, taking care to fill any voids. Lightly tap the mold on the counter to remove any air bubbles before quickly sliding it into the freezer. Let chill until frozen solid; at least 4 – 6 hours but ideally overnight.

For the magic shell, mix together the melted cocoa butter and coconut oil before whisking in the confectioner’s sugar, arrowroot, and beet powder. Whisk vigorously until completely smooth and the beet powder has fully dissolved. Stir in the vanilla and salt. Retrieve your ice cream doughnuts from the freezer and pop them out of the mold. Either dip each one or drizzle with the magic shell before quickly topping with sprinkles; the glaze sets up almost immediately, so you need to be fast! Serve right away or return them to the freezer until ready to enjoy.

For the cinnamon crumb coating, place the ice cream cones and cinnamon in your blender or food processor and pulse until very finely ground. Transfer to a shallow dish. Place the coconut milk in a separate dish, and dip each frozen doughnut into the coconut milk to ensure that the topping will adhere. Press the crumbs firmly into the doughnut until completely coated. Eat immediately or return the doughnuts to the freezer until ready to serve.

Makes 6 Ice Cream Doughnuts

Printable Recipe

Hannah (BitterSweet)12 Comments

Keep Your Cool

There are certain world records that no one wants to break. No one would be proud to claim the title of World’s Most Accident-Prone Person, or boast of sporting the World’s Longest Nose Hairs, for example. Unfortunately, the world itself has been officially awarded the unfortunate record of World’s Warmest Year, as of 2015, and we’re right on track to continue that winning streak for 2016.

Some of us have it worse than others. Living in the sheltered weather bubble that is the bay area, protected by a perpetual blanket of fog, it’s hard to imagine the crushing heatwave smothering the east coast right now. I don’t say that to brag- It’s with both awe and sympathy. I genuinely don’t know how you folks manage to survive yet another round of unprecedented heat and humidity.

No doubt, ice cream must help. It’s the only real relief that I would fully endorse on any day, and in any climate, for that matter. Even though temperatures around here rarely break the 80-degree mark, I’ve fully indulged in more than my fair share of frozen desserts this summer, thanks in large part to So Delicious. Their soothing cashew- and coconut-based treats are guaranteed to take the sting out of the most brutal days of summer sun. Short of churning your own, quite frankly, there are no better nor more diverse mainstream brands out there.

Although it’s tempting to hoard all of this frozen goodness for myself, I know there are many hungry ice cream-lovers out there suffering far more than I am this season. That’s why I want to share the wealth, and offer a FREE So Delicious product to two lucky readers! Anything your heart desires is up for grabs, but of course, I can’t recommend the ice cream highly enough. To enter, head on over to the giveaway page here, and don’t forget to leave a comment about your favorite ice cream flavor. You have until August 10th to enter, so get to it! I wouldn’t want anyone to sweat through the whole summer without a bite of cold comfort.

Hannah (BitterSweet)21 Comments

Instant Ice Cream Gratification

The only thing worse than suffering through a sweltering hot summer day without air conditioning is trying to survive those same conditions without any ice cream in the house. It’s entirely possible that one can make do without such convenient modern amenities that would help abate the heat, but only if generous amounts of frozen, creamy treats are kept close at hand. Ice cream makes even chilly days more bearable, so going without a single tub of the cool confection is tantamount to criminal insanity. For those with limited equipment and limited patience, there have been few solutions to this conundrum outside of an impromptu grocery trip. Thankfully, non-dairy alternatives are no longer the anomaly in mainstream markets, although homemade ice cream will still beat out anything prepackaged any day of the week.

This recipe today goes out to all those ice cream fiends without ice cream machines. Plenty of low-tech methods exist for fabricating frozen treats without fancy machinery, but let’s be honest: Few people, myself included, care to fuss with scraping ice crystals or tossing around a plastic bag of ice cubes all day, just for a few bites of sweet satisfaction.

Your icy irritation ends here. All you need is a freezer, four ingredients, and an appetite. I would wager that you’ve already got two out of three already covered.

The ingenious CocoWhip by So Delicious is the secret ingredient that makes this sweet act of alchemy possible. Providing light, scoopable structure without any further agitation, the same results can also be achieved with good old whipped coconut cream, but starting with a ready-whipped and exceptionally stable base makes the process infinitely easier.

As luck would have it, So Delicious recently launched their Snackable Recipe Contest, so it would have been crazy for me to hold onto this treat any longer. Besides, as much as I love cooking, summer is meant to be enjoyed, not spent in the kitchen. Whip up this effortless ice cream base and go play; you’ll have a delicious dessert waiting for you when you return.

No-Churn Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

2/3 Cup Vanilla Coconut Creamer
1/3 Cup Light Agave Nectar
1 1/2 Teaspoons Vanilla Bean Paste or Extract
1 9-Ounce Package Cocowhip

In a large bowl, stir together the creamer, agave, and vanilla. Add in one small scoop of the Cocowhip, stirring to incorporate and begin to lighten the mixture. Introduce half of the remaining Cocowhip, folding it carefully into the liquid, keeping the airy structure as intact as possible. Repeat with the last portion of Cocowhip, leaving a few streaks in the mixture if need be; it’s better to under-mix than over-mix.

Pour the ice cream base into a loaf pan or air-tight container and carefully move it into your freezer. Allow it to sit, undisturbed, for at least 6 hours before serving.

Printable Recipe

Hannah (BitterSweet)13 Comments

Cashew is King

Dense, silky smooth, capable of melting so slowly and seductively across the palate that it seems to linger far beyond the average taste; cashew ice cream has certainly come a long way. Once a mere glimmer in the eye of the mad kitchen scientist who dared venture outside the standard arsenal of readily available dairy alternatives, cashew ice cream has finally hit the mainstream, and in a big way thanks to So Delicious. Textural superiority provides the unshakable foundation for all of these nutty frozen desserts, unburdened by excessive gums or stabilizers like so many commercial options. This attention to ingredient detail allows the most basic of flavors, the vanilla-infused Creamy Cashew, to shine without any adulteration. Similarly, the unfussy Cappuccino boasts a perfectly balanced coffee flavor, deepened by a subtle hint of cinnamon in the afterglow of each frosty bite. What truly sets this line of nut-based pints apart from the pack in the freezer aisle, however, are their bolder, unabashedly indulgent flavor combinations.

Turtle Trails from the original Purely Decadent label has been my top pick for countless years, but now that I’ve tasted the sweet extravagance of Salted Caramel Cluster, I may just have a new favorite treat. So packed full of chunks that it’s difficult to scoop, this pint of cashew goodness is not messing around. Whole, full-sized, plump cashews smothered in crisp shells of dark chocolate litter the landscape, flanked by rivulets of flowing caramel sauce. Notes of browned, burnt sugar define the custard base, spiked with just the right amount of salt to propel the flavor into crave-worthy territory.

Dark Chocolate Truffle succeeds in delivering an equally intense dessert experience as well, clearly formulated with the unreformed, unapologetic chocoholic in mind. Strong chocolate ice cream with devilishly bitter edges cradles thin shards of shaved chocolate that shatter effortlessly between the teeth. Truly an “adult” chocolate ice cream, it would be a disservice to compare it to the average cocoa concoction. The plentiful truffles are even better than those found in the average box of chocolate, especially since you’ll always know exactly what you’re going to get; every scoop is delicious, just as promised.

If simple sugar cookies and cinnamon spice hold more allure when a sugar craving hits, then the Snickerdoodle would be just your speed. Reminiscent of a thick, icy glass of horchata, this comforting blend has the upper hand on the original beverage thanks to the abundant smattering of gluten-free cookie dough pieces found throughout. Each bite maintains a soft, supple chew, no matter how deeply the pint has been wedged into the back of the icebox. I couldn’t help but further the cookie theme by serving up a few scoops as ice cream sandwiches, but the beauty of this variety is each spoonful provides the full compliment of these childhood treats, without the hand-held mess.

Even in the increasingly crowded category of vegan ice creams, So Delicious manages to continue innovating, reinventing itself, and staying ahead of trends while still remaining genuinely delicious. These cashew ice creams deserve a place in your freezer- But I can promise that they won’t stay there very long.

Hannah (BitterSweet)12 Comments

Rock the Boat

When it comes to food, little luxuries are not necessarily about overindulgence or decadence so much as they are small gifts you give yourself; modest treats to look forward to on an average day. Especially in the lean days of early January, it’s important to maintain these simple pleasures while everyone else seems to demand austerity, as if trying to atone for their holiday dietary sins. Luckily, it’s not difficult to reward yourself with something both sweet and healthy at the same time! Looking to the tropics for inspiration, a charming new juice shop in Honolulu offers papaya, re-imagined as a breakfast dish dressed beautifully enough to pass for dessert.

It’s far from a complex concept, but at The Salted Lemon, they’ve perfected the art of building an unsinkable papaya boat. Local orange and pink-hued fruits, more brilliant than a sunrise in paradise, are hollowed out and stuffed to the brim with granola, yogurt, banana slices, blueberries, and finished with a light shower of chia seeds on top. The contrast between creamy yogurt and crunchy cereal, flavored with the ripe and juicy fresh fruits, is so simple yet so satisfying. Eating this assembly is a rich experience that carries none of the guilt one might assign to traditional excess. Though the original is not vegan, the staff was more than willing to try something new, making use of my favorite almond-based yogurt once I snagged a cup at a nearby grocery store.

Lest you think that papaya boats are only the stuff of fancy cafes and languorous tropical vacations, just take a gander at the short and sweet formula below. They are effortless to whip up on any typical morning, no special occasion required, and no pretense need apply. All varieties of berries or cut fruits could be considered as welcome additions, so don’t be afraid to shake up the routine and experiment with new toppers.

While anything goes when it comes to vegan yogurt options, there’s no better brand to turn to than So Delicious, offering cultured coconut and almond bases, each boasting a full spectrum of enticing flavors. These prime alternatives make it a breeze to live dairy-free, which is why I wanted to share an equally easy concept as part of their 21-Day Dairy Free Challenge. Consider this your first step towards sweet, creamy satisfaction, and then join in on the initiative for even greater rewards!

Yield: 2 Servings

Papaya Boats

Papaya Boats

Fresh papayas are hollowed out and stuffed to the brim with granola, yogurt, banana slices, blueberries, and finished with a light shower of chia seeds on top. The contrast between creamy yogurt and crunchy cereal, flavored with the ripe and juicy fresh fruits, is so simple yet so satisfying.

Ingredients

  • 1 Medium Hawaiian Papaya, Peeled and Seeded
  • 1 Cup Granola
  • 1 5.3-Ounce Container Vanilla So Delicious Vegan Yogurt
  • 1 Medium Banana, Sliced
  • 1/2 Cup Fresh Blueberries
  • 1 Tablespoon Chia Seeds
  • Agave or Maple Syrup, to Taste (Optional)

Instructions

  1. Divide a 1/2 cup of the granola between two plates to set up a “foundation” for your papaya boat to rest on. This will help prevent it from capsizing when you eat it, and it also adds a nice additional layer of crunchy cereal to enjoy.
  2. Place the remaining granola inside the papaya halves (1/4 cup inside of each) and top that with the yogurt, spooning equal amounts into the two boats.
  3. Arrange the sliced banana and blueberries as desired, and top with a sprinkle of chia seeds over the whole assembly.
  4. Finish with a light drizzle of syrup if desired, but with properly ripened, seasonal fruit, it should be plenty sweet enough without.
  5. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

2

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 442Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 17mgCarbohydrates: 53gFiber: 6gSugar: 38gProtein: 2g
© Hannah Kaminsky
Cuisine: Hawaiian / Category: Breakfast and Brunch

[Written for Go Dairy Free as part of the Dairy-Free Recipe Potluck, sponsored by So Delicious.]

Hannah (BitterSweet)26 Comments

A Novel Approach

If there’s anything better than ice cream, it could only be ice cream on a stick or in a sandwich. Classic novelties have taken advantage of this fool-proof path to frozen dessert perfection, but few truly make the most of the unique, single serving presentation. Finally daring to innovate beyond two chocolate wafers filled with vanilla ice cream, some very exciting developments are turning the marketplace into a very sweet scene, indeed.

So Delicious has certainly been busy in recent days, and my backlog of photos provides ample evidence. This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to their latest innovations I have on deck for review! Truth be told, the above coconut-based Mini Organic Bars were first devoured back in January, while I enjoyed my time in Hawaii, and the hottest winter I’ve ever experienced. The perfect foil to a sweltering afternoon in the sun, it was hard to pick a favorite between the Just Java, Simply Strawberry, and Fudge Bars, but I quickly found that I really am a coffee-lover through and through. It won’t pummel you with high-octane espresso flavor, but a creamy, sweet, and smooth cappuccino flavor that’s perfectly suited for a light midday snack. For you coconut-haters out there, never fear: I couldn’t detect even a hint of coconut flavor in these babies, unlike the other two options.

Tofutti has been in the dairy-free dessert game for decades now, the veteran in the rapidly shifting field of prepared vegan food stuffs. The masterminds behind these particular treats definitely know what they’re doing, using the same formula that’s survived countless food trends and collective dietary changes. Although best known for their pints, Tofutti Cuties in all their myriad flavors will always hold a special place in my heart. Way back when BitterSweet was but a wee speck on the interweb, those sweet ice cream sandwiches were some of the very first products I ever reviewed. If you unwittingly clicked to read that flashback, I must apologize: Your eyes are likely burning by now from those gruesome photos.

Back to the matter at hand, the varieties have come and gone over the years, and remaining flavors can prove rather elusive. Although I can find their take on the golden standard anywhere I shop, more fanciful concoctions are harder to come by. Case in point, I could only get my hands on the Key Lime and Wild Berry Tofutti Cuties when the kind PR people offered to ship them directly. Granted, this was [shamefully, regrettably] over a year ago, so I’m not even sure if they still exist in the wild. For my own sake, I sure hope they do, because both were unforgettable treats with no equals in mainstream markets. Particularly drawn the to key lime, zesty citrus ice cream provides a bright, tangy contrast to the buttery vanilla cookies. Bearing a satisfying soft bite that is easy to sink your teeth into, the refreshing combination is far more complex than your average child-focused novelty. A new personal favorite from this steady, old school brand.

In case you thought that ice cream was just a summertime treat, then I’d like to introduce you to the most creative, daring frozen desserts to be found in the freezer cases this year: Halloween themed, coconut-based Pumpkin Spice and Candy Corn novelties, made by none other than So Delicious. These are brilliant for their adorable shapes alone, but needless to say it’s the taste is what puts them over the top. The adorable pale orange pumpkins are unsurprisingly flavored exactly like their Pumpkin Spice Beverage, only frozen, of course. Rich and decadent, they definitely feel like a seasonal indulgence, despite the low caloric price tag.

Candy corn was the real wild card here: Would it truly taste like candy corn? The chocolate crown suggested otherwise, but I held out hope for something more reminiscent of Indian corn instead of the classic. (Those were always better, anyway.) For better or for worse, depending on your stance toward the much reviled or beloved confections, these frozen novelties do not taste like actual candy corn. The white stripe is a simple, straightforward vanilla ice cream, but things get considerably more interesting towards the orange base. Immediately familiar yet indescribable, I couldn’t quite pin down what I was tasting… And then it hit me. Orange creamsicle! This was the creamy orange ice cream, long since discontinued, that I devoured without restraint during my early college days. Stuffing myself with both the scoops and pops, having that cool, sweet treat to look forward to after classes was the highlight of my day. Oh, the joy of being reunited, if only for a few fleeting stripes!

It’s never been easier to stay cool, even without scooping a single spoonful. Considering the rapidly expanding field of delicious options to choose from, there’s easily something for everyone to enjoy, no dairy need apply.

Hannah (BitterSweet)15 Comments