Strawberries, Scoops, and Social Hour

June gloom is a real weather phenomenon that plagues much of the California coast, just as we begin to settle into a comfortable summer routine. Low lying fog clouds the city streets, bringing with it a clammy, cold dampness that’s hard to shake off. Though the southern part of the state is frequently credited for this plague, bay area residents are just as well versed in the ways of the haze. Though the effect has been mild this year, it’s still routine to bundle up in long sleeves and a jacket before heading out each morning.

That said, no temperature is ever too cold to enjoy ice cream.

The frozen desserts program is already in full operation over at Nourish Cafe, where I’ve begun churning away to share some of my favorite sweet scoops. These new blends are based on my original recipes from Vegan a la Mode, retrofitted to accommodate a wider range of palates, preferences, and behind the scenes, commercial production. You really come to appreciate the ease in which full ice cream parlors dish out dozens of flavors once you’ve spend the weekend cooking and churning gallons of just two creamy bases.

It’s a labor of love, because now I can share my passion for ice cream with a whole new audience.

Fresh Strawberry and Citrus Zinger Ice Cream are the current frozen features, available 7 days a week, rain or shine, gloom or summer glow. As we bid farewell to June, there’s nothing stopping the tidal wave of ice cream indulgence, which is why we’re celebrating with a grand ice cream social. If you’re local to the bay area, meet, greet, and eat with us! While mingling and munching, I’ll share tips on how to make healthier vegan frozen treats and answer all your churning questions. Don’t miss this premier plant-based ice cream social, if only for access to the unlimited topping bar.

If you’re not local, I’m very sorry for your loss. However, I would never be so cruel as to tease you with unattainable delicacies, out of reach but for a select few. You can whip up that very same strawberry sensation anywhere in the world- Although I’ve scaled down the batch for you, just in case you didn’t need to make 100+ servings at once.

Yield: Makes About 1 1/2 Quarts

Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream

Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream

Make the most of fresh strawberries while they're in season! This creamy blend is sweet, rich, full-flavored, and stunningly made of all healthy, whole foods. Treat yourself with a more wholesome frozen dessert.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 Cup Maple Syrup
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons Arrowroot
  • 1 Pounds Fresh Strawberries, Hulled and Roughly Chopped
  • 1 1/2 Teaspoons Lemon Juice
  • 1 (13.5-Ounce) Can Full-Fat Coconut Milk
  • 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • 1/8 Teaspoon Salt

Instructions

  1. Vigorously whisk together the maple syrup and arrowroot in a medium saucepan. Once the starch is incorporated smoothly without any remaining lumps, add the strawberries. Turn on the heat to medium, bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer, stewing the berries gently for about fifteen minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, incorporate the vanilla and salt, and cool completely.
  2. Chill in the fridge for at least three hours before transferring the mixture to your blender and thoroughly pureeing. If you don’t have a high-speed blender that will thoroughly pulverize all of the fruit into a silky-smooth custard, pass the base through a fine-meshed strainer and discard the solids.
  3. Churn according in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions, or give an alternative freezing method a spin!

Notes

Adapted from from Vegan a la Mode by Hannah Kaminsky.

Recommended Products

Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the link. I have experience with all of these companies and I recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions I make if you decide to buy something through my links.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

10

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 103Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 31mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 1gSugar: 12gProtein: 1g

All nutritional information presented within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on BitterSweetBlog.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. Even though I try to provide accurate nutritional information to the best of my ability, these figures should still be considered estimations.

 

No Churn? No Problem!

tIn the heat of the moment, or scorching rays of the sun, as it may be, it’s easy to get carried away. Serial shoppers and gadgeteers alike can relate, getting swept up by the temptation of shiny new toys and tools guaranteed to make life easier, cleaner, brighter, tastier, smarter, or generally yet indefinably better. While ice cream makers are seen as a superfluous luxury good for most casual kitchen creatives, rapidly advancing technology has brought the average entry-level machine down to pocket change territory.  Even for an impulse buy, you could do much greater budgetary damage with just a few fancy umbrella drinks on the beach.


No-Churn Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

As a self-professed ice cream obsessive, it should come as no surprise that I’ll always advocate churning your own frozen treats above all else. Sadly, I’ve come across scores of misinformed folks that think it’s an arduous process, not worth the time or effort, having never been fortunate enough to taste the fruits of that labor themselves. Lacking the proper equipment should no longer be a valid excuse for not diving in, or at least dipping a toe in, to the refreshing world of iced sweet treats.

Believe it or not, any ice cream base can be made without a machine, right here and now, with a wide range of alternative methods at your disposal. Start with a solid recipe and clear out your freezer; your summer is about to get a whole lot cooler.


Carrot Granita

1. The Granita Method: A traditional Italian method of making fruit-based ices much like instant snow cones, this method creates desserts with larger, crunchy ice crystals. That same idea can be used with an ice cream base, and naturally yield smoother, creamier results. Simply prepare your ice cream recipe of choice as directed, and chill thoroughly. Pour out the cold mixture into a baking dish. The exact size is not important, provided it can fit comfortably in your freezer on a flat surface. Don’t chance it and try to balance the pan on top of numerous unequally sized items; trust me, it’s a pain to clean melted and re-frozen liquids from inside a freezer! Simply bear in mind that the larger the pan, the greater surface space the base will have, and the faster it will freeze.

Place your baking dish filled with liquid ice cream base in the freezer, and let it sit for 30 – 45 minutes. At this point, it should begin to freeze around the edges. Take a fork and scrape up those ice crystals into the center. Place it back in the freezer, and repeat this process every 30 minutes or so until the entire contents of the pan has frozen; approximately 2 – 3 hours, depending on the temperature of the freezer and size of the pan. When ready, spoon into glasses and serve immediately, or it will ultimately freeze solidly into once piece.

2. The Cube-and-Crush Method: Easier than the granita method but similar in concept, this approach is much less hands-on, so you can occupy yourself with other projects while the actual freezing takes place. Additionally, this procedure yields ice cream that’s more like a soft serve texture. Pour prepared and thoroughly chilled ice cream base into one or two ice cube trays, and set them on a flat surface in your freezer. Smaller cubes are better, as they’ll freeze faster and put less of a strain on your blender. Allow at least 6 – 8 hours for the ice cream cubes to freeze solidly, but you can prepare them up to this stage a day or two in advance. When the need for ice cream strikes, pop out at least one tray of cubes at a time, and plunk them into your blender or food processor. Begin by pulsing to break them up, and then puree just long enough to get the ice cream smooth and creamy. Be careful not to overdo it, or the entire mixture will melt. Serve immediately.


Citrus Popsicles

3. Popsicle Method: This should be a foreign concept to precisely no one, but an idea worth revisiting. All it takes is chilled ice cream base poured into pop molds and frozen until solid. To get a stick to stand up straight, be sure to insert it about 30 – 45 minutes after first placing the molds in the freezer, so that the mixture has had time to thicken up a bit. If you don’t already own molds, seek those that are BPA-free, or rig your own by lining up paper cups on a baking sheet. Lollipop sticks or wooden popsicle sticks can be found in most craft or kitchen supply stores.

4. Coffee Can/Baggie Method: Although arguably the most involved of all four approaches, this procedure can be a fun activity for a crowd, and especially with young children. It makes the smallest amount of ice cream at a time as well, so you must start with a maximum of only 2 cups (1 cup) of prepared, chilled ice cream base. In addition to the edibles, you will need a cleaned and rinsed coffee can that once held 3 pounds of coffee (gallon baggie), and a second that once held 1 pound of coffee (1-pint baggie). Additionally, you should have at least 1 ½ cups (6 tablespoons) of rock salt, 10 cups of ice cubes, and strong duct tape on hand.

Pour the chilled base into the smaller can, and tape it up tightly. Place it in the larger can, and surround it with salt and ice, layering the two a few scoops at a time. Seal the larger can with duct tape as well, and start rolling! Roll the can on its side, shake it up, or toss it around continuously; anything to keep it moving. The ice cream should be rather soft, but ready to eat in about 20 – 30 minutes.

Even if you can’t spare the cash or counter space for a full-featured ice cream machine, that shouldn’t stop you from chilling out with a double or triple scoop treat this season. Skip the churn, but give it a whirl!

C’est Magnifique!

Magic is what happens when impossibilities become reality.

Thus, this new development can only be explained as an act of magic. How else could France’s sole 100% vegan publisher, L’Age d’Homme, have picked my modest tribute to dairy-free ice creams out of a veritable ocean of cookbook options? Of all books, of all things- It’s still hard for me to believe! I don’t speak French and have only visited the country briefly, but this could be the start of a beautiful relationship.

Vegan A La Mode in French

I haven’t yet seen the translated and reformatted rendition, renamed Veganice Glaces Véganes, but I’m already thrilled by the adorable new cover. Should any French-speaking vegans out there get your hands on a copy, please let me know how the the recipes read, since I wouldn’t know the difference whether the instructions ultimately make ice cream or bicycles. Plus, I just got word that Vegan Desserts and Easy as Vegan Pie will also be joining Collection V shortly.

Since I can think of no better way to celebrate than with a big scoop of freshly churned ice cream, my recipe for Beurre Noisette Ice Cream, straight out of Vegan a la Mode, sounds like the perfect flavor to mark the occasion.

Yield: Makes 1 – 1 1/2 Quarts

Beurre Noisette Ice Cream

Beurre Noisette Ice Cream

Otherwise known as browned butter, the French have a much more elegant way of describing this rich nectar as “hazelnut butter,” alluding to the toasty, hazelnut-like flavor derived from a quick flash in the pan. The application of gentle heat transforms this everyday substance into something otherworldly, redolent with both salty and savory notes that heighten the sweetness of baked goods, or in this case, frozen treats. Many chefs would have you believe that this decadent substance can only be made with dairy, but au contraire, I’ve found that the same process works just as well with vegan butter. Taking the French term a bit more literally, a generous handful of hazelnuts cranks up the volume on that naturally nutty essence all the way to 11, so really, who needs the dairy anyway?

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Additional Time 6 hours
Total Time 6 hours 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1/2 Cup Vegan Butter
  • 3 1/4 Cups Plain, Non-Dairy Milk
  • 2 Tablespoons Arrowroot
  • 2/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
  • 1/4 Cup Light Agave Nectar or Maple Syrup
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
  • 1/2 Cup Toasted Hazelnuts, Finely Chopped

Instructions

  1. Cut the vegan butter into tablespoon-sized pieces and place them in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Wait for all of the butter begins to melt, then begin swirling the pan around to stir, as needed. In a fairly short time it should begin to look somewhat separated, with a foamy white top and yellow oil underneath that will gradually progress to a darker color. Eventually, the solids will settle to the bottom and begin to brown. The best judge of doneness here is to watch and listen to the bubbles; they will start making a more hollow pinging sort of sound near the end, and slow nearly to stopping.
  2. At that point, quickly add in the sugar, whisking slowly but continuously. The mixture will be clumpy initially, but it will smooth out. Cook the sugar to a deep amber color, but do not be alarmed if it’s still not completely dissolved yet.
  3. Add in 1 1/2 cups of the non-dairy milk very carefully to arrest the caramelization process– Stand back, because it will sputter angrily. Things may look like a mess now, with the sugar solidified and clumped at the bottom of the pan, but do not panic! Continue stirring over gentle heat until the sugar melts and becomes smooth again.
  4. Whisk cornstarch and remaining milk together separately before adding it into the pan with the agave or maple syrup and salt. Turn the heat up to medium, bring the mixture to a full boil, then turn off the stove. Stir in the vanilla and let cool to room temperature before moving the cooked custard into your fridge. Chill thoroughly, for at least 3 hours, before churning.
  5. Churn in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s directions. In the last 5 minutes of churning, slowly sprinkle in the chopped hazelnuts so that the blades of the paddle incorporate and distribute the nuts throughout the ice cream.
  6. Transfer the soft ice cream to an air-tight container, and store it in the freezer for at
    least 3 hours before serving.

Recommended Products

Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the link. I have experience with all of these companies and I recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions I make if you decide to buy something through my links.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

10

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 237Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 2gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 6mgSodium: 144mgCarbohydrates: 24gFiber: 1gSugar: 23gProtein: 4g

All nutritional information presented within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on BitterSweetBlog.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. Even though I try to provide accurate nutritional information to the best of my ability, these figures should still be considered estimations.

 

The Right Tool for the Job: Ice Cream Machines

Questions keep on pouring into my digital inbox about all things ice cream, but surprisingly, rarely about the recipes themselves. 9 messages out of 10 are from ice cream-churning virgins, first dipping a toe into the great pool of frozen treats. It’s the very machines that turn liquid into creamy confections that are the cause of most confusion, since there are so many models on the market these days and little guidance for the inexperienced shopper. The one most critical tool to have on your side is the ice cream maker, and that can be an intimidating and pricy investment- But it doesn’t have to be. As excerpted from my latest cookbook, Vegan a la Mode

Once a prohibitively expensive luxury item, both unwieldy to use and incapable of churning out any decent amount of ice cream, it’s a whole new world of frozen dessert technology out there now. Making ice cream at home has never been easier or more accessible, with countless options to delight your inner gadget geek. Originally limited to different sizes of hand-cranked wooden buckets, you can now find machines that will mix the base, chill themselves, churn the ice cream, do your taxes, and all under 30 minutes. Okay, perhaps that’s a slight exaggeration (it may take closer to 45 minutes), but frozen dessert technology has come a long way. Prices rise precipitously with each additional feature, so be prepared to pay for the luxury of a self-contained unit that can freeze simply with the flip of a switch.

For starters, let’s get one thing straight: I do not recommend hand-cranked machines. They may have an irresistible nostalgic quality, and the illusion of creating a more DIY experience, but trust me here, the novelty will wear off after the first batch, if not during the first batch. These archaic machines take much longer to freeze a quart of liquid base, can be terribly messy if they require salted ice as the chilling medium, and are downright exhausting. Plan to skip your workout if you’re churning ice cream by hand; the amount of labor that goes into such a process is no joke. If this hasn’t yet dissuaded you, bear in mind that at the point when it becomes thicker and even harder to crank, you must actually increase your vigor, to ensure that the finished ice cream has the smallest ice crystals possible, and thus smoothest, richest mouth-feel.

One of the most basic, affordable, and thus popular models is the simple freezer bowl design, which, just as the name suggests, has a separate insulated bowl that must sit in the freezer for a minimum of 24 hours before each batch. It’s essentially a giant ice pack shaped like a bowl, which rotates around a stationary but removable paddle. The downside is that you must plan your ice cream forays well in advance; a partially frozen bowl hastily pulled from the deep freeze will yield only slush. The big upside, however, is that $40 – $50 can get you one of these babies, brand spanking new. I would argue that these modest appliances are ideal for just about everyone, from newbie ice cream creators to those with intermediate experience. This is what I employed for many years, until the base fell on the ground one time too many and cracked beyond repair. Treat your machine nicely and it should last your whole lifetime.

If you have a stand mixer, there is likely an ice cream attachment created for your particular brand that can be purchased separately. A fine option, these are also of the freezer-bowl variety, but have the added benefit of making use of your existing appliance, saving space and hassle. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of multi-taskers, but there’s also something to be said for specialized equipment that does one thing, and one thing very well. These types are fine options, but are actually a bit more expensive than the stand-alone sort, ringing up at about $70 – $100. Additionally, when trialing the attachment designed for my KitchenAid® stand mixer, I found that the resulting ice cream was slightly icier than average.

Panicked when I had to replace my trusty freezer bowl machine, I turned to the generosity of my grandmother. It occurred to me that my grandpa had made sorbet every Thanksgiving, but since his passing, that contraption hadn’t seen the light of day. Luck was on my side, because my grandma was thrilled that I would take that bulky thing off her hands, which had simply been collecting dust for nearly a decade, and also because it turned out to be a self-freezing unit. I shouldn’t have expected anything less from my grandpa, a self-confessed gadget lover. Fond of having the top-of-the-line tools before anyone else on the block, though the machine was perhaps twenty years old, it was still a state-of-the-art ice cream churn. This variety of machine has in-set bowls that typically can’t be removed, which makes for trickier clean up, but freeze down from room-temperature to a state of readiness in about five minutes. You can generally churn consecutive batches to your heart’s content, with a 10 – 15 minute pause in between. A good substitute for this outdated brand now would be the Cuisinart® ICE-50BC Supreme Ice Cream Maker, which has largely the same design and functionality. For hardcore frozen dessert divas, these are your only option, but they will set you back quite a few pretty pennies. Most start at about $250, and can escalate all the way to $1,000 and beyond, depending on the brand and capacity. For some, the investment is absolutely worthwhile, but most can get by just fine without such a fancy tool.

Of course, there are also many methods for making ice cream without any specialized equipment altogether… But that’s another post.

Around the World in 80 Plates: Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay

This is it: The final stop on our edible adventure. It’s been quite a journey, tasting our way through nearly a dozen unique cuisines, and racking up just as many recipes as souvenirs.  Converting a different palate of flavors into a vegan plated dessert every week has proven more difficult than I initially envisioned, but it’s impossible to imagine having approached the challenge any other way. To think, that I would have once considered adding savory dishes into the mix! I guess that’s just not what comes most naturally to my sweet-toothed disposition. So, for a grand finale to cap off a feast of world travel, we’ve arrived at last in Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay.

While I’d like to say that I’m well acquainted with the culture and the fine nuances in the indigenous edibles, the truth is that I spent about 15 minutes just trying to pronounce “Uruguay” correctly. Sure, it doesn’t seem so complicated, but for some reason I could just not wrap my tongue around all of those consecutive vowels. Luckily, it turns out that one of the most popular desserts there is much easier to swallow.

Postre chajá, a layered affair involving sponge cake, peaches, whipped cream, and meringue is actually named after a type of bird. Somehow the fluffy dessert made its inventor think of this feathered creature, however inexplicably, and the name has remained intact since. Though the combination of flavors and textures immediately grabbed me, inspiration for my final dessert didn’t come until the last minute. Rather than simply creating an elegant, bite-sized version of the original, it suddenly became clear that I had all the components here for a baked Alaska to remember.

Tender rounds of vanilla cake are topped with a dome of creamy peach ice cream. The whole stack is smothered in my foamy eggless meringue, doused in high-octane spirits, and promptly set ablaze. Admittedly, I hit a snag at this stage and had to resort to the trusty kitchen torch for a more even browning, but the little cakes can easily be tossed into a fast oven should the meringue need a bit more of a crisp. The quickly melting interior is revealed after slicing each snowy peak in half, and the plate is completed with slices of soft peaches and a simple fresh peach sauce. In fact, the sauce is so simple that I didn’t measure a thing. Two whole, ripe peaches went into the blender along with agave to taste, and just enough non-dairy milk to puree. It’s a fittingly sweet note to end this series on.

The final episode of Around the World in 80 Plates airs this Wednesday at 10/9c on Bravo. Who will win, and what will they cook? Don’t miss the culmination of this whirlwind trip across the globe!

Postre Chajá Baked Alaska

Vanilla Cake
Peach Melba Ice Cream, Minus Raspberry Ripple (Vegan a la Mode, page 164)
Meringue (Vegan Desserts, page 191)

80-Proof or Greater Rum, Brandy, or Vodka
Sliced Fresh Peaches
Lightly Sweetened Peach Puree, if Desired

To put the baked Alaska together, freeze the freshly churned and still soft peach ice cream into silicon hemisphere molds. Let them set up solidly in the freeze; at least 4 hours. Meanwhile, slice out rounds of cake with 2 3/4-inch circular cookie cutters. Line the pieces up on a small tray, and chill thoroughly in the fridge.

When you’re ready to serve, top each round of cake with a hemisphere of ice cream, and smooth a generous coating of meringue all over. Make sure that you seal the edge where the cake meets the plate, to prevent heat from getting in and melting the ice cream too soon. Sprinkle each meringue-covered dessert with alcohol, and use a long match to set each on fire. Once the flames burn out, quickly slice the towers in half, and plate each half with a few fresh peach slices and a smear of peach puree, if desired. Eat immediately!

Makes about 6 Servings

For participating in this competition, Bravo has compensated me for my time, but all recipes and opinions are solely my own.

A Frozen Fourth of July

Our Independence Day, the most patriotic of national holidays here in the US, typically fails to stir up much enthusiasm from me. The backyard barbecues are a welcome excuse to grill some easy entrees and catch up with old friends, but that could happen on any summer day, too. Plus, that red, white, and blue color scheme is a bit uninspiring… Most of the time. Inexplicably and without warning, it just hit me the right way this time around. Without plans or any party to attend, I still couldn’t resist the bait- I went all out to make a festive fourth of July dessert. In fact, now I want to throw my own little fete because of this impromptu project…

This cake is the key to turning the holiday into a real celebration. Fluffy billows of snow-white whipped coconut creme obscure a sweet surprise within. Though plainly ordinary from the outside, just remove a slice and watch guests’ faces light up…

To cool off a sweltering summer day in the sun, ice cream cake is just what the doctor ordered. Trust me on this one, it’s the only prescription suitable to combat exhaustion, hunger, heat, and dessert cravings all at once. Red velvet cake, one of my unexpectedly most popular recipes, has been given new life as the base of this icy layered treat. Revised and tweaked to perfection, it now practically glows with a crimson-red hue, all from a little can of cooked beets. For anyone who complained about an overtly lemon flavor, that issue is now a thing of the past. All you can taste is cake, sweet, moist, lightly cocoa-flavored cake.

Blue Moon Ice Cream lends a subtly fruity, mysterious yet comfortingly familiar flavor to the assembly. The real inspiration for this whole frozen dessert, it’s rare to find such a bright blue food, and so I seized the opportunity as soon as I could. Never mind dusty blue corn chips or purplish-blue potatoes– This ice cream is really blue!

If you didn’t plan ahead and pre-order a copy of Vegan a la Mode, then you’re in luck- Sarah of The Sweet Life is generously hosting a giveaway, which she put together without any prompting and paid for out of her own pocket. There’s still time to get in on the action and see this recipe for yourself, so don’t delay and enter the contest now!

Putting together this ice cream cake is much easier than it looks. Simply prepare the red velvet cake according to the instructions, but transfer the batter into a 9-inch round springform pan lined with a round of parchment paper on the bottom and lightly greased. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center pulls out clean, with perhaps a few moist crumbs clinging to it (but absolutely no wet batter.) Let cool completely, and chill before proceeding. Meanwhile, prepare the Blue Moon Ice Cream from Vegan a la Mode (page 8) according to those directions, and after churning, transfer the still soft ice cream to the same springform pan, smoothing it over the baked cake evenly, leveling out the top with a spatula. Let the whole thing harden in the freezer overnight before attempting to unmold.

Once firmly frozen, remove the sides from the pan, peel the parchment off the bottom of the cake, and transfer the two layers to a serving platter, cake plate, or cake stand (remember that you’ll have to fit it back into the freezer though, so double-check that there will be enough space to accommodate your dish!) Frost with coconut whipped creme, and top with edible star glitter, if desired. Store in the freezer until ready to serve, and then…

Celebrate!

Have a Happy Fourth of July!