Raspberry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream - Vegan, Gluten Free, and Soy Free!!

Thanks to Hannah Kaminsky, author of the newly released My Sweet Vegan and VegNews for the recipe for a delicious summertime treat!

First, my hats off to Ms. Kaminsky. Entering her freshman year in college, she is already an award-winning dessert maker and has just recently published her first cookbook!


Spumoni Ice Cream a la Hannah Kaminsky and VegNews.com

 Several of her recipes for ice cream were featured in the August 2011 edition of VegNews. (Thanks for Erin Michaud for my 6-month gift subscription!) Given that my son has a significant allergy to dairy and we just took him off of all cow's milk, it is summertime in New England with the requisite homemade ice cream stand in every town, and I just purchased an ice cream maker at a church yard sale for $5, this article could not have been more perfectly timed.

Our first attempt was a complete failure. For the second round, I decided it would be better to follow the recipe more closely rather than using it as a set of suggestions. Like baking, it turns out that ice cream making is more laboratory science than artistic expression.

The recipe, as it appears in VegNews, is "Raspberry-Mint Truffle Ice Cream." I, however, decided that the mint would alienate my son and so chose to skip the step of infusing the coconut milk with fresh mint. (It sounded wonderful to me, however, and I will try it out soon.) I also did not have the time to create the truffles. I opted for rice milk chocolate chips as an add-in instead. So, I made "Raspberry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream" and it is currently being enjoyed by all! Although I did adapt the recipe a bit, I kept the basics in tact.

For my version, I opted for unsweetened coconut milk from a carton, not a can. Overall the flavor is intense and very sweet. I would recommend trying the recipe as written and then decide if you'd like to diminish the amount of agave in future batches. A little agave, in my opinion, goes a long way. The texture of the "ice cream" is rather like sorbet. It didn't produce a creamy texture like the commercial coconut milk ice cream I have had. I would imagine this is due to both the type of coconut milk I used as well as the fruit puree that served as the base of this version. Nevertheless, this is a delicious treat and a perfect way to use the fresh raspberries now coming into season in the Northeast. Enjoy and let me know how your ice cream turns out!

Raspberry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Note: This is a project that will take one day to complete. Most of the time is for allowing the base to cool and freeze. Actual time for prep is about one hour total. Give yourself ample time and plan to eat it the next day.

The following is adapted from Hannah Kaminsky's recipe from August 2011 VegNews.

Makes 1 quart.
1 cup plain non-dairy milk (recommend soy, almond, or coconut)
12 ounces raspberries, fresh or frozen and thawed
1 cup light agave nectar
1/2 cup non-dairy chocolate chips (recommend Enjoy brand)

1) In a medium saucepan over medium heat, scald the non-dairy milk and then shut off the heat.

2) Once cooled, pour into a blender or food processor and add raspberries. Thoroughly puree until as smooth as possible and then strain to remove all seeds. Press hard to extract all the liquid. Into the seedless mixture, stir agave and then chill in the refrigerator for 2 or more hours.

3) Process the chilled raspberry base and add the chocolate chips according to the instructions for your ice cream maker. Transfer the ice cream to an air-tight container and place in the freezer for at least 3 hours so the ice cream is solid enough to scoop.

4) Enjoy!