Ice-Cream and Giggles

Sundaes. A girl's dream dessert. Ice-cream with multiple sauces, flavourings and toppings, a mix of sweet and savoury, a melted sweet drip with vanilla bean, a crunch of peanut butter, a dash of salted pretzel, and a smooth chocolate sauce to tie it all together *drools*. Have I convinced you that you need to try this combo? However, if you are like "hmm" and "ahh" and aren't entirely convinced, please at least take away the fact you NEED to try fresh vanilla bean in your nice-cream. It may only be a small amount, but trust me, it takes it up few notches, without really even trying. To here's to summer and spending those hot days slurping and drinking our nice-cream!

Serves 1-2, Total time: 10 minutes.

You will need:

3 frozen bananas
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 scraped out vanilla bean
1 tbsp peanut butter
1 tbsp du chocolat drinking cocoa powder
1/2 tbsp boiling water
handful of vegan pretzels (I used vegan GF pretzels as they were what I had in my cupboard, but use what you have)

Method:

1. In a bowl, mix the du chocolat with the boiling water and stir until you get a sauce.
2. In a food processor/high-speed blender, combine the bananas, almond milk and vanilla bean until a smooth nice-cream is made.
3. Roughly mix in the peanut butter and combine with the chocolate sauce and pretzels. Eat!

Sometimes, you want to have something that isn't chocolate. Though to be honest, that only happens to me around once a year. You can never have too much chocolate!

Unfortunately, most of the people I know do not share the same sentiment when it comes to chocolate. So when birthdays come around I am forced to make boring vanilla cakes for my loved ones *sigh*.

Caramel on the other hand, is something I can do when chocolate isn't allowed. Especially salted caramel. There is just something wonderful about how the salt cuts through the sweetness of the caramel, you know? So basically I came up with a frozen salted caramel treat that is delicious, satisfying, and refined sugar free. The caramel is made from dates, just a heads up, so if you aren't a date person these might not be for you. But if you are...well, you are in for a treat!

These are sweet, creamy, and cool for those hot summer days. If it is summer in your hemisphere, anyway. Currently shivering through the last month of winter over here.

Prep: 10 minutes. Freezing: at least 8 hours. Total time: 8:10.

Makes 7 normal sized popsicles.

You will need:

For the date sauce:

7 medjool dates (pitted and soaked)
3/4 filtered water (can use leftover date water)
1/4 tsp pink Himalayan salt
1 tbsp maple syrup

For the popsicle:

1 cup coconut cream/milk
1 banana

Plus around 1/2 tsp Himalayan salt, for serving.

Method:

1. In a high speed blender, add medjool dates, water, salt and maple syrup and blend until smooth.
2. Place half of this mix in a bowl and set aside, leaving half in the blender.
3. Add to the blender coconut milk and banana. Blend until smooth.
4. For assemblage, divide the date sauce between the 7 popsicle moulds. Then pour on top of the date sauce the coconut-banana mix. Add popsicle sticks.
5. Place in freezer for at least 8 hours.
6. When serving, sprinkle a little dash of salt on the popsicle!

Last week, I bought a new popsicle mould for mini magnums, and I'm in love! I am glad I did, and it has inspired me to get creative in the kitchen again with ice cream and popsicles (something that has been lacking lately, especially since I started this blog as a place to store my ice-cream recipes!). To start with though, I thought I would try and recreate a classic: double chocolate.

I tried to make these as healthy and low-fat as possible, which is why the ice-cream is made from banana, though the chocolate shell does have fat from the coconut oil. But it is refined sugar free, so hey, can't complain!

As I made this to fit my new magnum moulds (which are tiny!) this makes a really small batch: I would suggest doubling for larger moulds.

Makes 4 mini popsicles.

Prep: 10 minutes. Freezing time: 4 hours. Total time: 4 h 10 minutes.

You will need:

For the ice-cream:

1 frozen banana
1 tbsp cacao powder

For the chocolate shell:

1/4 cup coconut oil
3 tbsp cacao powder
2 tbsp maple syrup

Optional:

1-3 tbsp crushed peanuts

1. Combine frozen banana and cacao powder in a food processor until smooth. Spoon into mould, insert popsicle sticks, and place in freezer for 4 hours.
2. For the chocolate shell, combine all ingredients in a small saucepan on low heat until smooth.
3. Once the popsicles have been in the freezer for 4 hours, remove from mould, and carefully dip each into the chocolate. If you want peanuts on top, work quickly before the chocolate sets! There will be chocolate left over (as this much is needed to dip each popsicle in chocolate), so I put mine in some chocolate moulds so it wouldn't be wasted.

This is just a brief post to serve as a PSA: namely, carob. I know, I am late on the bandwagon, but this magical powder has quickly become a daily staple in my kitchen. Carob is kind of like chocolate, but not. It is safe for dogs to eat, has no caffeine, and is high in protein, potassium and magnesium, and cheaper than cacao. But probably my favorite part: it is super sweet. So if you want to make chocolate? Just mix equal parts of carob powder with coconut oil and set it in the fridge. If you want sauce, just mix water with carob power! It's freaking amazing, as my preferred chocolate sauce in the past has been cacao with maple syrup. Now, here is a totally awesome chocolate sauce that has no sweetener added at all! Naturally, I made a chocolate fudge sundae with this magical syrup.

Serves 2 or one hungry munchkin.

3 frozen bananas
2 tbsp carob powder
2-3 tbsp water

Optional: crushed nuts like peanuts, pistachios. 

1. Combine carob powder and water in a bowl until smooth. Add more water if too thick, or more carob powder if too liquid-y. It really depends on your preference!
2. Combine frozen bananas in food processor until smooth.
3. Serve the sundae by mixing and layering the carob sauce with the ice-cream. Top with nuts.

So I am hoping to post more of my recipes here instead of my instagram! Sorry about the quality of the photo, I am afraid it was just an iPhone picture! This makes one delicious and wee baby bundt cake, with a moist caramel glaze. So decadent, so yummy!

Serves 1, Prep 10 minutes, Baking 20-25. Total: 40 minutes.

You will need:

For the cake:

1 ripe banana, mashed
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp coconut oil
dash salt
1/4 tsp vanilla essence
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 coconut sugar
1/4 cup LSA meal
1/4 cup brown rice flour

For the caramel glaze:

1/3 cup coconut sugar
40 ml coconut cream/milk
1 tbsp coconut oil

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius.
2. Mix all the wet together until smooth. Add coconut sugar and salt. Mix.
3. Sift brown rice into the wet, and add other left over dry ingredients. Mix well.
4. Pour into bundt tin, and bake for 20-25 minutes.
5. While cake is cooking, make the caramel glaze. Place all three ingredients in a saucepan on medium heat. Let simmer and bubble for around 1-2 minutes. Whisk, and let cool.
6. When cake is out of oven, let cool for at least 20 minutes, then brush on the caramel glaze.

Wondering what the perfect thirst quencher is for those blistering hot summer days? Ice. It cools down your core temperature. That's why for this recipe, I decided to top the traditional banana ice-cream with a pineapple flurry! It's what I imagine someone would eat on a tropical island.

Serves 1, approx 2 h 10 minutes prep (2 hours freezing time)

You will need:

2 frozen bananas
1/2 cup pineapple juice (I juiced a pineapple myself to make sure there was no unwanted added sugar)
1 tbsp maple syrup (optional).

1. Pour your pineapple juice into a container. Add maple if needed. Mix. Place in the freezer for 2 hours. Check on it every half an hour and stir so that it doesn't turn into an ice block.
2. Combine your bananas in a food processor. If it won't mix, add some water (1tbsp - 1/4 cup).
3. Place your banana ice-cream in a jar, top with the pineapple flurry!

Rocky-road used to be one of my favourite treats as a kid: decadent chocolate, fluffy marshmallows and crunchy nuts... It is been on my to-do-list to make a vegan rocky-road ice-cream for quite some time, though I found it extremely difficult to find vegan marshmallows. However, (for Sydney-siders), I did find Freedom strawberry marshmallows at Vegan's Choice Grocery Store in Newtown (which is attached to the cafe Green Gourmet), though I really want to try Dandies marshmallows, but every online site is always sold out! 

Serves 2, approx 25 minutes prep and 30 minutes freezing time.

You will need:

For the ice-cream:

2 frozen bananas
2 tbsp cocoa powder

For the Rocky Road:

3 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 cup marshmallows (divided)
1/4 cup chopped nuts (I used almonds)
1 tbsp coconut flakes/shredded coconut

1. Combine bananas and cocoa powder in a food processor until smooth. Place in a bowl in the freezer.
2. For the rocky road: melt the coconut oil in the microwave, and mix in cocoa powder and maple syrup. Get a small (teeny tiny) tray lined with baking paper and pour in half of the chocolate. Layer half of the marshmallows into the chocolate, add nuts and coconut. Pour the rest of the chocolate on top to cover everything, and place in the freezer for at least half an hour.
3. Once the rocky road has set, cut into small squares (you might not need all of it). Chop up the remaining 1/4 cup marshmallows.


4. Mix the rocky road in with the ice-cream, and serve!

Spring is so wonderful at the moment (26 degrees!), which means soon it will be socially acceptable to eat ice-cream for breakfast. Not that it has stopped me! I thought I would give you a peak into my breakfast ritual: it is either ice-cream, pancakes, or peanut butter on toast. Though I usually go for the latter, I must admit my day feels better if I start it on a healthy note by having banana ice-cream! I apologize for the quality of the photos, they were taken with my iPhone in bad lighting.

Approx 5 minutes, serves 1-2 people

You will need:

3 frozen bananas
1 cup of frozen mango (or fresh if you have it, though it means the ice-cream will be softer).

1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Serve! I topped mine with some blend co (I am yet to see if it is any good!).

I love summer. And pineapples! All the pineapples. This recipe only needs two ingredients, banana and pineapple, and it is super easy and healthy. You can put this in a freezer to let harden up, or serve immediately, in which case you will have a soft-serve. I may have been too impatient and opted for the latter!

Serves 1-2 people, approx. 10 minutes preparation.
You will need:

2 frozen bananas
1 cup of fresh pineapple (do not use the core!)

1. Combine ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
2. Serve! I served mine with kiwi fruit, watermelon and strawberries, so nom!

Yep, another cake! Ice-cream, vegan, banana, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and it is healthy! Here is pretty much another reason why bananas are a magical fruit: they make ice-cream, popsicles, smoothies, cakes, they can be used as an egg replacement in muffins, pancakes, cookies, donuts, and! You can even dehydrate bananas to make crepes. If you don't like bananas for some odd reason (or you're allergic, in which case I feel sorry for you), you are really missing out! But in the future I will try and make a soy or coconut cream based cake, to cater for everyone's needs!

You will need:

3 small frozen bananas (separated)
1/4 cup chopped strawberries
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/4 cup raspberries


+ a spring-form tin, approx: 5 cm high and 12 cm in diameter.

1. Strawberry layer: combine banana and strawberries in a food processor until smooth. Pour into a small spring-form cake tin and spread out evenly.
2. Blueberry layer: combine blueberries and banana in a food processor until smooth. Pour on top of the strawberry layer and smooth out.
3. Raspberry layer: combine raspberries and banana in a food processor until smooth. Pour on top of the blueberry layer and smooth out.
4. Place in freezer for 1-2 hours.
5. Serve!

Okay, so the title kind of of super long, but it really does capture what this recipe is all about: raw vegan and gluten free chocolate tarts, covered in blueberry sorbet and topped with strawberries and banana, and more chocolate sauce. It is also refined sugar free. Delicious, I know. I made this during a breakfast experiment (I am trying to incorporate fully raw meals into my diet), and it is so yummy, I had to share it here! However, I wasn't taking progress shots like usual, because it was an experiment, so not only is some of the measurements a little vague, but I only have the one iPhone photo, so I hope that's okay!

Makes 4 chocolate mini tarts, approx. 20-30 minutes to make.

You will need:

For the chocolate tart:

5 pitted and soaked medjool dates (soak in warm water for 5 minutes!)
1 large handful of almonds
1 tbsp cacao powder
1 tbsp maple syrup

1. Combine all ingredients for the tart in a food processor until sticky and forms a ball.
2. Between two sheets of non-stick baking paper, roll out the dough with a rolling pin until around 5 mm thick. Using a large circular cutter, cut out 4 mini tarts. You might need to cut two, roll dough back together, and start again.
3. Place these tarts on a plate and in the fridge until ready.

For the blueberry sorbet:

1 large handful of frozen blueberries
1-2 tbsp water/coconut water

1. Combine blueberries in a food processor with water, add more water as needed. Scoop out into a bowl and place in freezer until ready to serve.

For the chocolate sauce:

approx 2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp cacao powder

1. Place maple syrup in a small bowl. Slowly add the cocoa powder and mix until it reaches a smooth consistency. You might not need all the cocoa powder.

Assemblage:

4 chocolate tart bases
blueberry sorbet
3 chopped strawberries
1 chopped banana
chocolate sauce

1. Place one large spoonful of blueberry sorbet on top of each tart base.
2. Layer the strawberry pieces and banana on top of the sorbet.
3. Coat with chocolate sauce!
5. Serve!

When my dear friend Angela told me there was Star Wars cookie cutters on eBay for a steal (like $2.50 for 4 cutters and free shipping!), I knew I had to buy them and make some vegan ice-cream sandwiches (I may or may not be going through an ice-cream sandwich phase). Considering it is Darth Vader, of course the cookies had to be dark (chocolate) and the ice-cream darker (well, chocolate anyway). You don't have to make Darth Vader ones, I am sure there is something you can find: Minnie Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, or even flower molds. Use your imagination!

Vegan Chocolate Shortbread cookies, recipe altered from Emily Levenson,

Makes around 24 cookies.

Approximately 40 minutes prep (10 minutes mixing, 30 minutes refrigeration) and 10-15 minutes baking.

You will need:

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (do NOT use self-raising!)
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup softened vegan butter/margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
optional: 1-2 tbsp water if mixture is too dry

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream margarine and sugar, then add vanilla.
3. Add in flour mixture. Mix until combined. If is too dry (which really depends on the flour you used) add some water.
4. Form dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 350F/180 degrees Celsius.
6. Roll out dough between two pieces of wax or parchment paper. It helps to flour the wax paper before rolling out the dough. Dough should be 1/4-1/2 inch thick.
7. Cut cookies into desired shape and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. If the dough sticks to the cookie cutters, clean: removing any dough, then using some cooking oil spray into the cutter before cutting. This should minimize any sticking, and you will probably need to repeat each time you cut the cookie.
   
8. Bake for 10-12 minutes. 
9. Let cool on a rack for at least 20 minutes.

When ready to assemble ice-cream sandwiches:

Approx. 5 minutes preparation, + 20 minutes freezing time, makes 10 sandwiches

You will need:

20 cookies
2 frozen bananas
2 tbsp cocoa

1. Combine the bananas and cocoa in a food processor until combined. The mix should be thick enough to serve immediately.
2. Place one tablespoon of ice-cream between 2 cookies.
3. Once all have been assembled, place in freezer for at least 15-20 minutes (this makes sure the ice-cream doesn't slip out when you take a bite into it!). Serve!

The vegan ice-cream cake has, for a long time, been on my to-do list. As my first try at this dessert, I decided to make it reallllly epic (despite the cake being a baby size). I am talking three layers of crazy flavour goodness, topped with dark chocolate shavings, berries and flowers kind of epic. Oh, and it is also healthy and you only need 4 ingredients! The verdict? Trust me, more ice-cream cakes will be coming your way...and I should cover cakes in flowers and berries more often! I fell in love with how it turned out, so I decided to share it here! I used a baby springform tin (5 cm high and 12 cm diametre), but I think if you times it by three (i.e. 3 bananas per layer), it should fit in your average cake-size tins.

Serves approx 4 people, 15 minutes preparation, 1-2 hours in freezer.

You will need:

3 large frozen bananas
1 tbsp cacao/cocoa
1-2 tbsp vegan nutella (i.e. any hazelnut/cacao spread: I used this)
1-2 tbsp almond butter

+ a spring-form tin, approx: 5 cm high and 12 cm in diameter.

1. Line the base of your springform pan with some baking paper (this will make it easier to remove the cake later on).
2. For the chocolate layer: combine one frozen banana and 1 tbsp cacao in a food processor until combined. Try not to add liquid, as this will make the cake harder to cut into etc. With a spoon, spread out the ice-cream into the springform pan. Try and make it as smooth as possible.
2. For the nutella layer: combine one frozen banana with 1-2 tbsp vegan nutella. Repeat, smoothing out this layer on top of the chocolate layer.
3. For the almond butter, combine one frozen banana with 1-2 tbsp almond butter. Repeat, smoothing out this layer on top of the nutella layer.
4. Place in freezer for 1-2 hours.
5. Remove from tin  and serve! When serving, add some shaved vegan dark chocolate, cover with berries and edible flowers!

Oh my goodness. You know how great Neapolitan Ice-Cream is? Well, now imagine it in a cookie sandwich. So scrumptious! I used Oreo's as the sandwich, the lazy way out as I couldn't be bothered to make cookies, but the chocolate biscuit went so well especially with the strawberry part of the ice-cream...note to self: make strawberry ice-cream sandwiches with Oreos! I made this with one of my leftover Neapolitan Ice-Cream cups, and simply sliced it and used cookie cutters to get the cross-section of the ice-cream to put in between the cookies. Too easy!

Makes 4 sandwiches, approx 5 minutes to make (if you already have an ice-cream cup prepared).

You will need:

1 Neapolitan Ice-Cream Cup
4 oreos with the filling removed (or biscuit of choice, just keep in mind you will need 8 biscuits for the 4 sandwiches).

1. Slice your ice-cream cup into 4. Using a cookie cutter which is similar in size to the Oreo, cut out circles of Neapolitan Ice-Cream.


2. Place your circle in between two Oreo's. Done!