Homemade Dairy-Free Strawberry Ice Cream

My kids are obsessed with ice cream these days.  Which is kind of funny, given that they can't actually eat real ice cream, due to their dairy sensitivities.  It all started a few weeks back, when I found these gluten-free ice cream cones (note: although we all like the sugar cones, none of us much cared for the gf cups, which just had an odd cardboard-like texture...).  I picked up a box of these cones alongside a carton of coconut ice cream as a treat for the kids when I discovered the cones.  A few weeks prior, Logan had been on the verge of tears, telling me about how all of the kids in daycare had gotten an ice cream cone while he had had a popsicle instead.

Little did I know that this was going to start a mad obsession with ice cream...  So we have been making various sorts of homemade "ice creams" lately.  Hopefully, I will get a chance to post a few more before summer is out.  Esspecially the particularly delicious mango version we made last week.

Our latest creation was based on an ice cream that Jérôme's grandmother used to make for him as a child.  She would crush fresh-picked strawberries with a fork, then add some crême fraîche and sugar and then freeze until ready.  Simple.as.that.

Since we are dairy-free, we used a soy cream substitute:

And I puréed the strawberries in the KitchenAid, since my kids are so particular with textures.  

 

This recipe only takes minutes to make and is delicious.  The kids have enjoyed it several times this week.  As have I.  Our neighbour's one year old son also got to enjoy a cone with us.     

 

 

 

  
3 pints fresh picked strawberries
1 carton Belsoy cooking cream or equivalent amount of crême fraîche or cream
1/2 C sugar, or to taste

1.  Mix all ingredients in the food processor.  For a more textured ice cream, crush strawberries with a fork and then mix in remaining ingredients.

 2.  Place ingredients in an ice cream maker, or freeze until ready to serve.

Difficulty level: easy

Fat-Free, Sugar-Free Strawberry Banana Ice Cream

This simple recipe is just a twist on the chocolate banana spinach ice cream I recently posted.  Which is based on that delicious banana soft serve.

Strawberry banana is one of my all-time favourite combinations.  Right up there with chocolate and peanut butter.  I'd say that 90% of the smoothies I make are strawberry banana.  Strawberry banana yogurt, ice cream, this delicious strawberry banana bread... you name it.  So I had to tag this in amongst "Lindsay's favourites". 

We've been eating this every single day after dinner since I first made it.  I think I've made three batches in less than a week.

As with the chocolate version, this couldn't be easier to make (or healthier).

All it takes is 4 frozen bananas and about a cup of strawberries.  I used fresh, since they are in season, but I'm sure frozen would work well too.  If using frozen though, I think I would partially defrost prior to using, to be sure that they blend well (unless you want chunks).

First, I just stuck the strawberries in the food processor and blended until smooth.  You can also just pulse if you prefer to leave chunks.  But you know Logan and his food issues.  So no chunks for us.  That's ok.  I prefer it this way anyhow.

Then you throw in the frozen bananas

and mix until smooth.

See?  Couldn't be easier.

I decided to throw some chocolate chips into our first batch for Logan.  See, he's a bit selective in his texture issues.  He will sometimes branch out and try mixing textures if chocolate is involved.  So I am now using this as a way to encourage him to try mixing textures of foods.  Teehee...

I just threw in a handful of dark chocolate chips and stirred with a spoon.

Personally, I much prefer the version without chocolate.  I find the chocolate wrecks the whole delicious strawberry-banananess of it all.  And I've never really been a fan of chocolate chip ice cream anyhow.  Plus, Logan ended up just picking out the chocolate chips and eating only them.  In true Logan style.  So we've been back to the plain version ever since.

Ter, do you like how I'm putting my deli day skills to use?

As with the original version, you can either serve immediately as a soft serve, like in the picture, or place in the freezer to harden.  

Enjoy!!  I'm just back from zumba and think I'm gonna head upstairs to get a bowl of this.

Difficulty level: easy

Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream

As summer is quickly nearing to an end, I realize I should get around to publishing the remainder of my summer recipes.  Which, in fact, should have been posted back when summer was in full swing and everyone would be wanting to make them.  But that's just not life with two little ones...

I had mentioned here that I had gotten an eensy bit excited about my ice cream maker this summer.  I hunted down this recipe after my sister mentioned how much she was loving some of the store-bought coconut milk ice creams she was eating, after having started a dairy-free diet.  It sounded delicious, so I hunted down and made this recipe well before we started our own dairy-free diet.

I got this recipe from the blog Cheeseslave. It's not terribly time consuming to make and the outcome is delicious homemade ice cream with little effort.  

Don't substitute low-fat coconut milk for the regular stuff, as it will make the texture of the ice cream more icy instead of creamy.

2-3 tbsp. cocoa powder
2 C full fat canned coconut milk 
pinch of salt
1/4 C honey or stevia to taste
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
4 egg yolks

1.  Add coconut milk and cocoa powder to medium saucepan on low heat and whisk to combine.  

2.  Stir in the sea salt, honey (or stevia) and vanilla extract, and whisk until honey is incorporated.  Remove from heat.  (Note: if you are using stevia, you don't need to heat it).

3.  Whisk in the egg yolks.

4.  Chill this mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator.  (You can skip this step if you're not heating it).

5.  Follow the manufacturer's instructions of your ice cream maker.  In 30-45 minutes you will have ice cream! 

 

If you prefer a bit of a harder texture, place the ice cream in the freezer for a minimum of two hours to harden - that is, if you can wait that long to try it (we couldn't!!).
 

Difficulty level: easy

The Healthiest Ice Cream on Earth: Chocolate Banana Spinach Ice Cream

Now, I know that, having read the title of this post, you're all thinking this has got to be gross. 

Truth is, much like a green monster smoothie, you can't even taste the spinach.  

This isn't true ice cream.  Which is what makes it so healthy.  But it's incredibly delicious and a fantastic substitute for ice cream.  And it's so close to ice cream, your kids may not even notice the difference.  

Mine didn't.

We even did an experiment where we gave Logan a little bit of real chocolate ice cream, followed by this.  And he didn't even notice the difference. 

Maybe I shouldn't be so excited about that???  This may indicate there will be no Nobel-prize winning going on in this household...

Now, I have to share the history of this ice cream in our house.

It seems that in my excitement to use my ice cream maker (see my recent posts here and here), I may have inadvertently sent an unintended message to Logan.  A message that ice cream is a breakfast food.  Since we went through a phase where he was waking up every morning, screeeeeeeaming for ice cream.  

A message that ice cream can be eaten 3 times a day.  Since he was asking for it at every meal.  Every.single.meal.

Wait - I think it may have actually been a message that ice cream can be eaten 5 times a day, since he was also asking for it at each snack too.

The other night after dinner... scratch that... before he'd even eaten dinner, he started screaming "biiiiiiiiig ice cream".  When dinner was finally over and I got him out a little homemade popsicle, he kept loudly insisting "nooooo BIG ice cream". 

Now let's not get all crazy here.  He's not actually getting ice cream 5 times a day.  Nor is he getting the BIG ice cream he demands.  I've been saying an awful lot of no's to him lately.

But when I read recently on Oh She Glows about this banana soft serve ice cream (made only with bananas and milk), I knew I had to start making this for Logan instead.  However, I didn't get around to making it until Angela posted her recipe for her peanut butter, jam and banana popsicles made with banana soft serve. 

I'm not exaggerating when I say that I pretty much dropped everything, ran to the kitchen and whipped up a batch.  And then ate almost half of it.

What???  I'm breastfeeding ;)

So since I already had everything out to make Angela's version of this ice cream (which was delicious beyond words!!), I figured I'd also whip up a batch of something similar, that my sister recommended to me way back when.  This also combines Angela's banana soft serve with her green monster smoothies. 

And this invention is this chocolate banana spinach soft serve ice cream right here.  

Perfect for my little Logan who screams his head off all day long that he wants ice cream.  Here ya go little guy.  Eat your heart out :)  He can now enjoy ice cream whenever he wants.  Even for breakfast.

Best part?

He loves putting tons of "sprinkles" on his.  Which are really chia seeds.  He's so gonna hate me when he gets older! 

Check out this video here to see his excitement over his chia sprinkles. 

And yes - he does insist on eating his ice cream with the ice cream scoop.

As for the recipe, it's super simple.  All you need is:

2 cubes of frozen spinach, defrosted (mine didn't blend well when I didn't defrost them first)

 4-5 frozen bananas

 

1-2 tbsp. cocoa powder

a couple of tablespoons of milk (I used coconut milk, since we're now dairy-free) 

And then you just blend all of it in your food processor until smooth, adding more milk as necessary.  

This makes a delicious soft-serve "ice cream" that you can serve immediately.  Or pop it in the freezer for a harder consistency.  You'll just need to take it out a few minutes before serving to let it soften enough to scoop out.

 

Or you can just eat it out of the mixing bowl.

Just don't forget to add your chia sprinkles for all of these health benefits.

Difficulty level: easy

To Die For Homemade Cheesecake Ice Cream

My quest to use my ice cream maker lives on.  It all started with homemade vanilla bean ice cream.  And it has now progressed to cheesecake ice cream.  Is there anything more sinful??  And as we all know, sinful = DELICIOUS.  And this ice cream is no exception.

After making this, I got confirmation that Jérôme and I were truly meant for each other.  While eating it, he said to me "imagine this with Oreos stirred in".  Which is exactly what I had been thinking...  

I got this recipe from Food and Wine Magazine.  It is super, super rich.  You really only need a very small portion to be satisfied.  In fact, you probably won't be able to each much more than a very small portion.  Which is perfect, since it is so rich that if you eat too much of it, you'll never be able to do your pants up again ;P

6 ounces cream cheese, softened but still cool 
3/4 cup superfine sugar
1 cup cold sour cream 
1 cup cold heavy cream 
pinch of coarse (kosher) salt 
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.  Chill a medium mixing bowl and the beaters of an electric mixer. 

2.  In the bowl, beat the cream cheese at medium speed until soft and smooth. Gradually add the sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. 

3.  Beat in the sour cream and then the heavy cream. Add the salt, lemon juice, vanilla and beat the mixture just until thick and smooth. 

4.  Cover and refrigerate overnight, or until very cold. Wash and dry the mixer beaters and chill again. 

5.  Using the chilled beaters and gradually increasing the mixer speed from low to medium, beat the cold ice cream mixture until loose and creamy, about 3 minutes. 

6.  Pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Serve immediately, or pack the ice cream into a covered container and freeze for up to 24 hours. Allow the ice cream to soften in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes before serving.

Difficulty level: moderate

Homemade Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

So it turns out that, for the first time in who knows how long, I have space in my freezer.  Actual space.  Enough to fit in the freezer bowl of my ice cream maker.  And all this, thanks to my freezer challenge :) 

My mom bought me an ice cream maker as a gift many years ago.  And we do use it from time to time.  But there tends to not be enough space in my freezer to keep it in there regularly.  So I probably don't use it as much as I should.  Well... should... Maybe it's actually a good thing, given that we're talking about ice cream here and not spinach.

I've been taking advantage of this new found space lately and have whipped up a couple varieties of homemade ice cream.  Yes, this does refill the freezer a bit.  Hmmm.... I think I may just have to attend a 12-step program for this...  

So here is the first recipe I tried.  Absolutely delicious.  Waaaaaayyyyyy better than anything store bought.  I know real vanilla is expensive, but I really don't recommend using extract instead, as this is what gives the ice cream all of its flavour (well, that and the cream, of course!).

2 C heavy cream (35% cream)
2 C whole milk
1 2-inch piece vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 egg yolks
1/2 C sugar
2 tbsp. vanilla extract

1.  Combine cream and milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add vanilla bean and heat until mixture almost boils, about 5-8 minutes.  Reduce heat to low.

2.  Meanwhile beat yolks, sugar and vanilla extract in a small bowl until light yellow and smooth, about 1-2 minutes.
  

3.  Add 4 tbsp. hot cream/milk mixture and stir until combined.  Gradually add egg yolk mixture to warm cream mixture, stirring continuously to prevent the eggs from curdling.  

4.  Cook over low heat until slightly thickened and mixture coats the back of a spoon, about 3-4 minutes.  

5.  Cool completely (place mixture in a covered container and store in the refrigerator overnight.  Or chill over an ice bath for about 30 minutes if you wish to make ice cream right away).  

6.  When cool, scrape seeds from vanilla bean and add to ice cream mixture.  Discard bean shell.  Stir until well combined.  Pour into freezer bowl, turn the machine on and let mix until mixture thickens, about 20-25 minutes.  If desired, transfer ice cream to an air tight container and place in freezer until firm, about 2 hours.

Variations:  

- add 1/2 C of butterscotch or chocolate chips during the last 5 minutes of mixing.

- add 1/2 C of crushed chocolate sandwich cookies during the last 5 minutes of mixing.

- add 1/2 C of crushed peppermint candies during the last 5 minutes of mixing.

Makes 10 1/2-cup servings

Difficulty level: moderate