Vegan Chocolate Ice Creams

I am not a vegan. I'm not even a vegetarian. But I do believe that there are many reasons to generally avoid animal products a good deal of the time - for me religion, the ecologic impact and trying to avoid animal cruelty are good enough reasons to find alternatives. Plus, while I love ice cream and cheese - dairy products are just weird. I don't like to think about it too much. But let me climb down from this soapbox and share with you two recipes for vegan chocolate frozen goodness.

I made the first one for our Relief Society's Ice Cream Social last week. I literally just googled "vegan chocolate ice cream" and found a vegan rocky road that I altered.  But instead of tasting ice creamy - it tasted like a sorbetto (the more intense and flavorful version of a sorbet. home girl knows her ice creams.) and it was super chocolatey.

Vegan Chocolate Sorbetto
3 cups coconut milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 T arrowroot
1 t vanilla extract
1 t chocolate extract

Combine 1/4 cup coconut milk with arrowroot powder in a small bowl and set aside. Put remaining 2 3/4 cup of the coconut milk in a saucepan with sugar and chocolate chips over medium heat, stirring enough to not burn the chocolate.  Have the mixture just come to the boiling point, then remove from heat. Immediately add arrowroot mixture and vanilla and chocolate extracts. Stir until well incorporated. Then chill completely and put it in your ice cream maker.


Then last night, I was hanging out with my good buddy Birgitte and she made almond milk chocolate ice cream that was SO, SO, SO tasty. I thought about going back over today to steal some more. She was good enough to email me her recipe.

Chocolate Almond Milk Ice Cream

2 c almond milk-- chocolate is best

3/4 C sugar

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp xanthum gum

 

Combine  1 cup milk, sugar and cacao in a saucepan over medium heat.  Whisk to get the cocoa and sugar to dissolve.  Bring to a slow boil.  Remove form heat and sit for one minute.  Mix in the rest of the milk and vanilla extract.  Pour into blender, add xanthum gum into blender. Mix for 1 minute.  (Here's where Birgitte was so much smarter than me. To cool it off, she poured the mixture into a shallow pan and put it in the freezer for a few minutes. Worked like a charm.) Pour into ice cream maker.

 

Two totally different textures and depths of flavor, two totally delightful ice cream substitutes.