The Cool Conclusion: Vegan Sorbet and Ice Cream
Watermelon Sorbet, from The Best of Vegan Cooking by Priscilla Feral
Often, store-bought sorbet tastes more like sugar than the ingredient for which it is inspired: fresh fruit. Juicy watermelon makes this sorbet for four light and refreshing.
1 cup sugar syrup (see below)
4 cups seeded, chopped watermelon
¼ cup lime juice
½ tsp. grated lime zest
1 to 2 Tbsp. vodka
Preparation:
To make sugar syrup, combine 1 cup Florida Crystals (vegan sugar) with 1 cup water in saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook until sugar is dissolved, stirring occasionally. Set aside and cool to room temperature or refrigerate.
Purée the watermelon, sugar syrup, lime juice, zest and vodka in a blender until very smooth. Cover and refrigerate until cool; then churn in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.
Note: Vodka (or any other type of alcohol) produces a soft sorbet. Alcohol doesn’t freeze and adding a small amount keeps the sorbet from getting icy. Vodka doesn’t affect the taste.
Putting the Cream Into Ice Cream
Next, we have a coconut-milk ice cream base, with a custard-like consistency, from Jake Dicus of Cleveland, Ohio. High fat-content coconut milks, such as Savoy Coconut Cream, parallel the fat content of premium ice creams. If the ice cream does not turn out to a desired consistency, more sugar or alcohol (rum, brandy, or bourbon) will soften it. A thickening agent such as agar powder, xantham gum, or corn starch makes for an ice cream with a creamier mouth-feel.
In some cases the ice cream will need no thickening agent. Peanut butter ice cream is a good example. The peanut butter creates a thick base that doesn’t need any help with thickening. Chocolate ice cream made using lots of vegan dark chocolate is thick on its own from the fat in the chocolate. A coconut taste will come thru with subtle ice creams flavors like vanilla, so those are not the best choices with this recipe.
Ingredients:
Two 14-ounce cans of coconut milk
3/4 cup vegan sugar or other sweetener. Maple syrup complements maple-walnut ice cream; molasses is a good pick for oatmeal cookie ice cream. Remember: The more sweetener you add, the softer the ice cream.
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp agar powder (or a starch slurry of 2 Tbsp. corn starch mixed with ¼ cup cold non-dairy milk)
Preparation:
Put the coconut milk, sweetener, and salt into a medium saucepan. Heat medium-low, stirring frequently to dissolve the sweetener. This is also the point where you would add other flavor components such as those suggested from the list below.
Once the mixture is hot but not quite simmering, sprinkle the agar powder in and whisk to combine. Continue to whisk frequently until the mixture thickens, adjusting the heat as necessary so the mixture does not boil. When it thickens, remove the mixture from the heat.
Cool the mixture to room temperature and, optionally, run it through a fine mesh strainer to remove any lumps. Cover the mixture and refrigerate it until it cools completely. Freeze the mixture in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions. Place the ice cream in a container in the freezer for at least 2 hours to allow it to set up completely.
Ice creams using the base above:
Peanut Butter Ice Cream With Pretzels: Add one cup of creamy-style peanut butter and a half-teaspoon (½ tsp.) cinnamon to the coconut milk and sugar mixture and do not add the agar powder (as stated above, peanut butter also serves as the thickener). After the ice cream has come to room temperature, add 1 to 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and stir to incorporate. During the last 5 minutes of the ice cream machine’s cycle, add 1 to 2 cups of frozen vegan peanut butter filled pretzels. Serve with vegan chocolate sauce drizzled on top.
Spiced Pumpkin: Add one 14 oz. (414 ml.) can of pumpkin puree, one tablespoon (1 Tbsp.) cinnamon, one teaspoon (1 tsp.) ginger, a fourth-teaspoon (1/4 tsp.) nutmeg, and a half-teaspoon (½ tsp.) cayenne pepper (optional); or add one tablespoon (1 Tbsp.) pumpkin pie spice to the coconut milk sugar mixture. You can also replace ½ cup sugar with ¼ cup maple syrup and ¼ cup molasses. After the ice cream has come to room temperature, add 1 to 2 teaspoons each of vanilla extract and bourbon (optional) and stir to incorporate. During the last 5 minutes of the ice cream machine’s cycle, add 1 cup of frozen vegan spiced nuts, pralines, or walnuts.
Cardamom, Rose Water, Pistachio Ice Cream: Add 2 teaspoons of ground cardamom to the coconut milk sugar mixture. Once the mixture cools to room temperature, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of rose water and stir to incorporate. During the last 5 minutes of the ice cream machine’s cycle, add in 1 cup of frozen pistachios.
PHOTO: Pandan ice cream with rum-soaked mango and black forbidden rice, by Jake Dicus
Pandan Ice Cream with Mango and Forbidden Rice: Add ¼ to ½ teaspoon of pandan extract (available at some Asian markets; also called screw pine extract) to the coconut milk and sugar mixture. This will turn the
mixture pale green. Adjust sugar and pandan extract to taste.
While the mixture is cooling according to the above instructions, peel one large
mango and separate the flesh from the pit. Finely dice the fruit. Larger pieces will freeze solid in the ice cream as fruity ice cubes. Macerating the mango in a tablespoon of sugar dissolved in two tablespoons of rum for at least 15 minutes will help to soften the mango when frozen. Spread on a sheet of wax paper placed in a container that will fit in your freezer and freeze. Now make the rice. Forbidden rice or purple sticky rice is available at many supermarkets and Asian markets. Put ¼ cup of uncooked rice into a small saucepan and cook according to its directions (but substitute coconut milk for the water or other cooking liquid and add ½ cup sugar). Once the rice is tender, you may need to add more coconut milk to get the consistency of soupy oatmeal.
When it has cooled, blend the rice pudding in a food processor or blender to break up the rice kernels. Thoroughly chill the rice pudding mixture. Make the ice cream according to the manufacturer’s directions. In the last five minutes add the frozen mango. Pre-freeze
a freezer-safe container large enough to hold your ice cream. Starting with ice cream, alternate layers of ice cream and rice pudding in the container so you have two or more layers of rice pudding. Freeze for at least two hours to allow the ice cream to fully set up. Enjoy after a great vegan Thai meal.