this month, those boozers over at the recipe redux challenged us to use some spirits in our recipes.
clearly, i’ve been on a dairy-free ice cream kick this summer. there’ve been the chocolate ice cream sandwiches (with a banana-based ice cream), the mango-orange julius coconut milk ice cream (with coconut milk base) and now this beauty.
with as much humility as i can muster in the midst of my excitement, i truly feel i have cracked the code of dairy-free ice cream. though i greatly enjoy the banana and coconut milk based ice creams, and even the store-bought rice/almond milk ice creams, i’m always slightly saddened by their iciness and rock-hard frozen states right out of the freezer.
so here’s my discovery…
the coffee creamer has a nice creaminess to start, with just a tad of sweetness and vanilla flavor. the cornstarch allows this recipe to remain egg-free, and results in a smoothness similar to the sicilian gelato style. not to mention, no stressful tempering of egg yolks into scalding liquids. lastly, the little shot of vodka is almost more for protection against freezing too hard than for flavor, though that subtle layer of flavor is pretty nice. i imagine kahlua would be a delicious twist too, but i didn’t have any on hand.
this is truly, honestly the very best dairy-free ice cream i’ve ever had.
if you are like me and dairy is no friend and you love ice cream, then you must. you must!
Chocolate Love Gelato
Ingredients
- 1 pint So Delicious french vanilla coconut milk coffee creamer divided
- 7 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup very hot coffee
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon vodka
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
Instructions
- Heat 1 1/2 cups coffee creamer in a medium saucepan until just simmering.
- While creamer heats, stir together chocolate chips and hot coffee until chocolate is melted; set aside.
- Stir together remaining 1/2 cup coffee creamer, cornstarch and salt with a wire whisk until smooth.
- When coffee creamer in saucepan is just simmering, stir in cornstarch mixer. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring with a whisk until mixture thickens and is glugging with bubbles. Remove from heat and stir in melted chocolate mixture. Stir in vodka and vanilla.
- Transfer to a bowl; allow to cool a bit, stirring to keep a film from forming on the top of the mixture. Place plastic wrap over the surface and chill for 8 hours or overnight.
- Transfer chilled mixture (should be pudding-like) to the bowl of an ice cream maker. Churn according to manufacturer's instructions.
- Transfer to an 8-inch metal loaf pan and freeze for at least 3 hours. Indulge and enjoy!
*greatly adapted from this epicurious recipe.
to see the other contributers to this month’s redux, click link below…
