I am not much of an ice cream person, but I do occasionally enjoy eating Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia. It’s a tasty blend of cherry flavored ice cream (or frozen yogurt) and cherry and chocolate chunks mixed in. So good, but definitely not vegan and probably not very good for me. I’ve really been thinking hard lately about a good way to veganize an ice cream recipe without using a ton of soy creamer or soy milk. The yucky aftertaste of soy creamer was one of the reasons I was able to give up coffee to easily, and I wanted to come up with a creamy alternative that would give the ice “cream” the richness that a dairy ice cream has.

The other morning, I was flipping through my copy of The Joy of Vegan Baking on an unrelated recipe hunt when I happened to came across a recipe for a sweet cashew cream. The recipe reminded me of the cashew cheese recipe and I thought that it would be the perfect substitute that I’ve been looking for. Without further ado, my sous chef (see photo- she’s stirring the ice “cream” while it cooks) and I got down to business. Our ice “cream” turned out really good; although, the texture of the cashew cream made it slightly gritty. I really did my best to puree the cashews as smooth as possible, but I think I will strain it next time to remove the remaining cashew bits. All in all, I’m very pleased with how this turned out and I’m looking forward to trying it out with other flavors.

Chocolate Cherry Ice “Cream”

1 recipe cashew cream ( from The Joy of Vegan Baking)

2 cups frozen sweet cherries, whole

1 cup turbinado sugar

pinch salt

2 cups rice milk (or other non-dairy milk)

1 tsp vanilla

2 TB arrowroot

1 cup vegan chocolate chips

Puree half of the cherries until smooth in a food processor. Remove and set aside. Use the food processor to coarsely chop the rest of the cherries. Remove and return to the freezer. In a medium sauce pan, combine the rice milk, sugar, salt. In a small bowl, dissolve the arrowroot powder with about 1/4 cup of the rice milk. Add this slurry mixture to the sauce pan. Cook over medium heat until the mixture bubbles and thickens, stirring constantly. When the mixture has thickened, remove from the heat and add the cherry puree and the cashew cream. Cover and refrigerate for several hours. When the mixture is cold, add it to your ice cream maker and follow the manufacturers instructions. When the ice cream is thick and frozen (but not too firm), add the chopped cherries and chocolate chips. Continue to churn until the desired consistency is reached.