A luxuriously creamy, deeply rich coffee-flavored vegan ice cream. An easy, no churn, refined sugar-free recipe. Sprinkled with some cacao nibs and smoked salt flakes for the ultimate finish.
Coffee haters need not apply btw -- this is one strongly coffee-flavored treat! :)
I used baking espresso powder here, as opposed to other coffee alternatives. I know it's a little hard to find sometimes (I buy mine online, I linked to the exact brand I use in the recipe below), but if you can get some -- it's worth it.
I use it to enhance many of my recipes (like this raw tiramisu, these espresso chocolates, or this caramel cheesecake). It's a much more potent flavor, as compared to using brewed coffee or coffee grounds (it's ground superfine and blends in seamlessly).
But, in a pinch, try this recipe with instant coffee instead and just taste the blended ice cream mixture to adjust the coffee flavor to taste prior to freezing.
An ice cream recipe in April might seem a touch odd... but I fractured my arm a week and a half ago (ouch), and am currently in a cast... which makes baking (or doing pretty much anything worth doing for that matter) kind of prohibitive.
I was bouncing ideas for things I could make using my left arm, and a friend suggested coffee ice cream. Which frankly sounded rather perfect!
And indeed, this recipe is so easy, you can do it with one arm, and your non-dominant one at that :P -- Just throw stuff in a blender, freeze, enjoy! I did require my husband's help opening a few jars and scooping the ready ice cream for me, but on the whole this recipe level is: easy-peasy.
The hard part is waiting for it to set... and also to thaw out and make it easily scoopable. It's cold here still, and I had to have the container sit at room temp on the counter for about half an hour to soften up... But the wait was worth it. This coffee ice cream flavor here turned out phenomenal.
Quick note on this recipe: I used my older style Vitamix here, the kind with the taller narrower pitcher, which works perfectly for small-batch recipes like this one. If you have one of the newer low profile Vitamixes or a blender with a pitcher that's wide at the bottom, you'll want to double the recipe for things to blend through properly. Otherwise you'll likely end up with a grainy mixture and end product.
P.s. I adapted this recipe from my vanilla and salted caramel ice cream -- another recipe you might want to try out sometime!
PrintCoffee Ice Cream
A luxuriously creamy, deeply rich coffee flavored vegan ice cream. An easy, no churn, refined sugar-free recipe.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: ~ 3 cups
- Category: Ice Cream
- Method: No-Churn
- Cuisine: Dessert
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
Ice Cream
Make sure all ingredients are at room temp before getting started*
- 2 cups raw cashews, pre-soaked and strained**
- ½ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 4 tbsp coconut oil, liquefied
- 2 tbsp espresso powder
- 1 tbsp tapioca starch
- 1 tsp raw ground vanilla bean (or 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract)
- ¾ tsp salt
Optional Toppings:
- a sprinkle of cacao nibs
- a sprinkle of smoked salt flakes
Instructions
- Blend all ice cream ingredients into a smooth consistency in a high power blender.
- Transfer this mixture into a glass tupperware container. I used one that's 6" x 6", but anything of a similar size will do.
- Freeze for 5-6 hours to set (or overnight). Thaw out until scoopable, scoop, sprinkle with desired toppings (if using), and enjoy!
Notes
*It's important all ingredients are at room temp before getting started, as anything cold in the mixture will cause some ingredients to harden up in the blender and not blend through smoothly.
**To pre-soak nuts: place in a glass bowl, cover with water, and leave to soak for 4 hours (or overnight in the fridge). Then strain and discard the water.
For a quick pre-soak, cover with boiled water and soak for 15 mins, then strain and discard water. (Note: this technique doesn’t preserve the nutrition of the recipe as well as the traditional soaking technique above).
Note: the purpose of soaking the nuts is to re-hydrate them and plump them up for blending into a smooth, cheesecake-like consistency. Proper soaking techniques also maximize nutrition and digestibility. If you’re interested in learning more about nut soaking and other dessert prep tips and tricks, I delve into these subjects in detail in my book Unconventional Treats.
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