Salted Caramel Ice Cream

Last Tuesday I lay awake in bed, way past my bedtime, dreaming of making vegan ice cream. I have wanted an ice cream maker for the longest time, so decided in my half dazed state that I would have one before the end of the week. I reached for my phone and, squinting, placed my order and rolled over to sleep. I collected my Krupps ice cream machine on Friday afternoon and have been grinning like a kid with a new pony all weekend.

So, to Christen my new appliance I decided to recreate my all time favourite flavour, Salted Caramel, using dates, coconut milk and Himalayan salt. The result was positively addictive and we have been sticking our heads in the freezer for a sneaky spoonful just about every hour!

Ingredients:

1 can light coconut milk
400ml soy milk
1 cup dates
2 tbs corn flour
2 tbs soya lecithin
1/2 cup xylitol or brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla essence
2 level tsp Himalayan salt (add more after tasting if necessary)

*Note: I have used one part light coconut milk and one part soy milk to keep the calories down. For a richer, creamier ice cream use two cans of full fat coconut milk instead.

If you are using an ice cream machine, pre-freeze the bowl for 24 hours.

In your measuring cup, soak the dates in boiling water for about 5 minutes so that they soften. Drain and place in a medium pot, along with all the other ingredients and blend until smooth with a stick blender. Heat the mixture, but don't allow it to boil, and stir continuously until it thickens to a creamy sauce consistency (note, at this point, this recipe can also be used as a hot caramel sauce, perhaps to use over future vanilla ice cream recipes).

Remove the pot from the heat and when completely cool, place in the fridge until chilled. Pour the batter into the ice cream maker and churn for 30-40 minutes. At this stage the ice cream will be a soft serve consistency, ready to be eaten immediately. If somehow you don't eat it all in one sitting, the rest will freeze nicely and still be perfectly scoopable.

If you are not using an ice cream machine, place the chilled mixture in the freezer and stir thoroughly every hour or two until it is frozen. It should retain its softness, but if not leave it out of the freezer for about 15 minutes before scooping. 

Serve with fresh strawberries, or with bananas and whipped non-dairy cream for a frozen banoffie pie dessert!

Makes approximately a litre of ice cream.