Recipe of the Week: Chocolate Mocha Ice Cream

I know that this is technically the second 'Recipe of the Week' that I post but what can I say... New concoctions are starting to pile up again and I'm itching to share them! lol

A couple of days ago I stumbled upon a coffee ice cream recipe I had jotted down at Gayle's in Portland. Sounded mighty good to me. Alrighty then, time to put our new ice cream maker to work! (How did I survive without one of those for so long!?!)

One common issue that I've noticed with ice creams is that the mixtures tend to be 'crystally' rather than creamy if there isn't a high enough fat content. I was concerned that this was going to be the case with this recipe and, well, one thing led to another and I ended up giving it a few extra tweaks.

The combination of coffee and chocolate couldn't help but bring to my mind the rich flavors of Tiramisu. I decided to serve it as a Tiramisu Sundae; layering the ice cream with Whipped Cream I had already made and topping it with cacao nibs and sifted cacao powder. Need I say more?


Chocolate Mocha Ice Cream

Makes 1 quart

1 1/2 cups cashews
1 cup young coconut meat
2 cups almond milk
1 cup water
1/4 cup dates
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup + 1 tbs coffee substitute powder (such as Krakus or Inka)
1/3 cup melted coconut oil
3 tbs cacao powder
1/4 tsp sea salt

Blend all ingredients until smooth.

Chill mixture in fridge or freezer then process through ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Alternatively, freeze in ice cube trays until solid and then process through a champion juicer with a blank plate or high-speed blender.

Carmella's Notes:
~ If you wish you could use only maple syrup or agave.

~ For a Tiramisu Sundae: I placed some of the mixture straight out of the ice cream maker in a pretty glass bowl, followed by a Whipped Cream layer and more Chocolate Mocha Ice Cream. I placed the bowls in the freezer to set then finished off with Whipped Cream pipped on top, a few cacao nibs and sifted cacao powder.

Enjoy!


Keeping with the theme of decadent frozen desserts, I'll leave you with a photo of the Banana Toffee Ice Cream I made from Matthew Kenney's upcoming Everyday Raw Desserts. This was sooooo good! I had a bit of a hard time with the toffee, as the texture remained soft even after sitting in the freezer for hours. This turned out to be a bonus; when I served the ice cream the toffee had somehow melted on the inside!