One of my sweetie pie’s favorite sayings when it comes to vegan food is, “just because it’s vegan, doesn’t mean it’s healthy.” Here’s an example of vegan “junk food” that is mighty tasty. On the upside, I can easily pronounce all the ingredients in this recipe, so it’s not junk in that sense.
Just out of curiosity, I calculated how much it costs to make this recipe. Turns out it’s about $7.50 for this amount, which I think is about 1.5 quarts, so about $5 per quart, $2.50 per pint. Next time I make it, I’ll be sure to weigh the final product. I used non-organic vanilla extract, but otherwise, it’s all organic. It does take some planning ahead so I have a feeling the organic vegan coconut soft serve at our co-op will still win out occasionally because of the convenience factor, but I like the taste of mine better than the chocolate soft serve at the co-op. Maybe I’ll need to try making plain vanilla sometime so I can do a swirl and perhaps a taste-off.
Ingredients
27 oz. coconut milk (2 cans)
1 cup sugar
½ cup cocoa powder
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
If you use an ice cream freezer with a freezable base, it’s a good idea to put your ice cream freezer bowl into the freezer the day before you plan to make ice cream. I know it says it can be ready in 4 hours, but letting it go longer will ensure it’s thoroughly chilled. It doesn’t hurt to let the ice cream base chill for 24 hours in the fridge, either.
Whisk coconut milk, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt together in saucepan over medium heat. Cook about 10 minutes or until it thickens slightly. Remove from heat, add vanilla, and transfer to a glass container to cool. When it reaches room temperature, put in fridge and wait until it’s well chilled. If using a bowl, place plastic wrap directly on surface of base to prevent skin from forming.
When base is sufficiently cooled, prepare according to ice cream maker directions. It took 30 minutes in mine for melty soft serve consistency and I seasoned it for 2 hours in the freezer until it reached good scooping consistency. In the picture above, it has fresh roasted peanuts, strawberry spoon fruit, homemade chocolate syrup and coconut flakes.
