salted chocolate truffle vegan ice cream

Okey dokey! Instagram has spoken and my audience has chosen for me to post my newest (and probably best) ice cream flavor. Smart choice, people! I've been playing with ice cream recipes all summer, and have worked up a damn good base, to which any assortments of flavors or mix-ins can be added.

The original vanilla base, I'll post when I write up my Cookies n' Cream recipe (that got less votes on my instagram poll) some other day. The base is pretty much the same as this one, except that I had to bump up the sugar to balance out the bitter/salty chocolate, to achieve a perfectly rich and decadent ice cream, with varying texture and a nice salty hit.

Quick notes:

• Make sure you have an ice cream maker.
• Also to make this recipe right, you need about half a day or so. So plan for that.
• If you don't have a high-powered blender, you can use a regular blender, then, after the blending step, pass the mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove any unprocessed cashew pieces. Then proceed with the heating/thickening process.

Makes about 3 cups

1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked at least 1 hour (overnight, if you don't have a high-powered blender), drained, and rinsed
1/2 cup water
14 ounce can coconut milk (regular, not the "lite" stuff)
3/4 cup, plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 cup dutch process coco powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon arrowroot powder
pinch salt
1 batch Simple Salted Truffles (recipe below)

Into a (preferably) high-powered blender, add cashews, water, coconut milk, sugar, coco powder, vanilla, arrowroot, and salt. Blend until smooth, about 1 minute, scraping down the sides to incorporate any coco powder stuck to the jar.

Transfer to a medium saucepan and heat on medium, stirring continually, until it just begins to bubble, at which point the arrowroot will activate and the mix will thicken to an almost pudding like consistency, 4 to 6 minutes.

Once thickened, immediately transfer to a wide, high-sided vessel, and stir it around for 3 to 4 minutes to promote quick cooling. Once cooled (it can still be a little warm), transfer to a container and cover tightly. Refrigerate at least 4 hours.

In the meantime prepare the ganache. It's hella easy! It's down below.

Add the chilled cashew/coconut mixture to your ice cream maker, and do whatever the maker's instructions say you have to do to make it into ice cream.

Once that is done, add some of the truffles and churn it to incorporate. Then add a few more, and repeat until all of them are in. If your style of mixer doesn't do a good job of incorporating the truffles, remove the ice cream from the machine, place it in a mixing bowl, and fold them in with a spatula as quickly as possible. The ice cream will melt fast!

Don't expect the truffles to be uniformly incorporated anyway. There will be darker streaks, clumps, swirls, balls and such throughout the final product.

Once the truffles are mixed in, add the ice cream to a container, tightly cover and place in the freezer at least 4 hours. It's fairly easy to scoop right out of the freezer, but letting it rest at room temperature for 5 minutes will make it a lot easier. Enjoy!

Simple Salted Truffles
2 ounces dark chocolate bar, roughly chopped.
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 teaspoon flaked or coarse sea salt
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

In a microwave safe bowl place the chocolate and milk. Heat on high 45 seconds, then let stand in the microwave 2 minutes. Whisk together until smooth. If it's not hot enough to completely melt the chocolate, heat it again for 10 seconds and whisk again until melted. Repeat if necessary.

Once melted and mixed, pass the ganache through a fine mesh strainer. This will ensure a consistent, silky smooth texture throughout.

Stir in salt and olive oil.  Allow to cool down at room temperature for 20 minutes, then cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour. 

Use a 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon to make little portions, then quickly roll them into balls between your palms, and place on a plate. Chill in the freezer, at least 30 minutes, or until the ice cream is ready.