Since it is blackberry season now it makes a lot of sense to use them in as many dishes as you can. I tend to pick blackberries on my own. It is fun, easy to do and you end up with way more than you can eat - for free! So why not make some blackberry ice cream in advance for the following weeks. All you need is a good ice cream base, a bit of patience and a portion of fully ripe blackberries.
So here it goes, my home made vegan blackberry ripple ice cream. Feel free to swap the sweetener for anything you like but don’t skip the sieving process of the berries.
Vegan Blackberry Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 2 cans full fat coconut milk can size : 400ml (13-15oz)
- 4 tablespoon cane sugar or any other light coloured sweetener
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon arrow root powder
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 300 g blackberries fresh or frozen
- 2 tablespoon cane sugar or sweetener of your preference
Instructions
- Pour the contents of the coconut milk cans into a saucepan. If it is the first time you use coconut milk in cans then don’t be alarmed by seeing a thick layer of rather solid cream and a big part of milky water. That is normal. It happens because the coconut milk separates inside the can. Take a whisk and stir until everything is evenly combined.
- Take about 125 ml (½ cup) of the coconut milk out of the pan and set aside in a small bowl. Add the arrow root powder to the small portion of coconut milk in the small bowl. The arrowroot powder will make sure the base thickens once this is added to the bigger pan. Mix until it is perfectly combined and place aside for now.
- Return to the saucepan and add the sugar, salt and vanilla. Gently heat over low to medium heat and stir until the sweetener is dissolved and all is well combined. Heat until warm but not boiling.
- Pour the arrow root powder and coconut mixture into the warm coconut milk and whisk. Increase the heat to medium and keep whisking – don’t leave the pot now. Make sure to whisk it every now and then while making sure the heat is not too high. It is crucial to never let it come to a boil.
- In about 5-7 minutes the arrow root powder will thicken the mixture and you will be left with a beautiful ice cream base that only needs chilling in the fridge. You will know it is done when you can draw a line with a fingertip on the back of a wooden spoon.
- I chill my ice cream base in a small metal bowl and place a plate on top of it. You will have a small layer of skin forming on the top of the mixture though you can prevent that by stirring it every 10 minutes while it cools down. It is not necessary though because the processing in the ice cream machine usually takes care of it.
- While the ice cream base is cooling down in the fridge place the blackberries into a saucepan. Add two tablespoon cane sugar and gently heat until they start to fall apart and liquify. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Strain the mixture through a sieve and discard the seeds. Add the pure liquid back to the pot and simmer until it is reduced to half the volume. If you do not strain the seeds away then you will have a very gritty ice cream.
- The ice cream base should be fully cooled down before you pour it into your ice cream maker. Depending on the type of ice cream maker that you have you will have to cool its bowl a day in advance. Simply read the instructions of your ice cream maker. I bought an extra bowl with mine so I always have one stashed in the freezer for instant use.
- Once the base has cooled take it out of the fridge and pour it into your ice cream maker and run it until the ice cream is nearly formed. Transfer the soft ice cream it to a container and drizzle the blackberry sauce on top. Take a fork and gently fold it into the mixture to create swirls. Don't overdo it or you will end up with a uniform colour instead of a nice marbled pattern.
- Cover it with wax paper to leave it in the freezer for another 2 hours. Doing this will give you the perfect ice cream that can be scooped neatly. To serve take it out of the freezer for a few minutes to soften. Scoop it into bowls and serve with fresh berries if you have.
Nutrition
Luis Tanvaza
That was incredible! Can you make a mint chip version?