Summer has officially arrived in England. What makes it official is the fact that everyone is suffering from the current heatwave. Well, not everyone. Mediterranean lil’ me is as happy as can be. Anything below 20°C (70°F) is classified as cold in my book, so the current 30°C (85°F) is a more than welcome change. Initially, I planned on making brownies today, but not even I can be bothered to look at a hot oven on a day like this, so I switched it up a bit and turned the brownies into vegan brownie bites in chocolate ice cream.
Hot weather or not, when I want chocolate, I go for it, and I tend to make it work. This time I turned raw brownie batter into delicious, frozen nuggets. Technically it is not real brownie batter because you can not use the recipe for these for baking. However, they taste like the real deal and contain nothing but healthy goodness.
Walnuts, dates, cocoa powder and pecans blitzed into a sticky dough. I would say they might even make a delicious treat on their own, but these little nuggets went straight into the ice cream. Sort of. Most of them at least made it into the ice cream. I guess the elegant way to deal with this would be to just leave it at that to save me further embarrassment but I love chocolate, so here it goes: I ate about a good third of them, and I have no regrets. #NoShame
If you like ice cream, brownies and rich chocolate flavours, then this is a dessert for you. Cold, creamy with chewy chunks of tasty brownie batter and a generous amount of real, dark chocolate. The only thing that could be missing is a few raspberries. Those little fruits work incredibly well with the flavour of dark chocolate. This ice cream might take some prepping time, but it is very easily made and worth the effort. So make a batch of these for friends or just for yourself and have a slice of vegan brownie bites in chocolate ice cream and enjoy the summer while it’s here.
- For the ice cream:
- 2 cans full fat coconut milk*, can size: 400ml (13-15oz)
- 1 tbsp arrowroot powder
- 160 g (5.5oz) dark chocolate, 75%
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- 3 tbsp sugar
- For the brownie chunks:
- 150g walnuts (1½ cups) walnuts
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch teaspoon fine sea salt
- 150 g (1 cup) dates, pitted
- 1 tbsp agave
- 1tbsp cocoa powder, for dusting the brownies
- Pour the contents of the coconut milk cans into a saucepan. If it is the first time you use coconut milk in a can then don’t be alarmed by seeing a thick layer of a 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 (1/2 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.
- Add the sugar, cocoa powder and the chocolate pieces to the coconut milk. Gently heat and whisk until chocolate has melted and sugar is fully dissolved. Pour the arrow root powder and coconut mixture into the pot. Increase the heat to medium and keep whisking – don’t leave the pot now. Make sure to whisk it now and then while making sure the temperature is not too high. It is crucial never to 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, place the ingredients for the brownie chunks in a food processor and process until you got a smooth, sticky mass. Form small or larger chunks and put them in a slightly greased baking tin. They will feel very squishy and sticky but don't worry. Their consistency will be perfect once frozen. Place the brownie chunks in the freezer.
- The ice cream base should be fully cooled down before you pour it into your ice cream maker. Now all you have to do is follow the instructions of your ice cream machine.
- Once the ice cream is ready, transfer the ice cream into a lightly greased brownie tin. Alternatively, you can line the tin with baking paper. This is necessary so you can lift the ice cream brownies out without breaking them. Fold the raw brownie chunks into the ice cream and spread it out evenly like you would do it with brownie batter. Cover the ice cream with wax paper**. Leave it in the freezer for another 2 hours. Doing this will give you perfectly slice-able ice cream brownies. To serve to take your ice cream brownies out of the freezer for a few minutes to soften. Dust them lightly with cocoa powder, slice and serve with fresh raspberries if you have.
**Covering the ice cream base with wax paper or baking paper prevents ice crystals from forming on top of it.
*** Nutritional information is based on the products and brands that I use.
Oh yum now those brownies look absolutely delicious, I could most definitely see myself trying out your recipe as they look like some of the best!
Wow this looks delicious! I´d love to have one know… I guess I have to bake tonight 🙂
mmmmmm. I want this right now!!! Looks so good. Ice cream is my favourite stuff on the planet. Thanks for sharing!
I definitely love anything with chocolate! Your recipe sounds super tasty and super decadent.
This looks absolutely delicious! I am going to try this recipe out coz it is just perfect with the weather we’re having right now! xx corinne
Well, you had me at chocolate, these look so gorgeous, especially with ice cream.
Oh my goodness, these look amazing! I will definitely need to try them out!
This looks so delicious. I am always looking for new vegan recipes to try. will have to get the ingredients I need to make some this weekend.
These brownies look absolutely delicious. I will be saving this post so I can try them out in the future.
This looks delicious and the recipe seems so easy!
Ooo I’m drooling. These look so delicious. I’m not vegan, but I’d still want to try them out.
This looks absolutely delicious!!!! ? they look fluffy! Mm!
These look delicious! I could eat chocolate all day every day, regardless if it’s hot out or not!
Haha! … you are my type of person! – Love, G. =D
I love brownies, they are weak my spot. These look delicious and don’t even look vegan. I do like that they are vegan. Will try this recipe for sure.
Now that is what I would call a super treat. I love the combination of chewy, cold, vegan based desserts. I must try this one. 🙂
These brownie bites look amazing. They look rich and creamy. Will have to try make this some time as this looks amazing.
Yum! You can’t go wrong with chocolate. I’m never had a completely vegan dessert before but I think this one would be the perfect one to try!
The brownie looks delicious. I want to make this asap. Thanks for sharing.
XOXO //SINCERELY OPHELIA | NYC Petite Fashion Blogger
Oh my gosh, this just look like the perfect dessert to me. It looks so divine!
Wow these brownies looks delicious ? i would like to learn this recipe. Mom will be proud!
I need definitely make these as soon as possible! Thanks for sharing
And….. I JUST GOT WEAK IN THE KNEES!
Haha.. my most favourite blog comment I received to this day! =D – Love, G.