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dairy-free bittersweet chocolate ice cream

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Raise your hand if you like chocolate ice cream. Keep it up if you love it but can’t have dairy!

dairyfree chocolate ice cream

dairy-free bittersweet chocolate ice cream

Okay now keep your hand up if you like to make ice cream every time you want a bowl of it.

Right.

Anyone who has dabbled in the world of dairy-free ice cream has probably felt the elation that comes with tasting ice cream fresh out of the ice cream maker. Super creamy, like soft serve. Yum. And then you put it in the freezer. And then the next day, you suddenly remember that YOU MADE ICE CREAM YESTERDAY. YAY! (You might even proclaim this out loud, if you’re anything like me)

And then. You RUN to the kitchen, open the freezer and retrieve the ice cream that isn’t yet a day old. And you try to scoop it. But you can’t. Because your ice cream has turned into a brick. Womp Womp.

dairyfree chocolate ice cream
I know. You want this cone recipe. But while it worked great for a photo shoot, it is far from perfect, or even decent. Stay tuned…

I researched several chocolate ice cream recipes in the process of perfecting this dairy-free treat. Here is what I came up with:

  • Fat. Ice cream isn’t 100% fat. Most recipes include both milk and cream. I have to assume there is a reason for that. Fat helps the ice cream remain creamy, but it also tends to freeze solid, especially when we’re talking about coconut. For this reason, I opted to go with cashew milk instead. I didn’t go so far as to calculate the fat percentage of coconut milk vs cashew milk. I just went with my intuition on this one. Feel free to experiment with coconut milk for a nut-free option. I will someday, but am already obsessing about something else.
  • Booze. It’s the magic ingredient. It doesn’t freeze, which means it keeps ice cream from freezing solid, helping to maintain the creamy texture we all know and love.
  • Eggs. I know there will be some questions about an egg-free version of this recipe. I do not have one. There are, however, vegan ice cream recipes that you could try if eggs are an issue. I was going for a frozen custard, here, so eggs were a must.

And you’ll need an ice cream maker; Cuisinart makes some good ones.

If you’re actually reading this, I’m sincerely impressed. The last thing I’ll add is that this ice cream is crazy rich. I can do some damage to a pint of ice cream, but find myself eating tiny scoops of this in tiny cups. A little bit goes a long way.

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dairy-free bittersweet chocolate ice cream

chocolate ice cream
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creamy (yes, really!) dairy-free chocolate ice cream

  • Author: zenbelly
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10-15 minutes, plus time to chill + freeze
  • Total Time: 45 minutes, plus time to chill + freeze
  • Yield: 1 quart
  • Category: dessert

Ingredients

  • 1 cup raw cashews
  • 2 cups filtered water
  • 1 ¼  cups coconut sugar
  • 10 egg yolks (preferably pastured eggs)
  • ¼ t salt
  • ¾ C cacao powder
  • 2 T cognac
  • 1 T + 1 t vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Soak the cashews in 2 cups of filtered water for 30 minutes, then blend for one minute, or until very smooth.
  2. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks, salt, and coconut sugar until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is creamy.
  3. After blending the cashew milk, transfer to a medium sauce pan and add the cacao powder, whisk to combine and heat over medium-low heat or until steaming. Stir constantly to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
  4. Pour one ladle (about 4 ounces) of the steaming milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture. Stir, and then slowly pour the warmed yolks into the pan.
  5. Heat over low heat for 2-3 minutes, or until thickened. Once it is the consistency of warm pudding, pour the custard into a clean bowl set inside an ice bath.
  6. Stir until cool and then add the cognac and vanilla extract.
  7. At this point, you can either continue to cool the custard in the fridge for several hours or until very cold. OR you can be impatient like me, and continue to stir it in the ice bath until it’s very cold.
  8. Transfer to an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer’s instructions.


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Comments

  4. OF COURSE….The cone recipe will HAVE to appear…pretty please?!…This is sheer chocolate nirvana…and the fudgesicle idea is stellar….The cognac and cashew milk marry fabulously with the cocoa. The photos clinch the affair. This is SUCH a “win” in your vast repertoire…Count me…impressed!

    Reply

  5. Oh lord… This looks exactly like the chocolate gelato In Italy that I couldn’t have due to dairy! Must try. Thank you for your well-researched recipes. They’re great!

    Reply

    • Not sure yet! I’m still working on the recipe… I got them to the point of looking good for the photo, but they definitely need some work. Trying to make it work without getting a special waffle cone iron.

      Reply

  8. A-mazing!!!!!!!!!! That’s all I have to say! Rich and decadent and silky. Divine… Truly! My favorite icecream recipe to date!

    Reply

    • Thanks for the feedback. It actually doesn’t use too many eggs, it uses the correct amount to get the desired end result, which is rich and creamy ice cream. If you’d rather make ice cream without eggs, I’d recommend following an egg-free recipe. There are a bunch out there.

      Reply

      • Hi thanks for getting back to me. I buy Organic Pasture raised eggs at $8 a dozen so using 10 of them seems like a lot. When you say there are bunch, I have tried a bunch. I was looking for one that would stay creamy and not icy or hard as a rock.

      • I know it’s pricey when you buy good eggs! They’re worth it though for sure. Have you tried any of the Spunky Coconut’s ice creams? Or Brittany Angell’s? I know they have some vegan ones that use things other than eggs as the softener.

    • The alcohol keeps it from freezing solid; I’m not sure what else would do that. You could experiment with gelatin maybe? Or just leave it out and allow it to sit at room temp for a bit before scooping 🙂

      Reply

  14. Hi! I would like to make this this weekend, but I don’t have an ice cream maker. I’ve seen other ice cream recipes where you put the ice cream in the freezer and then stir every 30 minutres to an hour. Do you think that would work with this recipe?

    Reply

    • I can’t say for sure, because I haven’t done it that way, but I don’t see why not! It might not be as smooth, but I’m pretty sure it will still be really good. 🙂 Please let me know how it turns out if you try it!

      Reply

  15. Do you think I could soak the cashews in cold brew for a coffee ice cream and possibly leave out the cocoa? I have backyard chickens and they started laying before I got in the mood for fritatas and this seems like a great way to use up a couple days worth but my husband isn’t a huge fan of chocolate ice cream and I love that this isn’t vegan or use coconut milk… If the chocolate serves some other purposes besides flavor I may just make it for myself.

    Reply

    • I think that could definitely work, yes! I bet it will be delish. Keep in mind that cocoa is bitter, so the amount of sweetener in the recipe reflected balancing out that. You might need less without the cocoa. Please let me know how it turns out!

      Reply

  16. What do you think about substituting macadamias for cashews? I ask because I’m trying to reduce my lectin load and have recently found out that cashews are lectin bombs (I know, I’m dismayed too).

    Reply

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