This ice cream is creamy, sweet and full of chocolate chunks and mint flavor; in other words it’s everything ice cream should be and MORE. The “more” is because it’s also vegan and made with ingredients that my body actually likes. —EvE
SERVES 4 TO 6
CHOCOLATE CHUNKS
2 tbsp (28 g) coconut oil
4 tbsp (60 ml) maple syrup
2 tbsp (14 g) cacao powder
2 tbsp (30 ml) water, as needed
ICE CREAM
1 cup (75 g) fresh young coconut meat
¾ cup (180 ml) coconut water, as needed
2 tbsp (28 g) coconut oil
1 cup (110 g) cashews, soaked for 3 hours in water, then rinsed
¼ cup (27 g) coconut sugar
¼ cup (15 g) tightly packed mint
¼ tsp spirulina powder (optional)
FOR THE CHOCOLATE CHUNKS
Melt the coconut oil, and then stir all the ingredients together, adding water as needed to get it nice and smooth. Pour it onto a plate and place in the freezer until solid. Chop it into chunks and leave in the fridge. Go ahead and make more if you want. I did, and then drizzled it on top before scooping the finished ice cream into bowls.
FOR THE ICE CREAM
Blend everything together, adding coconut water as needed. You want it to have the consistency of thick yogurt. Stir in the chocolate chunks by hand. Pour it into an ice-cream maker and follow its instructions. Or, if you don’t have an ice-cream maker (like me), pour it into a container and put it in the freezer, taking it out and stirring everything up every 30 minutes until you get ice cream.
VARIATIONS
Use coconut butter instead of coconut oil; use water instead of coconut water; use dried coconut meat instead of fresh coconut meat; use avocado instead of cashews; use 1 (13½-oz [400-ml]) can of coconut milk instead of the coconut meat, coconut water and coconut oil.