Salted Caramel-Toffee Ice Cream (Dairy-Free)

I’m so sorry about the lack of recipes in these past weeks!! I’ve been extremely busy this summer (more so than I actually am during the school year) and I haven’t had much time to bake. Now, the business has eased up a bit, and I have some time to create recipes!

The recipe that I am sharing with you all today is very special and decadent.

This ice cream is completely dairy-free, refined sugar-free, and can be made nut-free by replacing the almond milk with hemp milk, or just some more coconut milk.

The toffee sort of turns into caramel when it gets stirred into the ice cream, creating a beautiful swirl, and a symphony of sweet.

Go make this, now!

Serves 6-10

Ingredients for the Ice Cream:

1 (13.5 oz) can full-fat coconut milk

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

2 Tbs raw honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

Ingredients for the Caramel-Toffee:

4 Tbs full-fat coconut milk

5 Tbs coconut sugar

1 Tbs palm shortening (or butter, or ghee)

¼ tsp real sea salt

 

Directions:

1.     In a blender, combine all the ice cream ingredients. Blend on high, until fully combined. Pour into a glass dish (I used a loaf  pan) and freeze until very cold.

2.     Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker, and process, per manufacturer’s instructions.

3.     Scoop the (now soft-serve-like) ice cream back into the loaf pan, cover with aluminum foil, and place in the freezer. Now, we’ll make the caramel-toffee.

4.     Place all the caramel-toffee ingredients in a small saucepan, over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil.

5.     Let it boil for about five minutes, or until it reaches 230 degrees F. (I used a candy thermometer for this.)

6.     Remove from heat, and let it cool for about a minute. Stir into the ice cream. The caramel will be very sticky. When it touches the ice cream, it will harden into toffee.

7.     Break up the little bits of toffee with your hands, and stir until it is fully incorporated with the ice cream.

8.     Place the dish back in the freezer, until the ice cream is hardened, about a few hours. When it is ready to be served, let it thaw on the counter, until scoopable. Scoop into pretty dishes, and serve!!

Red, White, and Blue Popsicles

Summer, the Fourth of July, and… popsicles! Popsicles that are completely

naturally-,fruit-colored, to be red, white, and blue! It is SO nice to have a healthy, cold treat to have in the freezer, because whenever I’m hot and craving something sweet, I always have them on hand!

The instructions are long, but that does not mean the recipe is hard! I just made the directions detailed, that’s all. The actual working time to make these is quite short, but there is just a lot of time in between, for each layer to freeze, before adding the next. Because of this, I recommend making the popsicles the day before you plan on serving them, so they have enough time to set.

And, one last note before you make them; sometimes coconuts come with very little, to no meat. This is why I bought 4 coconuts. The coconuts with the softest bottoms are the softest, ripest on the inside. But, if you buy coconuts with really soft, squishy bottoms, the meat might be really thin and translucent, which is not as good for cooking with. Only one of my coconuts had good, thick meat, so that’s all I could use for this recipe. If your coconuts have more meat, you will have more coconut layer, therefor making more popsicles.

Makes 14-20 popsicles (see above).

Ingredients:

The water of 4 fresh, young Thai coconuts, (about 4 cups) separated into 1 1/3 cups

The meat of  1-4 fresh, young Thai coconuts (I used the meat of 1½ coconuts)

2 cups fresh raspberries

2 cups fresh blackberries

Raw honey, to taste, optional

Directions:

1.     Make the white layer by placing the coconut meat and 1 1/3 cups coconut water in a large measuring cup or bowl. Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can use a blender or food processor instead. Pour into a container with a lid, and refrigerate for later.

2.     Make the red layer by placing the raspberries and 1 1/3 cups coconut water in the (cleaned) measuring cup. Blend until smooth, and add honey, if desired. Pour into a container and refrigerate.

3.     Make the blue layer by placing the blackberries and 1 1/3 cups coconut water in the (cleaned) measuring cup. Blend until smooth, and add honey, if desired. Pour into a container and refrigerate.

4.     Pour the raspberry mixture into each popsicle mold, filling each one-third of the way full. Place the lid on, but don’t put in any popsicle sticks, yet. Freeze for at least an hour, or until the raspberry layer is completely solid

5.     Now, take off the lid, and pour the coconut mixture into the mold, filling each one up another one-third of the way. Put the lid on, and place the sticks in, letting them stop when they hit the raspberry ice layer. Freeze for at least an hour or two.

6.     Take off the lid, and pour in the blackberry mixture, filling the molds all the way to the top. You don’t need to put the lid back on, here. Freeze for a few more hours.

7.     To remove the popsicles, run them under hot water until the ice on the side of the mold, begins to melt. Gently wiggle each stick until the popsicles pop out! Enjoy, and happy 4^th of July!