Vegan Hazelnut Ice Cream (sugar-free)

In many parts of the world it is already warm, and in some places, even hot.

I’m jealous!

In California, the beginning of summer is not for the weak: it’s cold and windy.

Despite this, there is always ice cream in my freezer. 

Yep! A life without ice cream is not a life.

 Today, we’re making an absolutely amazing ice cream, loved by all my family and friends.

Yes! You got it right. Absolutely everyone likes this ice cream. 

Why?

It’s moderately sweet, it miraculously satiates, does not contain harmful ingredients and consists of only three components: hazelnuts, dates and a vegan milk of your taste. 

I prefer coconut milk since it provides a fantastic taste and aroma.

A brilliant dessert for not only vegans but for all children and adults. Try it! You won’t regret it.

Ready? Set? Let’s go cooking!

We will need:

3/4 cup (1 cup = 250 ml.) of fried hazelnuts

6 large, soft dates

500 ml. of coconut milk

1/2 tsp. of guar gum (optional)

Chocolate chips and nuts (for texture)

The hazelnuts need to be fried. I strongly recommend that you do not skip this step, as it is the roasted hazelnut that gives the ice cream the unique deep nutty taste and smell. Simply preheat the oven to 165C / 325F, cover the baking tray with baking paper and fry the nuts for 10 minutes until they blush. Do not burn them though! Be careful: the nuts should be stirred during the frying process. After that, the nuts must be cooled and removed from the husk.

Milk, as I said, you can use almond or oats, but I prefer coconut. In my opinion, this is the most correct combination of smells and flavors.

Put the cooled nuts into a blender, add the dates, milk and blend everything. If your blender does not have a lot of power, I advise you to soak the nuts in water after roasting them and allow them to stand for about 2 hours, so they swell and become soft. Do not forget to drain the water before adding them to the blender. If you want your ice cream to be more viscous and without crystals, I advise you to add a 1/2 tsp. of thickener (as I do) and starch, but this step can be omitted. The ice cream is delicious even without that.

Chop the nuts and the chocolate and add to the mixture.

Stir and put in the freezer for 3-4 hours.

Done!

Bon appetit!