A CREAMIER VEGAN VANILLA GELATO

I've been making a fair amount of vegan ice cream, gelato and sorbet this summer, and, obviously, I'm still experimenting (we are having wonderful summer weather!).  Lately, I've been playing with the gelato recipe from my book "Nonna's Italian Kitchen". I wanted to add richness, as well as making it quicker and easier to prepare. One of the changes I made  early on was to use Instant Clearjel® (see Notes about this product here) OR guar gum or xanthan gum instead of the cooked tapioca flour mixture that I originally used. (These starches or gums prevent the mixture from crystallizing and improve texture.) This new method eliminates cooking the starch mixture, which means the whole thing takes less time, and it doesn't take as long to chill the gelato mixture before freezing.

This time, along with a couple of other small changes, I modified the recipe further by using lowfat coconut coffee creamer for the majority of the liquid and added just a little bit of vegan butter (including the "tub" version) to provide even richer flavor and mouthfeel. My husband declared this the best vanilla gelato he'd ever had (and vanilla is his favorite).

PS: This gelato would be fabulous with the Fresh Pineapple Upside-Down Cake from the previous blog post.  

 

Printable Copy

BRYANNA'S CREAMIER VEGAN VANILLA GELATO

Servings: 12

Yield: about 1 1/2 qts. 

   

2 cups (1 pint) So Delicious Original Coconut Milk Creamer or other not-too-sweet vegan creamer

1 1/2 cups plain "original" nondairy milk (I prefer Silk Original-- it's very creamy)

1/2 cup raw cashews or cashew pieces, soaked in boiling water for 10 minutes and drained  (OR use cut-up Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, or soaked and drained raw shelled sunflower seeds instead of cashews.)

3/4 cup grade A (light) maple syrup OR agave nectar

3/4 cup light granulated unbleached organic sugar

2 tablespoons vegan butter, melted (try my homemade palm oil-free “Buttah”, which includes the "tub" version)

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

a slightly heaping 1/8 tsp guar gum or xanthan gum OR 2 3/4 tsp Instant Clearjel (see Notes about this product here)

1/4 teaspoon salt  

  

Place the creamer and milk into a blender or Vita-Mix, along with the soaked, drained cashews, and blend until VERY smooth and frothy (make sure that it is not grainy at all).

Add all of the remaining ingredients, in order given, to this mixture and blend again until it is VERY smooth.

Chill the gelato mixture thoroughly, and then freeze according to directions for your ice cream machine). Scoop into a 2-quart plastic container, cover and freeze for several hours before serving.

  

Nutrition Facts

Nutrition (per serving): 182.2 calories; 21% calories from fat; 4.7g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 66.9mg sodium; 79.0mg potassium; 31.0g carbohydrates; 0.2g fiber; 27.9g sugar; 30.8g net carbs; 1.7g protein; 4.0 points. Enjoy!