The Best Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream
Truly the best vegan chocolate ice cream! It's insanely creamy, packed with a rich chocolate flavor, and scoopable straight from the freezer. Plus, it's coconut-free and nut-free. You will never buy vegan ice cream at the store again!
Ingredients
- 670 g unsweetened plant-based milk I used soy milk
- 75 g deodorized cacao butter
- 45 g sunflower oil or any neutral oil
- 70 g 70% dark chocolate
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 90 g dextrose
- 80 g granulated sugar
- 22 g cacao powder
- 2.5 g lecithin powder about 1 tsp
- 1 g locust bean gum about 1/2 tsp
- 0.5 g guar gum about 1/4 tsp
- 1/8 tsp salt
Instructions
Prepare The Ice Cream Base
- Melt the cacao butter and chocolate. Add the milk, cacao butter, oil, dark chocolate, and vanilla extract, if using, to a saucepan. Heat over low-medium, whisking constantly, until the cacao butter and chocolate have melted.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together the dextrose, sugar, cacao powder, lecithin, gums, and salt.
- Combine everything. Add the dry ingredient to the saucepan and heat the mixture to 170°F (75°C), constantly whisking. You need to bring the ice cream base to this temperature to activate the locust bean gum. Remove from the heat and let it cool for about 10 minutes.
- Blend. Transfer to a high-speed blender and blend for 5-10 seconds. This will help emulsify everything.
- Chill. Finally, transfer the ice cream base to a large bowl and chill in the refrigerator overnight or for at least 8 hours.
Churn The Ice Cream
- Turn on your ice cream maker and slowly pour in the chilled ice cream mixture. Churn on low speed (I used the Kitchenaid attachment on speed 1) for 20-25 minutes or until it looks like fluffy soft-serve ice cream.
- Transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for at least 6 hours before enjoying! The ice cream will keep for up to 3 months in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Do not omit any ingredient. Nor do substitutions. This ice cream recipe is not versatile, and a single change can completely change its texture and flavor.
- Use high-quality chocolate. For the best flavor, use very high-quality dark chocolate. I do not recommend using chocolate chips as they are usually only 50% chocolate, which is a bit low in cacao content if you want a rich chocolate aroma.
- About measurements. Ingredients are voluntarily given in grams for more precise and consistent results.
- Be patient, do not rush the process. Your ice cream base must chill in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours before being churned.
- Adjust the amount of chocolate. If you want more chocolatey ice cream, you can add up to 2 tablespoons of cacao powder to the ice cream base without altering the texture.
- Use freezer-safe containers. While you can use a glass or ceramic container to store your ice cream, I highly recommend getting these Ice Cream Containers. The container itself is made of thick plastic, while the lid is of silicon. I own a couple of these, and they are very convenient and easy to clean.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 scoop (1.5 ounces) | Calories: 79 kcal | Carbohydrates: 9.6 g | Protein: 0.5 g | Fat: 4.9 g | Saturated Fat: 1.8 g | Sodium: 23 mg | Potassium: 20 mg | Fiber: 0.7 g | Sugar: 4.1 g | Calcium: 34 mg
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