Hello everyone and welcome to this special edition of Firefighter Friday! Heather, who blogs over at  Sweetly Raw, is hosting a contest for the best vegan ice cream sundae, so I chose to enter!

My entry’s theme is Sugar and Spice, dedicating the ‘spice’ part to my husband and his fellow firemen for whom this blog is written for on Fridays. My thinking went from firemen to heat to spice, which led to the warmth of cinnamon! My creation is titled Cinnamon-Spiced Buttermilk Pecan Ice Cream With Salted Candied Pecans. Whew, that’s a mouthful!….but a decadent one!

This recipe has components such as vanilla almond milk, pecan butter, and salted candied pecans, all of which I made from scratch. Let’s begin with the first simple recipe you’ll need to get started.

RAW PECAN BUTTER

1 c. raw pecans

salt, to taste

Pecans are so easy to butterize! Just throw them into your food processor, and start it up! It takes about 5-10 minutes to completely come together. I usually have to scrape down the sides 4 or 5 times. At the very end, add your salt (or not, depending on your preference). I usually add about 1/8-1/4 teaspoon. Let it process one more time with the salt, then scoop it into a sealable jar.

Now for the main dish! I’m really happy with the way this recipe turned out! Taste, texture, flavor, it’s all there! Not to mention I was able to keep it low in both fat and sugar. My husband declared this the ‘best ice cream’ I’ve ever made, and I think it’s pretty darn good too!

CINNAMON-SPICED BUTTERMILK PECAN ICE CREAM

1 c. vanilla almond milk

1/2 c. full-fat coconut milk, subtract 1/2 teaspoon

1/2 t. apple cider vinegar

1 T. arrowroot

3 T. sucanat, ground into powder

8 drops liquid stevia

1/4 t. +1/8 t. cinnamon

1/8 t. sea salt

1 t. vanilla extract

1 t. maple syrup

2 T. raw pecan butter (recipe below)

Mix the coconut milk (minus the 1/2 t.) with the 1/2 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. Let sit in the fridge for about 8 minutes. Whisk the arrowroot with the buttermilk until you see few to no lumps. Heat the almond milk, ground sucanat, and stevia in a saucepan over medium heat. After about 3-5 minutes, steam should start to rise off of the mix. Whisk the arrowroot/coconut milk into the heated almond milk. Keep it over medium to medium high heat, and stir it constantly until thickened (about 3-5 minutes). It should coat the back of a spoon like this:

(source)

Stir in the pecan butter, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and maple syrup. Take a few minutes to stir everything and make sure there are no chunks of pecan butter or cinnamon. Mash them with your spoon against the side of the pan so that they will disperse. Place the mix in the fridge to chill for about 2 hours.

After the ice cream has chilled, churn it in an ice cream maker for about 20-30 minutes, until it resembles traditional ice cream. Scoop it out into a Tupperware, cover it, and  pop it in the freezer for about 30-60 minutes, until hardened a bit.

During the time the ice cream is chilling, you can make the candied pecans! They’re super easy and taste great atop this confection.

SALTED CANDIED PECANS

1 T. coconut sugar

few drops of vanilla

1 t. hot water

sea salt

about 1/4 c. chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Begin by mixing the sugar with the vanilla. Add the hot water and stir until the sugar dissolves. You should have a syrupy mixture. Toss and coat the pecans, and pour them onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle sea salt atop the pecans. Bake the nuts for about 10-12 minutes (some ovens may need longer). Once cooled, they should be crunchy.

Sprinkle the pecans atop a mountain of guilt-free ice cream!

Voila! In ice cream sundae fit for a king!…or a really cute fireman…

I just want to thank all the firemen who read my blog. If it weren’t for my husband being in the profession, I never would have had a chance to write this segment, so a big thank you to him, as well! I love you Rig-bone!♥♥♥

What is the craziest ice cream flavor you’ve ever tried?

I think I get more crazy with my mix-ins. I love vanilla ice cream, mixed with saltines crackers and chocolate syrup! You get the sweet/salty and creamy/crunchy combo. Hey, don’t ix-nay it till you triz-ay it!

Tagged: Dairy-free, Firefighter, Gluten-free, Healthy, Ice Cream, Low sugar, Low-fat, Vegan