Hello everyone and welcome to this special edition of Firefighter Friday!
My thinking for this unique sugar and spice ice cream creation started with firemen and then went to heat and spice, which led to the warmth of cinnamon!
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.
CINNAMON-SPICED BUTTERMILK PECAN ICE CREAM
1 c. almond milk, hemp milk, etc.
1/2 c. full-fat coconut milk, subtract 1/2 teaspoon
1/2 t. apple cider vinegar
1 T. arrowroot
3 T. sucanat (or another natural granulated sugar), 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 above)
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! An ice cream sundae fit for a king!...or a really cute fireman... 😉
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.
Marion Armstrong
I'm puzzled--you say buttermilk, but I don't see buttermilk in the ingredient list. Do you mean the pecan butter and milk together? Is this what you are calling buttermilk? I would really like to try this, as we can't have sugar; and my husband loves butter pecan ice cream! Thanks!
Lauren
Hi Marion,
The milk and apple cider vinegar mix is what gives this the buttermilk taste. I hope you get to try it! 😀
Amy Lyons
This sounds wonderful Lauran! Love the pecans, cinnamon and maple combo! Yum!
Lauren
Thanks Amy! What you entered looked great too!
toni
waow dis looks delish.i new to veg recipes but am definity going to try make dis one for sure
Lauren
Groovy! Let me know how you like it if you do!
Natalie @ FreshLifeFindings
Lauren this looks amazing! I used to love butter pecan icecream and this looks so delicious!
Lauren
Thanks Natalie! I still love butter pecan! It crossed my mind to make that, but I didn't know how to get the 'butter' flavor in there. I'm not a big fan of butter extract, and I wanted to keep it pretty healthy, so butter was out.
ally
i am adoring all your flavors in here... flawless job!
xo
http://allykayler.blogspot.ca/
Lauren
Wow, thank you for the compliment!
Kailey
Ohh that pecan spiced ice cream has me drooling 🙂
Lauren
Thanks Kailey!
Lauren
My mouth was literally watering when I was reading this post- heck, it still is!
I love the ingredients in this recipe- and the idea of combining almond milk and coconut milk! I need to make this asap- I bet it would be a super impressive dessert! 🙂
Lauren
LOL! You're so sweet! If you do make it, let me know what you think!
Gabby @ the veggie nook
What a great submission to the sundae challenge! I would happily down a bowlful or 4 of that!
Lauren
Thanks Gabby! Yours looked great too! I tried lucuma once, but found I am allergic to it. 🙁 I wish I could eat it though, it's so tasty.
Alex @ therunwithin
wow so cool, that looks delicious too!
Lauren
Thanks Alex!
Min
This looks soo good, Lauren! I love all the photos also! I look forward to seeing it in foodgawker soon 😉 You're so sweet for dedicating this lovely post to your husband and all the firefighters out there! I've never had vegan ice cream before! I'm pinning this!!
Lauren
Haha! I can only hope!
Heather
Yum yum yummm Lauren! Beautiful too. Pecans are one of my fave nuts. Can't wait to try this recipe. Adding it to the entries post 🙂
Lauren
Thank you Heather! I hope you like it!
Eating 4 Balance
This is a great idea! To be honest though, I'd have to leave the whole pecans out. Something about nuts in my food just doesn't go over well with me... The creamy pecan butter will definitely make up for that though!
Lauren
Trust me, it's delicious without them too!
sprint2thetable
Oh, wow! Pecans don't get enough love - they are one of my favorite nuts. Great idea for an ice cream!!
Lauren
Thank you Laura! They are a great nut to make desserts with. They almost have a sweetness that lends very well to this.
Amanda (@PicklesNHoney)
This sounds incredible! Definitely decadent in terms of flavors, but you managed to keep it fairly healthy as far as ice cream goes! And now I need to try making pecan butter. 🙂
Lauren
Thanks Amanda! That means a lot coming from you.