Ice Cream

It is birthday season. It starts with Summer's birthday on September 9th, then my mother-in-law's on the 16th, my stepmother's on the 17th, my mother's on the 24th and last my brother's on Oct. 1st. So how to get around birthday cakes and ice cream and still satisfy that sweet tooth? My solution was to buy an ice cream maker.

The first time I made ice cream was when Summer was about eight months old. My friend had an ice cream maker and I supplied the milk. Yes, that's right. Breast milk. We made banana breast milk ice cream ... for Summer of course. However it wasn't very creamy and when put in the freezer it froze into a solid block. For those nursing mamas reading this, I recommend freezing it in popsicle molds. Momsicles, perfect for teething tots to gnaw on. :)

My next attempt came after I bought the ice cream maker. It was a total failure. I made cashew almond milk (see nut milk recipe), added coconut milk and dates, and poured the mix into the ice cream maker. It is suppose to take about twenty minutes to thicken to a soft serve consistency, but after twenty minutes it was still soupy. After forty minutes it was still soupy. Discouraged and disappointed, I gave up and poured the mix into popsicle molds. Terrible ice cream but yummy popsicles.

It turns out that our freezer wasn't turned on high enough to fully freeze the bowl. So I turned the freezer up and voila: my first sort of successful ice cream. I say "sort of" because it was simply almond milk and dates and homemade almond milk isn't very fatty. It makes a icy ice cream. I poured this into popsicle molds to avoid the solid icy block. Both Summer and my hubby enjoyed them.

Back to birthdays ... I have also made wheat free and gluten free cakes and cup cakes usually sweetened with dates. These have turned out edible but not that great. So when it was my mother-in-laws birthday and I offered to make a cake and ice cream, my in-laws very diplomatically suggested we get dessert at the restaurant. Okay, I can take a hint! I passed on the cake but did make vanilla chocolate chip ice cream and held back nothing. I used whole milk and heavy cream, I threw in extra dates and a ton of chocolate chips. There were no complaints and every one's sweet tooth was sufficiently satisfied.

I had leftover milk, cream and chocolate chips, so I just had to make mint chip ice cream! While it turned out pretty good, it wasn't as minty as i had hoped. It was more like green tea ice cream with a minty flavor. I only put in one small bunch of fresh mint leaves. I realised this wouldn't be minty enough so I blended the leaves into the mix. If I make it again, I will add more mint and strain out the leaves. I would also like to make a vegan version of this one with coconut milk.

The nice thing about making ice cream is that it can be made with just about any milk or milk alternative and you can put just about anything in it - nuts, peanut butter, chocolate, vanilla, mint, etc. and it is easy. I even made the coconut date one successfully, with the addition of banana, and it was very tasty. Below are the recipes that I described:

A couple tips before you start: 

- Different ice cream makers have different directions so make sure to follow the directions for your ice cream maker.
- The fattier the milk or milk alternative the creamier the ice cream will be.
- The ice cream is ready when it is a soft serve consistency. For harder ice cream put it in the freezer for two hours before serving.
-Have fun, be creative and enjoy the sweetness


Coconut Banana Date Ice Cream (vegan):

1 can (about 2 cups) coconut milk
1 1/2 cups nut milk (I used cashew almond milk, see nut milk recipe)
1 cup dates
2 ripe bananas

Mix all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Refridgerate for at least two hours before putting in ice cream maker.


Almond Date Icy Pops:

4 cups almond milk
1 cup dates

Blend ingredients until smooth. Refridgerate for at least two hours, pour into ice cream maker. Once it has thickend pour into popcicle molds and freeze.


Vanilla Chocolate Chip Ice Cream:

1 cup heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
1 cup packed dates
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Blend milk with dates either in a blender. Mix in cream. Refridgerate for at least two hours before putting in ice cream maker.


Mint Chip Ice Cream:

1 cup heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
2 cups fresh packed mint
1 cup packed dates
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Heat milk until just before it boils (don't let it boil) add mint let steep for 30 minutes. Strain out mint leaves or for mintier ice cream blend the leaves in with an immersion blender. Add cream. Refridgerate for at least two hours before putting in ice cream maker.

Nut Milk

I have never really liked milk. Not just cow milk, but all milk. I still can't imagine sitting down and drinking a glass of milk, but I do like to make things with milk and I actually like home made nut milks, especially if I add a couple dates to sweeten it.


Store-bought milk alternatives are often mostly water and sugar with a few unwanted additions. Here is a list of ingredients from Pacific Almond Milk (Almond Breeze has the exact same list): filtered water, evaporated cane juice, almonds, tricalciu, phosphates, sea salt, potasium citrate, carrageenen, soy lecithin, riboflavin (B2), vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2. Seems like a lot of ingredients for something so simple, not to mention that almonds, are the third ingredient listed after water and sugar or evaporated cane juice!


Making nut milks is actually very easy and it really does taste better. Almonds are probably the best for milk for taste and nutrition but you can also use cashews and hazelnuts. I haven't tried walnuts but I imagine they would work with a mix of other nuts.


2 cups nuts (almonds and cashews make a nice combination)
4 cups water
2-4 dates (optional)


Soak nuts for about 8 hours. Rinse and put in blender with water. Blend on high for 5 minutes or until very well blended. Strain milk through a cloth. I use a sprout bag but a tea towel or pillow case will also work well. I have tried using a cheese cloth but it doesn't strain out enough pulp so the milk has a little more texture than I like.