Raw chocolate Ice-cream (original post 14/07/11)

_ Ice-cream is such a pleasure in life, especially on a hot day. However for those who are dairy sensitive like me (to both lactose, the milk sugar and casein the milk protein), traditional ice-cream is just not possible.

This recipe is not only dairy free, but raw,meaning it had not been heated above 48 degrees Celsius (which is the point where the enzymes are totally destroyed and nutrients like vitamins and protein become increasingly destroyed), in fact it isn't heated at all.

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_Ingredients
200g raw cashews soaked for 4 hours, drain and rinse (makes about 250g soaked)
200g fresh coconut meat
250g of fresh coconut water
250g agave syrup or maple syrup or a mixture
100g coconut oil (if the oil is solid, place the jar in a hot water bath till it softens or melts)
150g raw cacao powder
½ vanilla bean seeds or 2 tsp of vanilla extract
Pinch salt

Method
Blend all ingredients starting at speed 6 and increase up to 8-9 for 1 min or till very smooth
Freeze cream in ice cube trays overnight or over a day
Place ½ the ice-cream cubes in the TM bowl and slowly turn up to speed 9-10, use spatula to assist the movement of the cubes and slowly add the remaining cubes like you would a sorbet
Add a little water to help keep the ice-cream moving on its own if needed
Blend for approximately 1 min or until desired consistency is achieved
Serve immediately for best results, or return to freezer
Ice-cream can be re-blended in future as it will go hard again

Variations
Vanilla Ice-cream - Instead of cacao, use an extra 2Tbs of vanilla extract
Vanilla choc chip – add vanilla as above and a handful of cacao nibs or chopped up raw chocolate stirred through at the end

If you can’t source fresh young coconuts for their flesh and water, use a tin of coconut cream and half a cup of water instead.

Coconut meat and water refers to the young Thai coconuts that you can get from Asian grocers and from many good supermarkets including Coles and Safeway. They look white and round with a pointy top.

To open them:
Shave off the pointy top with a big knife down to the brown casing.
With the heel of the knife, tap firmly from the point down to the outer edge, till you find the soft spot.
When you find it, bang the heel of the knife in and this will create a hole. Drain all of some of the water out into a bowl over a sieve.
The using the knife, lever the top of the coconut open. A perfect circle top will pop open, revealing the tender flesh if the coconut.
Use the back of a soup spoon to scoop out the flesh.
Scrape off the coconut husk off the flesh and rinse well.
You can also put the flesh in smoothies, slice up and put in salads or stir-fries or blend with some water to make coconut cream.
Check that the coconut isn’t mouldy on the bottom when you buy it or open it, and check the water is a clear white colour. If it is brown or purple it will be off. If you are not sure have a little taste and if it is not decadent it is not right.

Cocoa is roasted, and raw Cacao is not. Raw cacao has not been heat treated so contains all the nutrients that nature intended. It is very rich in antioxidants and magnesium in particular. If raw cacao is not available, use a good quality cocoa such as Green and Blacks or Dutch cocoa. Cacao nibs are the raw cacao beans broken into small pieces. Raw chocolate is a mixture of raw cacao powder, cacao butter & agave nectar. Raw cacao products can be found in good health food shops or visit www.lovingearth.com.au