Cashew Ice Cream

In my life, I have a few friends who have special dietary needs because of celiac disease, gluten intolerance, dairy intolerance or a combination of these.

This inspires me.

Ok.... that didn't sound right. The fact that they have these issues doesn't inspire me. It's the challenge to feed them that inspires me! I don't want them to miss out just because they have dietary restrictions, you know?

There are so many resources out there these days - websites, blogs, books... and, of course, you learn how to adapt your favourite recipes by trial and error.

Determined to create a yummy dessert that could be enjoyed not only by my friend with celiac disease and a dairy intolerance but by all who were to attend a gathering, I turned once again to Elana's Pantry for inspiration.  And, let me tell you, I found a gem!


Behold! Cashew Ice Cream!

Ok. Well. To be honest, on Elana's site it's actually called Vegan Vanilla Ice Cream. But I felt I really couldn't call it that because I didn't totally follow her recipe (big surprise!) and so it definitely tasted more "cashew-y" than "vanilla-y"... hence the name change.

The original recipe called for raw cashews which you blend until smooth in a Vitamix (!!). I don't have a Vitamix and I was not confident that my little food processor (I LOVE my food processor! It's awesome. But is is NOT a Vitamix) would be able to blend the nuts smooth enough for a nice ice cream so I decided to buy cashew butter instead. I think the cashew butter I used was roasted which accounted for the aforementioned "cashew-y" flavour. Yum nonetheless. And totally approved by my Mom :)

Here's what you need:

1 ice cream maker - minimum 1 quart capacity

1 cup cashew butter
2 cups water
¼ cup agave nectar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 pinch salt

1. In a blender or food processor, combine all ingredients until well mixed and smooth
   
2. Pour mixture into an ice cream maker and process according to instructions. (My ice cream maker manual said to process mixtures for 20 to 40 minutes. I found that this took the full 40 minutes.)
3. Pour ice cream into a container and stick it in the freezer for 1 to 4 hours to firm up a bit. (If you leave it in overnight, it will be too hard to scoop so you will have to leave it out for 10 minutes or so to soften.)

Makes 1 quart and serves 4.

Super easy. Also, this is so good with chocolate sauce. So good. Soooo good.