Coconut popsicles – the perfect summer snack
Summer is finally here and with it the perfect ice cream weather! Enough waiting – I’m happy to present you my current favourite ice cream recipe: Coconut popsicles with chocolate coating. It is not only super easy to prepare but also vegan, gluten-free, and free of refined sugar. This means feasting without regret because we sweeten only with dates!
The base of this popsicle consists of soaked cashews, a little plant-based curd, and creamy coconut milk. Cashews are absolute nutritional bombs and are rich in healthy unsaturated fats, protein, fibre, vitamins, and minerals like magnesium and potassium that can contribute to heart health, good energy levels, bone health, and overall well-being. Additionally, they contain antioxidants that can fight cell damage and have anti-inflammatory properties. Not only is coconut milk a great alternative to dairy, but it also gives this ice cream an irresistible texture. And the best part? Coconut milk is rich in healthy fats that will fuel your body and give you a nice feeling of fullness.
To make the ice cream sweet, we don’t use refined sugar but stick to the natural sweetness of dates. Dates are super healthy and provide lots of minerals, fibre, and pleasant sweetness, without stressing your blood sugar level too much.
A little tip in advance: Soak the cashews the night before!
To shorten the preparation time, I would advise you to soak the cashews the night before in a bowl with plenty of water. Then you save the soaking time before preparation, and you just have to be patient later while the ice cream is in the freezer – hard enough! 🙂
Otherwise, you’ll need to soak the cashews for about 6 hours. Alternatively, bring them to a boil in a pot with plenty of water. Once they start to boil, turn off the heat and let them steep for about 5 minutes. After that, pour off the water and rinse them properly with cold water.
Soaking cashews is important because it makes them more digestible and creamier to process. On the other hand, soaking breaks down so-called “anti-nutrients” such as, in this case, the phytic acid contained in cashew kernels. Among other things, phytic acid inhibits the absorption of proteins, minerals, and vitamins. If you soak your cashews beforehand, you will flush out the phytic acid they contain and get rid of a large part of it. The rest is harmless.
So, let’s get ready to rumble – you don’t even need an ice cream machine! All you need are a few simple ingredients, a blender, a mould for popsicles, and some patience while the ice cream sets in the freezer. Let’s go! 🙂
Equipment
- 1 bowl
- 1 blender
- 1 popsicle mould
- 1 small pot for water bath optional
- 1 colander optional
Ingredients
Ice Cream
- 150 g cashews soaked over night
- 400 ml coconut milk
- 10 dates pitted, ca. 75 g
- 200 g plant-based curd
- ½ lemon juiced
Topping
- 50 g dark chocolate
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- some berries as decoration
Instructions
Preparation
- Soak your cashews in a bowl of water, preferably overnight. The water should cover them well. Before you start preparing the ice cream, pour off the soaking water and rinse the cashews well with fresh water.
Ice Cream
- Put the soaked and rinsed cashews, the coconut milk, the dates, the vegan curd, and the juice of half a squeezed lemon into the blender and mix everything well on high speed for about 3 minutes.
- Now fill your ice cream moulds with it, put the stick in, and put your ice cream in the freezer for about 4 hours.
Topping
- To give your ice cream that certain something, you can meanwhile melt the dark chocolate with the coconut oil in a small water bath with a pot and mix both well.
- After about 4 hours, your ice cream should be frozen, and you can carefully remove it from the mould. Dip it upside down into the melted chocolate and let it harden on a small grid. Optionally, you can sprinkle some freeze-dried raspberries as decoration. The ice cream tastes best slightly thawed! Enjoy to the fully fullest!
Nutrients
The ice cream is super easy to vary!
To spice up the whole thing, we can add fresh fruit. Then, you simply add them to the blender if you want them finely puréed in the ice cream. Alternatively, you can also add them in pieces to the popsicle mould if you want to add some bite. For example, strawberries, blueberries, or mangos go perfectly with the creamy coconut flavour! Plus, they provide a refreshing note. It’s best to store it in a sealable container in the freezer. It should keep for 3-4 months – if it survives that long! 😉
As you can see, the ice cream is really easy to prepare and even more delicious if you let it thaw for about 5-10 minutes before you eat it. I know this is probably the most difficult discipline in the whole thing. However, it’s worth it! 😉
Alternatively, you can use the popsicle mould to whip up a chia turmeric ice cream that even made it into World Vegan Magazine! If turmeric is too funky for you, I have another recipe for chia almond ice cream or chocolate protein ice cream. You can also conjure up hot chocolate popsicles with it! As you can see, there are no limits to your creativity!
As always: Enjoy to the fully fullest!
If you are looking for more easy, vegan recipes, I have put together a board for you on Pinterest – click!
Yours Rosa 😉
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