I made the creamiest, yummiest vegan cake batter ice cream!

I am on an ice cream kick lately (well, always...who am I kidding). My favorite ice cream of all time is cake batter from Coldstone Creamery, which I haven't had in over a year. I thought I would google cake batter ice cream recipes and found a few to choose from. Some called for eggs (weird) and I found 1 vegan recipe that called for arrowroot, as a thickener and required stovetop preparation. I decided to see if I could get away without warming the ingredients on the stovetop...I was successful at removing that step for this recipe. I came up with my very own Hibbard Kitchen original cake batter ice cream recipe. I died when I tried this. Matt died, too. It's pretty much the most awesome thing I've ever created. This would be exceptionally tasty with strawberries and graham cracker crumbs (That's how I used to order it at Coldstone Creamery)

Hibbard Kitchen Original Vegan Cake Batter Ice Cream
1 cup Silk organic vanilla soy milk (any vanilla flavored non-dairy milk should work)
3/4 cup sugar (I used organic and it dissolved just fine)
2 cups unsweetened MimicCreme
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup vegan yellow cake mix (Dunkin Hines yellow cake mix is vegan and many store-brands are vegan...check the label)
Optional sprinkles

Directions
1. In a large bowl with a whisk, combine the soy milk and sugar, until the sugar is dissolved.
2. Mix in the Mimiccreme and vanilla.
3. Sift in cake batter about 1/4 cup at a time. You'll likely need to whisk for a little while after all the cake mix has been added to remove lumps.
4. Pour mixture into your ice cream machine and follow the machine's instructions. My ice cream began to get thick and get creamy around the 30 minute mark.
5. Eat immediately (I like instant gratification) or put in your freezer for a few hours before eating (I doubt you'll be able to wait that long to eat it).

5 ingredients

 Whisking all ingredients

 Ice cream churning

 After the ice cream is finished in the machine

 We couldn't wait to eat it...straight out of the ice cream machine

Here is the ice cream after freezing.

Mandatory sprinkles on top

Enjoy!

Vegan coffee ice cream

A couple nights ago, as we were getting ready for bed, Matt told me he wanted coffee ice cream. I got out of bed, put the ice cream bowl in the freezer and started looking up vegan coffee ice cream recipes. From my 1st ice cream adventure, I learned that the ice cream machine bowl needs to be chilled for 24 hours (instead of the 10 hrs I tried with my peppermint ice cream).
I found a recipe from A Vegan Ice Cream Paradise blog. I made some modifications and am very pleased with the results. My Cuisinart ice cream machine says that most recipes take 25-35 minutes. My recipes seem to get to the proper thickness after about 40 minutes. It doesn't get incredibly thick in the machine, but it does get to about frozen yogurt consistency. Then, the freezer takes it to the next level. I think that is something people with ice cream machines don't tell you...you should freeze the ice cream after it's done in the machine.

Vegan Coffee Ice Cream

2 c. unsweetened Mimic Creme
1 ¼ c. soy milk (or any non-dairy milk)
¾ c. fresh, strong coffee or espresso (After my ice cream mixture was made, I stirred in about 4 T. of instant espresso mixed with a splash of water because my ice cream didn't taste 'coffeey' (I made up the word) enough.
¾ c. sugar
2 T. arrowroot
1 t. vanilla

Directions:

Mix ¼ cup of soy milk with the 2 tablespoons of arrowroot and set aside.

Mix the Mimic Creme, 1 c. soy milk, coffee, and sugar together in a saucepan. When the mixture has just started to boil, take off the heat and stir in the arrowroot slurry. This should immediately cause the liquid to thicken (not a lot, but a noticeable amount; it will be thicker when it cools).

Stir in vanilla extract. Taste your ice cream batter to see if it needs more coffee....I learned there is no such thing as too much coffee flavor in coffee ice cream.

 Put the ice cream mixture in a bowl in the refrigerator to cool for at least 2 hours (or put your bowl of ice cream in a bigger ice bath, in the refrigerator). Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions.

6 Ingredients

Mixing on the stovetop

 I had guests coming over, so I did a quick ice bath chill to speed up the cool-down

I had to add instant espresso while mixing because it was not 'coffeey' enough

 I think my rush to get it done resulted in softer ice cream out of the machine

After frozen, the consistency is better

 Yummy.

We had friends stop by and bring us Treehouse Bakery vegan cupcakes, which we mixed into our bowls...mmmmm

 Mint chocolate cupcake by Treehouse bakery

 What is better than ice cream and cupcakes?!

 Matt approved!

My 10th month VEGANniversary

It's been 10 months since I became vegan; I can't believe how time flies. The only things I have really missed out on are deep dish pizza and good ol' cheese. But, I have to say that my substitutions for most everything are pretty rocking.Soy milk and soy yogurt are mainstays, but I have been easing off the soy, in an effort to be more balanced. I have enjoyed many nut and rice-based milks and creams; I am especially thrilled to have discovered Mimic Creme, including a whipped cream version and a coffee creamer. Lean plant-based meats like Gardein have allowed me to create quick healthy meals, when I don't have time for a drawn-out dinner production. I've also come to love vegan cheese.
In the short time I have been vegan, Diaya cheese has become somewhat mainstream. You can find it on frozen vegan pizzas, at a number of vegan pizza chains and in several grocery stores, including Sunflower Farmer's Market. Teese cheese, made by Chicago Soy Dairy, is rumored to be coming out with frozen Teese mozzarella cheese sticks. We were lucky enough to try them in Chicago, at the Chicago Diner, and they are just like the real deal! Gardein has been popping up everywhere, including many major chain restaurants like Yardhouse and test-markets for Chipotle. So many of my friends have been contacting me when they see vegan products I might like and the people around me have been super supportive about my veganism.
I am pretty impressed that I haven't wavered, even once, since my vegan journey began. Early on, I did get fooled by a few non-vegan products, like non-dairy creamer and rice cheese, but unless the restaurants where I order vegan food have been serving me animal-based meals, I have been rock solid vegan. I look forward to continuing my vegan journey and sharing my food adventures with whoever wants to listen. Happy VEGANniversay to me (I just googled 'veganniversary' and apparently many people before me have used the word...I thought I was so clever! ;)