Vegan Banana-Split Flavored Gelato

Vegan Banana-Split Flavored Gelato

Summertime is approaching quickly and we all know what that means...ICE CREAM!!! Ice cream is a true staple in the summertime, it is refreshing and indulgent  We all love ice cream, milkshakes, and sundaes! They are a kid favorite and that's a kid of any age as well. When we eat ice cream it almost transforms us back to that time when we were younger, its one of those exciting moment makers we give our kids for the first time, and everyone has a memory with it. This vegan recipe takes the traditional sundae and turns it into a one stop shop in a bowl. No ice cream parlor required for you, just open your freezer and you are in store for an outrageously good at home treat now made vegan. Serve with the traditional banana split and sundae toppings and enjoy...just no licking the bowl!

Vegan Banana-Split Flavored Gelato

Ingredients

Ice Cream Base
-1 (15 ounces) can cream of coconut
-1 (13.5 ounces) can of full fat coconut milk
-1 cup vegan MIMICCREME (Sweetened)
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-1/4 teaspoon xantham gum powder
-1 teaspoon agar agar powder
-2 Tablespoons arrowroot powder
-2 teaspoon The Vegg & 1/2 cup water (Optional)

Mix Ins
-1 cup chunked bananas
-1 cup strawberries

Toppings (Optional)
-Crushed Pineapple
-Vegan chocolate syrup or fudge
-Vegan Whipped Cream (homemade or store bought)
-Roasted Peanuts, chopped
-Cherries, maraschino or fresh (pitted)

Directions

Before making the vegan ice cream, set your ice cream maker bowl in the freezer to freeze over night for at least 6 to 8 hours. Once the bowl is completely frozen, it is ready for you to add the ice cream liquid base.

Ice Cream Base
In a saucepan on medium-high heat, mix the vegan mimmec cream, coconut milk, vanilla extract, The Vegg (prepared beforehand), and cream of coconut.

Pre-Cooked & Mixed Base

When the mixture has just started to boil, add in the agar agar powder. Once it is combined and cooks for 2 to 3 minutes, take off the heat and stir in the arrowroot powder. Now that the arrowroot is combined, wait a 2 to 3 minutes and add in the xantham gum and whisk to combine. This mixture should thicken slightly, it will be much thicker when it cools completely in the fridge. 

Off Heat, Adding in Powders

Finished Cooked Base 

Once the ice cream base has cooled completely, remove and strain in a wire strainer to make sure there are no lumps. The texture will be like pudding (DON'T WORRY).

Pre-Thickened Base

Thickened & Strained Base

Once strained, add to you now assembled and running ice cream maker. Let the base churn for 30  to 45 minutes until the base has set into an soft serve consistence. Turn off the machine and combine mix ins by hand or leave running and combine. 

Mix Ins

Once your ice cream base has become an ice cream consistency, take your mix ins and process in a food processor until broken down into small chunked or minced. 

Fruit Mixture
(Banana & Strawberries)

Add this fruit mixture into the base by hand or while machine is running.

Adding Mix-Ins

Once it is mixed in, remove your ice cream maker bowl and place in your freezer with plastic wrap pressed firmly over the top of the ice cream. Let the ice cream freeze for a few hours and harden.

Frozen Gelato

When your ice cream has hardened, it is ready to serve. Serve with traditional banana split toppings (I served this with vegan chocolate syrup or fudge, vegan whipped cream, chopped roasted peanuts, and vegan sprinkles). You can add a cherry on top and vegan sprinkles as well, the skies the limit. Enjoy!

*Note*

This recipe requires unique ingredients to get it to set and stabilize  Some of these ingredients can simply be found in the natural foods aisle or organic store (Arrowroot & Xantham Gum can be found there). Agar Agar may be found at these markets or it can be found in many oriental markets. If you cannot locate the powders, you can find them online at many sites. They are reasonably priced, you get a lot, and use a little at a time. So it will last you a while.

Vegan Banana-Split Flavored Gelato

-Amy