Hereeee we go. I mean, let’s talk about this ice cream for a hot second.
This ice cream idea popped into my head while I was driving a couple of weeks ago. I had just picked up a few apples from a cute apple farm stand at the farmer’s market and, while I love eating apples straight up, I really needed to give my ice cream maker a workout. Over the summer I was too obsessed with putting everything on a stick (i.e. making things in popsicles, including breakfast) to give my ice cream maker the proper attention it deserved. I kept swearing to myself all through August that today was the day, I was going to churn together ice cream and share it with you. Buuuut then Bravo network happened..and naps..and pretty much every other distraction ever (hello, did you know you can order from TJ Maxx online now? Trouble.).
Finally, I was all “let’s put these apples in dessert” but then my brain screamed “Apple CRISP ICE CREAM”. Ok now we are talking. After this my dessert brain really went haywire and decided to throw caramel in the mix. Alright I’m just itching to make this at this point. I knew I would be using coconut milk for the base, so I rolled my happy self to Trader Joe’s during lunch one day (For some reason I almost typed Trader Hoe’s, um no.) and went on a coconut milk purchasing spree. I think I ended up with 4 cans total, but really, how many cans does one need before it’s a serious problem? I think 4 is the beginning.
Finally I had all the ingredients I needed to get this frozen gold going, right? Wrong. I prepped my ingredients the night before and dreamed of ice cream heaven the next day after work. Then I arrived home last Tuesday and discovered that in my ice cream stupor I forgot to put the ice cream maker bowl in the freezer. Excuse me, there won’t be any ice cream today? I’ll be eating chocolate chips out of the container thank you. So here we go, put bowl in freezer, wait until tomorrow..then apple crisp ice cream will finally come to life.
The next day, it was time. Time for the ice cream to finally be made! First of all, the only downside of this ice cream is the preparation of the individual components. I recommend prepping them the day before or you will be struggling to have everything timed out correctly. BUT, don’t get me wrong, it is utterly worth the effort. I chose to chop the apples, make the caramel, and whiz together the crisp mix the day before, which made the whole process much smoother. Tossing the apples in a little lemon juice will save them from looking all brown and icky looking.
I need to stop you for a minute and tell you about the caramel sauce. It’s seriously just dates, salt, and almond milk. That’s it. But I can’t take credit for it. Izy is pretty much a genius and if I ever go to England I would totes eat dessert with her. The end
Anywho, the caramel recipe is for a double batch, which you will definitely want. I spilled some caramel sauce on the food processor when I was pouring it into a jar and gave a fleeting though to licking the leftover that had to be wiped up off the kitchen sponge but don’t be skeeved out because I didn’t actually do that (because who does that? Let’s be real though, that thought happened).
Once your coconut milk is churned half of the caramel sauce is added, along with some of the apples and crisp topping. Don’t be like me and push the capacity of your ice cream maker and watch as it almost-totally comes close to-oh my gosh it’s going to happen overflow. It is better to start off with some and fold the rest in later. I did need to freeze mine in the pan for a wee bit longer just to firm it up a bit, but feel free to go with the texture that the ice cream maker produces. You could totally also switch out the apples for pears or any other crisp appropriate fruit, but the apples really do well in the ice cream. Now, come help me eat this stuff so I don’t fall asleep face first into my caramel sauce.
Caramel recipe adapted from Top with Cinnamon
Crunchy Caramel Apple Crisp Ice Cream
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 90 minutes
- Yield: 6 -8 cups 1x
Ingredients
- For the base:
- 2 cans light or full fat coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup brown sugar or cane sugar
- For the crisp:
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1/3 cup brown sugar or cane sugar
- 2 tablespoons apple sauce (optional)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- pinch of salt
- For the apple base:
- 2–3 apples (peeled, cored and chopped into small pieces)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- For the caramel sauce:
- 12 whole dates (2/3 cup chopped, chopped)
- pinch of salt
- 2/3 cup almond milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- For the apple base: In a medium bowl, toss together chopped apples and lemon juice. Set or in refrigerator until ready to use.
- For the crisp: In the bowl of a food processor, combine oats, brown sugar, spices, applesauce, and salt on low for 30-45 seconds, or until roughly chopped and combined. Transfer to bowl and set aside until ready to use.
- For the caramel sauce, combine dates, salt, almond milk, and vanilla in the bowl of a food processor on low until completley smooth. This could take a few minutes until all dates are processed. Place in jar or container and store in refrigerator until ready to use.
- To prepare the ice cream: In the pre-frozen bowl if the ice cream maker, combine both cans of coconut milk, vanilla, and brown sugar or cane sugar. Prepare according to manufacturer’s directions. I let mine churn for about 45 minutes before adding any extras. After 30-45 minutes, add in half of the caramel sauce. Let churn for an additional 10-15 minutes. Add in 1/3 of the apples and 1/3 of the crisp mixture, ensuring that the bowl does not overflow. Let churn for an additional 10 minutes.
- When ice cream is done churning, transfer mixure to larger bowl or pan to freeze ice cream in and fold in the remainder of the apples, caramel, and crisp mixture. If desired, reserve 1/4 cup apples and crisp mixture to top ice cream. Freeze for an additional hour for extra firmness.
- Top with extra caramel sauce. Yields 6-8 cups ice cream and keeps for about a week stored covered in the freezer.
Catherine @ Chocolate & Vegetables says
Looks awesome, and worth the wait!
Also, I’m not sure when exactly the coconut milk stockpile becomes a problem, but we ALWAYS have at least one can of coconut milk and another of coconut cream on hand, so no judgement here 🙂
The Frosted Vegan says
Coconut sisters unite!
Erica says
Good god Abby, this sounds wonderful!
The Frosted Vegan says
Thanks Erica, it’s one of my favorites so far!
bakerbynature says
Whoa!!! This ice cream looks insane, mama! Love it.
The Frosted Vegan says
Thanks chica! : )
Oh My Veggies (@ohmyveggies) says
I’ve been trying to cut down on my ice cream intake, but I might have to make an exception for this. Because: APPLES! CARAMEL! 🙂 This looks awesome!
The Frosted Vegan says
No way, you better up that ice cream intake with this!!
Karis says
My ice cream maker is in desperate need of a workout. It hasn’t been used since last summer! Your recipe looks ideal for fall ice cream…even if it feels like mid-July here in Miami.
The Frosted Vegan says
Agreed! It’s been 70s here so ice cream is totally appropriate!
holly ; the hobbit kitchen says
oh my goodness, this looks amazing! and vegan? whaaaaat?! i don’t even like ice cream very much but this has got me drooling over my keyboard, haha. great recipe!
✈ veganmiam.com (@veganmiam) says
Apples, caramel sauce and ice cream – just a few of my favorite things! Looks delicious!
Amy @ swiss miss in the kitchen says
Abby, you make me wanna eat my screen!!! This ice cream looks amazing!!!!!
The Frosted Vegan says
Thanks Amy!! : )
Richa says
oh gorgeous! this is the fall ice cream i should make before the sun disappears this weekend!
The Frosted Vegan says
Agreed!!
Rachel says
Oh this looks lovely, especially as I have become such an obsessive ice cream maker recently!
The Frosted Vegan says
Me too!!
Inger Wilkerson says
Wow–looks great. And I just got a great deal on a case of coconut milk!