A vegan matcha latte float topped with easy homemade vegan vanilla ice cream. The perfect way to cool off this summer!Â
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What do you remember about your first float? I know I remember that mine was root beer (obviously) from the A & W Drive In in my hometown. I thought that place was the coolest because we got to eat in the car and they just brought the food to you, what more could a kid want? The root beer came in these big, frosty mugs and was icy and sweet. I’m sure we made root beer floats at home occasionally too, but that was my memory of my first one. Then, a few years ago while friends were visiting Milwaukee from out of town, we happened upon bourbon boozy root beer and vanilla bean ice cream from a local place, score! Grown up boozy root beer floats and watching HGTV were our plans for the night. Done and done. This matcha latte float is just a little different than the typical root beer or boozy float, but it does use one of my favorite new ice cream recipes and makes for a sweet summertime treat.
If you want to go store bought with your ice cream, that would totally work here! I went for an easy homemade recipe because I’ve been trying to perfect my homemade vegan vanilla ice cream recipe anyway and thought it would be a perfect pairing with the matcha latte float. The ice cream recipe is very heavily based on one from my friend Sara that I’ve used and had great success with before. After making a failing at a few vegan ice cream recipes, here are my top tips:
- Freeze your ice cream maker bowl properly! I’ve tried to rush this part before and it just doesn’t work. Leave it in the freezer for at LEAST 24 hours before making the ice cream.
- Cool the ice cream mixture before churning. Again, as an inpatient dessert maker, I’ve tried to churn it right away and the texture was totally off. Don’t do it.
- Use the combination of coconut cream and coconut milk. This isn’t two cans of coconut milk, it’s coconut cream (the suuuuper thick stuff) and coconut milk. I get mainly at Trader Joe’s usually, but you can find it pretty easily anyway.
- Don’t skip the cashews! This seems like a weird addition to vegan ice cream, but trust me they are key!
As always, make sure you use a quality matcha powder! I used Aiya America Matcha in this recipe because it always blends nicely and never has an off taste or gets clumpy. Plus, one bag lasts me for forever and I make lattes all the time.
Hope you are having a wonderful end of the summer! I’m hoping to catch a bit of outside time this weekend and have dinner with a few friends. Plus, I’ll be working on fall recipes, hooray!
Matcha Latte Float with Vegan Vanilla Ice Cream
- Yield: 2 1x
- Category: Dessert
Description
A vegan matcha latte float topped with easy homemade vegan vanilla ice cream. The perfect way to cool off this summer!
Ingredients
For the ice cream:
- 1 can coconut cream (14 oz)
- 1 can full fat coconut milk
- 1/4 cup raw cashews
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste
- 1/4 cup olive oil
For the latte:
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 cup cold water
- 1 tablespoon agave nectar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Aiya Matcha Powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
To make the ice cream:
- Before you start, make sure to chill your ice cream bowl from the ice cream maker for at least 12-24 hours. I forgot to do this the first time I tried to churn the ice cream and it just didn’t firm up right!
- In a high powered blender, blend together all of the ice cream ingredients. Blend the mixture until it is smooth and creamy, making sure the cashew pieces are blended thoroughly. Pour the ice cream mixture into the prepared ice cream maker and prepare according to the ice cream maker’s instructions. Mine took about 20-25 minutes to firm up and get super creamy, but it may depend on your machine. Transfer ice cream to a container and freeze for at least 2 hours, allowing the ice cream to firm up a bit more.
To make the latte float:
- After the ice cream has firmed up, make the latte by combining all of the ingredients in a high powdered blender and blend until frothy. divide the latte mixture between two tall glasses. Top with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream and serve immediately.
Diana Lopes says
This recipe looks sooooo good!! Can’t wait to try it, though I never tried making homemade ice cream before…This will be interesting!
Heart of a Baker says
Homemade is the way to go! Good luck! xo