Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Ice Cream (and Cake!)

Ice cream and I? We're not exactly buddies. It's more of abusive relationship than anything: I consume and enjoy it, then it beats its way out of any orifice it can (as fast as it can). Gross. I know. I never considered I had a lactose intolerance until I started I started my journey into veganism. Without the extra cheese and cream, I felt the same way I did when I dropped meat from my diet - lighter, healthier, and happier. Except for the ice cream problem.

I love ice cream. I f-ing love ice cream. This was the little hiccup in my plan - whenever I sneaked that DQ or Ben & Jerry's, I not only felt a twinge of vegan guilt, but also I felt sick to my stomach. Literally and figuratively. There had to be a way I could enjoy my ultimate vice without all the vomiting and such.

Enter The Vegan Scoop.




Thank you, Wheeler Del Torro. Thank you for showing me that ice cream doesn't have to be weighed down with all that dairy. He has set ice cream free. And, best of all, the vegan ice cream recipes he shares with us taste exactly like ice cream. It still has all the richness and creaminess of the best homemade ice cream, but doesn't carry all the calories or fat (or lactose) with it.

Is this the perfect frozen dessert? Yes. Yes it is. Now that Wheeler has shown me the way, I'll be sharing with you all the vegan ice cream creations we've been fooling around with in our test kitchen. This first recipe was made for a group of friends, all of which wanted to consume the whole pint themselves.




Handmade Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Ice Cream
adapted from The Vegan Scoop

235 ml (1 cup) soymilk (divided)
2 tablespoons arrowroot
470 ml (2 cups) soy creamer
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup bittersweet vegan chocolate chips
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chopped chocolate covered pretzels
1/2 cup natural crunchy peanut butter

1) In a small bowl, combine 1/4 of a cup (60 ml) of the soymilk with the arrowroot powder and whisk well. Set aside.

2) In a medium saucepan, mix together the soy creamer, the rest of the soymilk (3/4 of a cup), sugar, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips. Heat over low heat and stir frequently until the chocolate chips melt, then bring the mixture to a boil. Once it hits a boil, remove from heat and immediately add the arrowroot cream. This should make it thicken up a bit. Mix in the vanilla.

3) Leave it to cool to room temperature, then place it in the fridge for two to three hours. Take out and whip up with your electric mixer. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes, then take out and whip up again. Keep repeating until your ice cream has begun to set - a total of 3 hours. Mix in the chocolate covered pretzels. Scoop a quarter of the ice cream into your pint container, then add some of your peanut butter. Keep layering until you've finished off both your ice cream and peanut butter. Take a long spoon and stir a bit to swirl all your peanut butter within your ice cream. Freeze over night so that it can fully set. Enjoy!



And what's vegan ice cream without a really good vegan cake? With pretzels?

Vegan Chocolate Pretzel Cake
1 2/3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 cup soy milk
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup chocolate covered pretzels

1) Preheat the oven to 350. Pour your soy milk in a cup and mix in the apple cider vinegar. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, salt, and baking soda.

2) With your wooden spoon, stir your oil and vanilla into your dry ingredients. Stir in your soy milk as well. When the batter has begun to come together, stir in your chocolate chips and pretzels. Pour into a cake pan and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, our until your cake tester comes out clean. Enjoy warm with the cold vegan ice cream.