Blueberry Lemon Lavender Ice Cream (Vegan)

In continuing with our Blueberry Lavender obsession, we bring you the best recipe yet: ice cream! (Bonus points for the fact that today is National Ice Cream Day, but we didn’t plan that or anything ;)) 

As we’ve said before, ice cream is one of our favorite desserts to make vegan – when you have the right equipment (a high quality ice cream maker and great ingredients), it’s truly just as delicious as its dairy containing counterpart. When we first started making vegan ice cream quite a few years ago, we only used coconut milk for the base, which certainly creates a creamy base, but by adding soaked cashews, the texture becomes more velvety and rich, and distracts a bit from the coconut taste. Although we aren’t bothered by the subtle taste of coconut, some people that aren’t used to it may be put off, especially if they don’t particularly love the taste of coconut. 

Why coconut milk instead of other non-dairy milks, you ask? The higher fat percentage is necessary to mimic heavy cream in traditional ice cream, so by coconut milk, we don’t mean the watered down formula you find in the refrigerated section – look for canned full fat coconut milk (NOT the “lite” version), often found in the Asian section of the supermarket. 

We used the leftover homemade lavender syrup from yesterday’s Blueberry Lavender Margarita recipe as the sweetener, which gives this ice cream a subtly floral undertone. We also added a few drops of lavender essential oil to up the flavor, but if you don’t have any on hand, it’s not essential to the recipe. Lemon juice and zest brightens the flavor and pairs so well with fresh blueberries. The overall flavor (in my opinion) is somewhat reminiscent of a blueberry muffin, and you can’t go wrong with that! 

Blueberry Lemon Lavender Ice Cream (Vegan)

• Author: Lexi
• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Category: Dessert

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Description

Creamy, delicious and completely dairy free! Lavender adds a slight floral sweetness.

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Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted cashews, soaked 2 hours at room temp
• 1 can (13.5 oz) full fat coconut milk
• 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries + 1/2 cup frozen blueberries to mix in
• 2/3 cup lavender infused agave syrup*
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 2 drops lavender essential oil (optional)

Lavender syrup:

• 3/4 cup agave syrup
• 8 stems of lavender flowers

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Instructions

Lavender syrup:

1. Add the syrup and lavender to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer for about 30 seconds. Remove from heat, cover and let infuse 30-40 min.

Ice Cream:

1. Soak cashews in room temperature water for 2 hours. Drain and rinse.
2. Pre-cool ice cream maker if necessary.
3. Combine all ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until creamy. We typically go through two full blend cycles to ensure all cashew and blueberry pieces are well incorporated.
4. Pour mixture into ice cream maker, press start, and try to wait patiently!
5. Add 1/2 cup frozen blueberries when machine indicates, or fold them in once ice cream is finished. Transfer ice cream to a freezer-safe sheet pan, cover, and let harden for a few hours. Remove from freezer about 5-10 minutes before scooping. Enjoy!