I’m not really crazy about the sugar-free ice creams or the coconut milk ice creams on the market. Although Halo and Coconut Bliss do a pretty good job but they are missing something and they don’t seem to be as satisfying as I want them to be.

My husband is diabetic and I cannot have sugar because of candida issues so I’m constantly trying to come up with a way to make an ice cream that is sugar-free, creamy and satisfying. I am also trying to watch my fat intake so I wanted to create something that is not made with whipping cream or half-and-half.

I pulled out some of my coconut milk ice cream recipes and noticed that they pretty much all have the same base. I decided on a basic recipe and started playing with it. I remembered that yummlykitchen.com a Blog that does a lot of vegan food, actually, I think she’s all vegan mentioned that to get the creaminess from a coconut-based ice cream you needed to add arrowroot. I happen to have cornstarch (non-gmo) in the pantry so that’s what I used in this recipe. As she also noted if you do not want to use a starch it’s fine, but you will get a more ice crystally texture than if you were to go ahead and use the starch. In my recipe I went with two tablespoons of cornstarch I noticed there’s still a little bit of crystallization from the ice so next time I think I will try another half a teaspoon or maybe even a full teaspoon to see how that does.

For this recipe, I added peanut butter powder and some vanilla along with some nutmeg and I think what came out was really good. Then I decided that it needed a fudge sauce and some toasted nuts so in order to make my fabulous sunday I created a sugar-free chocolate sauce as well as toasted almonds and this is what I got.

Here is the recipe:

Put all of this into a blender and process until the sugar is dissolved.

2 Bananas (just like with banana bread the older ones are sweeter).

2 cans whole fat coconut milk (refrigerate them to make it freeze faster).

1/4 cup erythritol or Lakonto monk fruit blend

1/4 cup coconut sugar

1 tsp.  real vanilla

1/2 cup peanut butter powder

2 Tb.  cornstarch (non-gmo) or arrowroot

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Once you have blended everything pour the mixture into the bowl of an ice cream machine and process until it firms up. It will get really thick but not hard. Freezing overnight will set it up to a harder consistency.  This melts quickly so don’t leave it out for very long.

Fudge Sauce  

1 12 oz pkg. sugar-free chocolate chips I like Lily’s brand made with stevia)or other chocolate chips of your choice

Cashew milk or Soy milk

1 tsp earth balance or other vegan butter replacement

The method to remember here is a mixture of 1 part milk to 1 part chocolate will give you a ganache that will set up when chilled. If you want it to stay soft and thick but not too firm then you need 1.5 parts of milk and 1 part chocolate. Keep the fat amount the same it’s mainly for richness (very important for vegan chocolate sauces).  For a thinner sauce or syrup, you can go up to 2 parts milk to 1 part chocolate but add the additional milk in 2 Tb increments so you don’t end up with hot chocolate.

The reason that I use cashew or soy milk is that these are creamier and seem to work best with chocolate. Be sure not to try rice milk or drinking coconut milk as they contain too much water and can cause your chocolate to seize up and harden or separate.

Toast some sliced almonds or another nut of your choice for about 5-10 minutes in the oven on 300 and let cool before using. If you have a toaster oven it works really well to place the nuts in the oven on toast for about 3-5 minutes. Keep an eye on them though as they can burn fast.

To serve, pour don’t drizzle that is for wimps then sprinkle nuts on top and

Enjoy!