the elusive vegan brown bread ice cream
When it comes to vegan ice cream, I’m a huge fan of Scoops. Many vegan ice creams fail in their attempts at creaminess and flavor but Scoops seems to get it just right. Yet, Scoops is by no means perfect. My biggest complaint about this great ice cream shop is that while they have four vegan flavors to choose from daily, they also have about 12 non-vegan flavors as well. Usually, this wouldn’t bother me (at least we get the vegan flavors!) but then my eyes glance over to the non-vegan offerings and I always get jealous. Lemon Hefeweizen ice cream. Thai Iced Tea ice cream. Don’t get me wrong, there are some great vegan flavors as well, but still…there are about 12 vegan combinations in rotation and sometimes I just wish there were more. And then there’s the brown bread. There is always a tub of brown bread ice cream on the non-vegan side. While all the flavors change daily, this flavor is so good that they have it every day. Not for us vegans though. Shawn claims that once upon a time, when the ice cream shop was still new and more experimental he tried the vegan brown bread ice cream, but those days seem to be long gone.
Today, ladies and gentleman, I bring you the answer to the elusive brown bread. There may be other versions of this treat, but this is what I imagine you’d get at Scoops if they did decide to make it. I overheard some of the secrets to what makes it so special and you may be surprised. You may be delighted.
Brown Bread Ice Cream
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ¼ cup soy milk, separated
2 cups soy creamer
2 Tbsp arrowroot
½ cup soy milk
1 cup grape nuts
Caramel Sauce
½ cup Earth Balance
2 cups brown sugar
¾ cup soy creamer, separated
2 Tbsp arrowroot
Take 1/4 cup of the soy milk and mix with 2 Tbsp Arrowroot. Set aside.
In a medium sauce pan, mix the sugar and vanilla extract. Cover the bottom of the pan with the sugar mixture and start to melt over medium heat. As the edges of the sugar turns brown, stir gently until all sugar is melted and turns to a dark caramel brown.
Carefully pour in the soy creamer and soy milk. Be aware that the caramel may sputter and pop. Continue to stir until the caramel disolves into the cream. Bring to a boil and mix in the arrowroot mixture. Stir until it noticably thickens. Pour into a seperate bowl, cover and refrigerate until cool.
To make the caramel sauce, again mix the arrowroot with 1/4 cup soy creamer and set aside. Melt the Earth Balance in a small sauce pan. Add the brown sugar and combine. Next add the remaining 1/2 cup soy creamer and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. At this point, add in the arrowroot mixture and stir until it thickens noticably. Put this in another container and refrigerate until cool.
Once the two mixtures have cooled, about 4 hours or so, mixt the grape nuts and the remaining soy milk together. Make sure they are fully coated and let sit.
Next, make your ice cream according to your ice cream maker’s instructions starting with the cream/caramel mixture. As the ice cream begins to solidify, pour the grape nuts in. Once these are mixed in, drizzle in a bit of the caramel sauce to make swirls.
You can eat right away if you like your ice cream soft. I recommend putting into containers, drizzling a bit more caramel in, topping with any leftover grape nuts and freezing.
This is without a doubt the best ice cream I have ever made. Unbelievably delicious. Sweet and slightly savory. The caramel sauce adds a bit of buttery sweetness. You should go make some. It is so good I can’t even describe it to you.
Cran-Raspberry Muffins
Ok, I think this can be the last muffin post for a little while. Maybe. Perhaps I’ll sneak in just one more though. These cran-raspberry muffins were so moist and fruity; the perfect combination of sweet cakey muffin and tart fruit chunks. They came with us to a lovely cemetary screening of The Muppet Movie and were unfortunately a little smooshed on the way (but still tasted just as lovely). These muffins have a dominant raspberry flavor but the cranberries add a bit of tartness and give the muffin a little more complex flavor. Mostly, they’re just sweet, chunky and delicious.
Cran-Raspberry Muffins
¼ cup dried cranberries
½ cup sugar
2/3 cup cran-raspberry juice
2 cups flour
1 ¼ tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ scant tsp salt
1/3 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ cup frozen raspberries
In a medium bowl, mix sugar, dried cranberries and cran-raspberry juice together. Set aside to let the cranberries soften for about 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400° and grease muffin tin.
In another bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together.
Add the oil and vanilla extract to the cranberry mixture and whisk together. Gently pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and stir until a few lumps remain. Add in the the raspberries into the batter fold in so they are fairly evenly dispersed. If you use frozen raspberries, there is no need to thaw them, just make sure there aren’t chunks of ice in the mix as they’ll creat gooey spots in your muffins.
Spoon into muffin tin and fill cups to the top. Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops are slightly springy when touched. Let sit in muffin pans for about 5 minutes and remove to cool on a baking rack. Devour warm or cooled.
More muffins!
Yep, more muffins, coming right your way. I now go to the market and fantasize about what I can create in these little baked bites of joy. Today I went with an uncomplicated recipe…orange muffins. These muffins are deliciously fragrant and perfect for any time of day. The brown sugar glaze gives just a hint of sweetness but these would also be great with some Earth Balance and marmalade.
Orange muffins
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
¾ cup orange juice
1/3 cup apple sauce
½ cup sugar
zest of one orange
Brown Sugar Glaze
½ cup brown sugar
½ tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp water
Preheat oven to 375° and grease muffin tin or fill with muffin liners.
Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, combine orange juice, apple sauce, sugar and orange zest fully. Pour the wet into the flour and stir gently. Mix until barely combined allowing for a few lumps.
Scoop into the prepared muffin pan filling each cup about 3/4 full. Cook for about 20 minutes. The tops should spring back when touched.
While the muffins are cooking, mix the brown sugar, vanilla and water in a small sauce pan over medium heat, stirring until sugar is fully dissolved.
Allow muffins to cool slightly and remove from pan. Dip the tops of the muffins in the glaze and allow to soak for a second. Let dry for a second and enjoy warm.
Now wasn’t that easy? Are you starting to enjoy muffins as much as I am? No? Ok, well I could go for some suggestions. I’ve got a few more up my sleeve, but what’s your favorite muffin? Think about it and get back to me…I’ll be here makin’ muffins in the kitchen.
Jelly Donut Muffins
I think I mentioned that I’m now obsessed with muffins and it’s true. So here are some early morning muffins for you all.
Jelly Donut Muffins
makes about 6
1/2 cup soy milk
1 tsp vinegar
2 Tbsp water
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
6 tsp jelly of your choice
1/3 cup melted Earth Balance for dipping
1/3 cup sugar for dipping
Mix vinegar and soy milk together and set aside to curdle.
Preheat oven to 375° and grease muffin pan.
Whisk the soy milk mixture, oil, vanilla and water together. In a seperate bowl, mix flour, salt, baking soda and sugar together. Pour the liquid into the flour mixure and stir together just enough to combine.
Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full with batter using a spoon or ice cream scoop. Drop about a tablespoon of jelly in the center top of each muffin. Use the remaining batter to cover the jelly and fill the cups fully.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean (don’t mind the jelly though).
Melt the Earth Balance and put in a small dish for dipping. Also, put remaining sugar in a small bowl. Remove the muffins from the tins and let cool enough to hold.
Dip tops of muffins in Earth Balance and let any excess drip off. Next dip into sugar and roll around so all surfaces are covered.
You could definitely cover the whole thing in sugar if you like. The muffins themselves aren’t too sweet so it really depends on what you’re in the mood for. Enjoy them when still warm. The muffins have a very simple flavor, perfect for breakfast. I recommend experimenting with different jellies. Huckleberry jam for instance is amazing.
More muffins to come!
French Toasties
Hi, my name is Alix and I’m a toast addict. You may think I’m joking when I say that but it is entirely true. I have had an unhealthy obsession with bread basically forever and toast has been a staple in my diet for years. If my day doesn’t start with toast, it generally doesn’t go right. When I get my hands on a fresh loaf of bread, I’m happier than a kid who got a pony for Christmas. This week, an unexpected trip to a not-so-local farmer’s market provided me an amazing loaf of rustic Italian bread. It was a soft loaf, with a thick crust that wasn’t too crunchy; the perfect thing for french toast.
I woke up already fantasizing about the delicious breakfast I was going to have when I realized that I had no tofu, a key ingredient for my usual French Toast recipe. Not to be detered, I brainstormed my own recipe. To my surprise, it was just as good as my usual. I can’t take all the credit, as having fresh bread makes all the difference, but I will say this was simple and remarkably good.
Vegan French Toast
makes about 4 servings
1 cup vanilla soy milk
1 Tbsp Earth Balance, melted
1 Tbsp corn starch
2 Tbsp flour
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
4-6 thick slices of your favorite bread
Whisk together all ingredients (except the bread) in a large bowl. Dip the bread in the liquid and let soak. Heat a bit of oil in pan on medium high. When the oil is hot, place the soaked bread in the pan and cook until the outside layer is slightly crisp. Flip carefully and cook the other side. Lower the heat slightly and cook the first side again to further brown the outside and make sure the inside isn’t soggy. Repeat with the other side. Serve immediately with your favorite toppings.
