April Showers Bring...Chai Tea Ice Cream

This past January, I moved into a new house in a great neighborhood with awesome people. As the weather slowwwwly but surely gets better, we've been getting to enjoy one of the best features of this lovely place: an enclosed porch, complete with a grill, comfy patio furniture, and a view over the community dog park behind our house. All I want to do is sit out there and bask in the glory of spring, preferably while eating delicious warm weather treats, like the Chai Latte Ice Cream that I'm going to share with you lucky devils today.

Ice cream was one of those things I thought I'd miss as a vegan, but then I discovered coconut milk ice cream and I've never looked back. This recipe combines the fragrance of chai tea and five different spices with the smooth goodness of coconut milk and cashew cream, and the result is heavenly. Even the girlfriend - one of those mythical creatures who can eat a single Thin Mint and be satisfied - gave this the stamp of approval, so I'm going to go ahead and call it a success.

I very seriously considered buying an ice cream maker for the sole purpose of never running out of frozen treats this summer, but ultimately decided to hold off on adding a super specialized gadget to my kitchen for now. Luckily, I found instructions for several different ways to make ice cream without this contraption! If you do have an ice cream maker, crank that bad boy up and let it do its thing. If not, check out the recipe below for details on how to get by without one - all you need is a giant bowl and some serious forearm strength!

Chai Latte Ice Cream
recipe adapted from the brilliant folks at The Minimalist Baker; machine-free instructions are from David Lebovitz

Makes about 2 pints of ice cream.

1½ cups raw cashews
1 cup coconut milk
3 bags of chai tea
¼ cup coconut oil, melted
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon each of cinnamon and ginger
½ teaspoon each of ground cloves, allspice, and cardamom

You'll need a little prep time for this recipe; I recommend starting it the evening before you want to serve your ice cream. Start off by soaking your cashews. Just dump them in a bowl, pour in enough cold water so that they're all submerged, and leave them alone for at least 6 hours (overnight is fine, too). Now steep your tea in a mug of hot water for about 3 minutes - it's going to be ridiculously strong! - and leave it in the fridge until you're ready to use it. Finally, grab your largest bowl and put it in the freezer to chill. This will help your ice cream set once you pour it in.

Chai tea and cashew cream. And DIY coasters!

When you're ready to actually whip up your frosty dessert, you'll start by making cashew cream. Throw your soaked cashews (they'll be a little soft and kind of bland) into a food processor or blender, and puree them forever and ever. You should end up with something that looks a little bit like very thick, very pale peanut butter.

Add the coconut milk, coconut oil, brewed tea, maple syrup, sugar, vanilla, and spices to the blender and whirl everything around for at least 3 minutes, stopping every once in a while to scrape down the sides. Your "ice cream" is going to look a little gross at this point - picture a partially melted Frappucino and you'll have a good idea of what you're working with.

Starring: cinnamon.

When you're certain that every little clump of cashew has been demolished, pour the liquid into your pre-chilled bowl and stick it in the freezer. Now comes the hard part: waiting and mixing. Every 45 minutes or so, take your bowl out and whisk the mixture really vigorously for about 2 minutes, then put it back in the freezer while you go watch another episode of The Wire. At first, it'll still be pretty watery; the next time around, though, it'll have a pudding-like consistency, and after about 3 hours you'll be breaking a sweat trying to mix it properly.

Once your ice cream is sufficiently solid, transfer it into a tupperware container and let it sit in the freezer until you're ready to eat it. Or just, ya know...eat it. Add chocolate chips, because life is short. You can also try running your ice cream through the blender one more time before you serve it - this will get you a soft serve texture if that's more your cup of (chai) tea!