Roasted Chestnut Ice Cream
The unique flavor of roasted chestnuts evokes cool weather and holidays. This Roasted Chestnut Ice Cream is higher in protein, lower in fat, and lower in sugar that the average ice cream. It can also be dairy free or lactose free depending on your choice of protein powder. And it couldn’t be easier to make — just blend, chill, and churn.
Sourcing and using chestnuts…
I first tasted chestnuts in November 2006 while visiting Rome. Street vendors were roasting them and selling them hot off the grill in paper bags for a few Euros. We peeled off the charred skins to eat the still-hot, soft, slightly sweet chestnuts inside. Some say a roasted chestnut tastes like a slightly nutty sweet potato. My husband claims it tastes like a cross between a sweet potato and a softer, sweeter walnut. That seems pretty close.
Chestnuts make wonderful additions to holiday dishes, both sweet and savory. For many years I made a chestnut dressing for Thanksgiving. They also go beautifully in desserts, especially when paired with fruit, chocolate, or spices.
Chestnuts aren’t so common in America, but you can find packages or jars of roasted chestnuts in some grocery stores. For some reason, the jars seem to be much more expensive than the packages. Amazon also carries roasted chestnuts [affiliate link]. Both the brands shown below worked well in test batches. I highly recommend buying roasted and peeled chestnuts. I have tried to roast whole chestnuts myself, and no matter how well I follow the directions, they turn out rock-hard and impossible to peel. Go for the convenience! (Have you successfully roasted chestnuts? Do you have a secret trick that makes it work? Comment and let me know!)
For the food nerds and history buffs…
I’ve always wondered why chestnuts are so different from nuts. Unlike nuts, chestnuts have very little fat and get soft when roasted. It turns out that the chestnut tree is closely related to the oak tree, so it might make more sense to think of chestnuts like giant acorns.
Although Americans today don’t eat many chestnuts, we certainly did in colonial times. For more history and a recipe for chestnut pudding from 1788, check out this video from the wonderful Townsends YouTube channel.
Recipe notes, flavor variations, and serving ideas…
The liquid portion of this recipe consists of a standard can of coconut milk, 1/4 cup of another milk of your choice, and 1/4 cup of olive oil. I designed the recipe this way to avoid opening a second can of coconut milk and only using part if it. If you’d rather use all coconut milk, simply replace the additional milk and olive oil with 1/2 cup of coconut milk.
I’ve used protein powder (whey in this case) to increase the protein and reduce the sugar, without sacrificing texture. For more details on how that works, click here. As written, the recipe is lactose free (because whey protein powder has the lactose removed). The recipe notes below provide suggestions for using other types of protein powder, if you’d like. For instance, if you swapped the whey protein for collagen, it would be completely dairy free.
Chestnuts have a subtle flavor, which can pair well with other dishes. Try serving Roasted Chestnut Ice Cream on top of a fruit pie or cobbler, like apple, cherry, or even pecan. I’ve recently become obsessed with this flourless chocolate cake from 101 Cookbooks, and now I can’t stop thinking about putting Roasted Chestnut Ice Cream on it for Christmas dinner.
You could also tweak the recipe to make creative variations. The recipe below calls for a small amount of nutmeg, more to enhance the chestnut flavor than to add much spice. Orange and cinnamon would make perfect additions for a holiday dessert, as would dried cranberries. The 1788 recipe mentioned above includes rose water. You can rarely go wrong with a chocolate sauce, swirl, or flakes as a mix-in. See the recipe notes below for details.
If Roasted Chestnut Ice Cream sounds good, you might also like Salted Date, Tahini, and Cardamom Ice Cream (vegan).
Ingredients
Instructions
-
BLEND
Holding back 1/2 of the coconut milk and the additional milk, put all the rest of the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. It might take a minute or so to fully incorporate the chestnuts.
Once the mixture is smooth, add the remaining coconut milk and additional milk.
-
CHILL
Transfer to a container and chill in the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight.
For a quicker chilling time, place the bowl containing your mixture in an ice bath (a larger bowl containing ice water) for a few hours. Stir the mixture occasionally. As the water in the ice bath warms up, pour off some water and add ice to keep the mixture chilling as quickly as possible.
-
CHURN
Before you start churning, set up everything you'll need to quickly transfer the ice cream from the machine into a container for freezing. I use a knife to scrape down the dasher (or paddle) and a wooden spoon to scoop out the ice cream.
Set up your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Pour your mixture into the ice cream maker and churn. In my machine the perfect churning time is 14 minutes, but your experience may vary.
The ice cream is finished churning when it looks like soft-serve and is pulling away from the sides of the canister.
-
STORE
When the ice cream has finished churning, scoop it as quickly as possible into your storage container. Cover it with plastic wrap or parchment paper, if using. (Placing a sheet of parchment paper between the container and lid will help prevent frost, or you can press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the ice cream.) Put the container in the freezer. The ice cream will be fully firm in a few hours.
Note
You can use any unflavored, unsweetened protein powder you want. Whey, collagen, and egg white work the best. Vegan protein powders can work too, but sometimes create a chalky texture. Because different protein powders have different textures, the same volume of different powders may weigh different amounts. Weighing is the best method for ensuring you get the 65 grams the recipe calls for, but here are some estimates for using a cup measurement:
- 65 g collagen powder = 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons
- 65 g whey protein = 1 scant cup
- 65 g egg white protein = 3/4 cup
- 65 g soy protein = 1 cup
Optional additions:
- 1-2 tablespoons of alcohol -- Adding alcohol improves the texture and scoopability of the final product and gives a little kick of extra flavor. Whiskey or spiced rum would be good choices here.
Flavor variations:
- Cranberries -- Add 1/2 cup dried cranberries as a mix-in. (Add them to the ice cream maker in the last minute of churning, or layer them into your storage container as you're scooping the churned ice cream out of the machine.)
- Orange -- Add 1-2 teaspoons of zest and 1-2 teaspoons of juice.
- Cinnamon -- Add 1 teaspoon or more of cinnamon, possibly in combination with the orange zest.
- Chocolate -- Add melt-in-your-mouth chocolate flakes using the method from Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream.
- Rose water -- The Townsends recipe from 1788 (linked above) uses rosewater as a flavoring for chestnut pudding. You could go for a historical feel and add 1-2 tablespoons of rose water to the ice cream. Start with less and keep tasting as you slowly add. You may need less or more, based on the strength of your rose water and how sensitive you are to the taste. It can easily become overpowering.
Recommended equipment: (may include affiliate links)
- My ice cream maker (2 qt)
- Newer version of my ice cream maker (2 qt)
- Well-reviewed less expensive ice cream maker (1.5 qt)
- Insulated ice cream container
- Heat-proof spatula
- Immersion/hand blender
- Ice cream scoop
Recommended ingredients: (may include affiliate links)