Lucuma Ice Cream with Caramel Swirl (vegan)

Name: Lucuma Ice Cream with Caramel Swirl (vegan)
Ingredients: 1 can coconut milk; 12 ounces silken tofu; 1/2 cup maple syrup; 1/2 cup lucuma powder; 1/4 cup olive oil; 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt; 1/2 - 1 cup protein powder; 1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum; 1/2 cup vegan caramel

February 16, 2024 0 Comments

lucuma ice cream pictured next to a jar of caramel sauce and a bag of lucuma powder

This lucuma ice cream has an unusual (and yummy!) tropical fruit flavor, lower sugar, higher protein, and gets finished off with a delicious caramel swirl. Everything comes together quickly in a blender or food processor, no cooking is required, and the whole thing is vegan.

What is lucuma and how does it taste?

Lucuma is a South American fruit that has become popular in recent years in the nutrition world. It has fiber, antioxidants, and minerals, like most fruits, but it’s mild flavor and sweet taste make it attractive as a sugar substitute. (More info here.) It’s usually sold in America as a powder which can be added to smoothies or used in baking to replace a portion of the sugar.

The internet says that lucuma tastes like butterscotch or maple. One site mentioned sweet potato. I generally agree with all these descriptions, but to me it also has a distinctly fruity flavor, somewhat like raspberry. It’s certainly unlike anything I’ve tasted before, and I like it.

In Peru, lucuma ice cream is common and often served with caramel or dulce de leche. I’m following that lead by adding a caramel swirl. Lucuma ice cream makes such a pretty, pale pink color!

How to make the swirl

I have a whole post for vegan caramel, here. It’s my go-to recipe for any caramel swirl. It begins with dates, but uses uses a couple of unexpected ingredients — olive oil and nutritional yeast — to replicate the richness and flavor of caramel better than other vegan caramel recipes I’ve tried. It’s also designed to be a great texture for swirling and won’t freeze hard in the ice cream.

To make the swirl, layer the churned ice cream into your storage container alternating with dollops of caramel. Swirl a knife through the ice cream to mix it with swirl slightly. More details are in the caramel post and in the recipe below.

Vegan options and protein powder

The recipe below is based on coconut milk and silken tofu, one of my favorite, higher-protein combinations for vegan and dairy-free ice cream. (When I use this combination, I also add back some extra fat like olive oil, because the ice cream needs that richness.)

I usually include unflavored, unsweetened protein powder in my recipes, because it helps in reducing sugar while maintaining a good texture. (Read more about that here.) This recipe works well without the protein powder, but you do have some options…

Feel free to leave out the protein powder. The recipe is vegan without it. If you’d like to add protein powder, I find that whey and collagen work best. They create a nice texture without adding any noticeable flavors. If you’d like to add protein, but want to keep the recipe vegan, you can use soy protein powder. It will add a slight “soy” flavor and a slight chalkiness, but the ice cream will still be great. If you have another favorite vegan protein powder, give it a try and let me know how it goes!

Lucuma Ice Cream with Caramel Swirl (vegan)

Makes ~1 quart

Recipe Category: Dairy Free Egg Free

Lactose Free

No Cook Vegan

Ingredients

Servings

For the ice cream base

1 can coconut milk (13.5 oz/400 ml, full fat, unsweetened)
12 ounces silken tofu (1 box, firm or extra firm, packing water drained off, ~335 g after draining)
1/2 cup maple syrup (~155 g)
1/2 cup lucuma powder (~80 g)
1/4 cup olive oil (50 g, avocado or canola would also work)
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt (~1 g)
1/2 - 1 cup protein powder (optional, ~50 g, unflavored, unsweetened)
1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum (optional, but improves the texture and longevity in the freezer)

For the swirl

1/2 cup vegan caramel (see link above for recipe)

Instructions

BLEND

Place all ingredients -- except the caramel for the swirl -- in a blender and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides a few times to get everything incorporated. I find it works well to hold back half of the coconut milk until everything else is well blended, then add the rest of the coconut milk at the end.
CHILL

Transfer to a container and chill in the fridge 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. When fully chilled, this ice cream base is thick like pudding, because of the tofu.

Ideally, the mixture will be about 40 degrees when you churn it.
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. Grab your caramel for swirling!

Set up your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Pour (or scoop) your mixture into the ice cream maker and churn. Because this mixture is thicker than many ice cream bases, it churns more quickly than most. In my machine the perfect churning time is 8 minutes, but your experience may vary.

The ice cream is ready when it has the consistency of soft serve and has started pulling away from the edge of the canister.
SWIRL AND STORE

To create a swirl, put a layer of ice cream in your container, dollop the caramel on top, then another layer of ice cream, and so on. I do either 2 or 3 layers of ice cream. The number and thickness of your layers, along with the size of your caramel dollops, determines whether your swirl will be thicker and more distinct or thinner and more mixed into the ice cream.

Swirl a knife through the ice cream to mix the caramel a little. Then put your container in the freezer.