Maca Ice Cream (vegan)
What is maca?
Maca is a South American plant that’s credited with many health benefits, although more research is needed to verify these benefits. I often see it marketed as a superfood, added to smoothies or baked goods, or sold as a supplement. (Read more here and here.) Maca powder (the dried and ground root of the plant) can be purchased many places, including Amazon, which is where I bought mine. It worked great for this Maca Ice Cream.
Taste and nutrition
Maca’s taste falls somewhere in the range of graham cracker, baking spice, almond, malt, or caramel. I find it has a hint of a smoky aftertaste, in a pleasantly complex way. Different people tend to notice different flavors. Maca makes a natural pairing for desserts, so sweet maca recipes abound. When developing Maca Ice Cream, I wanted to keep the flavor primarily of maca, but punch it up a little. Cinnamon, vanilla, almond butter, and maple syrup highlight the different aspects of maca’s flavor profile. I also sweetened the ice cream with dates, partly because the caramel-ish flavor of dates complements maca very well, and partly because of maca’s reputation as a health food. I figured if we’re making “healthy” ice cream, it’s a good opportunity to replace sugar with pureed dates to maintain the healthy theme. Speaking of health, this Maca Ice Cream is vegan and lower in sugar and fat than most ice creams.
Blend, chill, churn, freeze, eat!
This Maca Ice Cream comes together in the simplest way — blend, chill, churn. Unless you have a high-powered blender, using a food processor will be the easiest way to create a smooth puree with the dates and other ingredients.
Because maca’s flavor reminds people of so many other flavors, it lends itself to lots of different mix-ins and toppings. I’m partial to graham crackers, but anything from fresh berries, to chocolate, to caramel, to cookies would taste great. Check the notes below for specifics.
If you buy a bag of maca powder and need ideas for how to use it, I can attest that it’s yummy in many varieties of smoothies. I like it in the matcha smoothie I have for breakfast most mornings of my life.
Maca Ice Cream (vegan)
Makes a little more than 1 quart
Ingredients
Instructions
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BLEND
Place all ingredients except coconut milk in a blender or food processor and blend until it makes a thick-but-smooth paste. If you're using a blender, add the coconut milk and blend again until smooth. If you're using a food processor, either add the coconut milk and process again, or transfer the mixture into a large bowl and whisk to blend in the coconut milk. (I use the food-processor method.)
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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 dates.
Ideally, the mixture will be about 40 degrees when you churn it.
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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 (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 9 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. You'll notice it also gets lighter in color as air is mixed in.
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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
Suggested toppings/accompaniments:
- Caramel sauce
- Caramel sauce + dried or freeze dried apples
- Chocolate sauce
- Ginger snaps
- Graham crackers
- Fresh berries
- Heath bar bits [affiliate link] or toffee bits -- these are probably in your grocery store's baking aisle
To create a mix-in, wait until the last minute of churning to add it to the ice cream maker. Adding the bits too early will mean they sink to the bottom. Alternatively, you can layer and swirl them into the ice cream as you transfer it to your storage container. I like using 1/2 to 3/4 cups (~2-3 oz). It's usually enough to get a little mix-in in every bite of ice cream.
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
- Standard blender
- Ice cream scoop
- Measuring cups
Recommended ingredients: (may include affiliate links)