Salted Date, Tahini, and Cardamom Ice Cream (vegan)
Quite a few years ago, I came across a recipe from The Kitchn for a healthy dessert — Tahini-Date Salted Caramels. They are delicious, and I recommend you make them! But like all delicious things, they deserve to exist in ice-cream form too. This salted date, tahini, and cardamom ice cream is vegan and has minimal added sugars, so it’s about as healthy as ice cream gets. The simple no-cook method also makes it fast and easy.
Dates have a rich, sweet flavor that mimics caramel fairly well, while tahini adds complexity and a hint of contrasting bitterness. Cardamom pairs beautifully, which makes sense because dates, tahini, and cardamom all commonly appear in Middle Eastern desserts. And everything is better salted.
The flavor is somehow intense, yet delicate. I love it on its own, but check the recipe notes for suggested toppings and flavor variations, like candied rose, orange zest, and chai spice.
Salted Date, Tahini, and Cardamom Ice Cream (vegan)
This ice cream brings a rich, warm, spiced flavor reminiscent of caramel, while minimizing the added sugars. A food processor is helpful for blending the dates.
Makes ~1 quart
Ingredients
Instructions
-
BLEND
Place all ingredients except coconut milk in a blender or food processor and blend until it makes a thick, almost fluffy paste. If you're using a blender, add the coconut milk and blend again until smooth. If you're using a food processor, it probably can't handle the full amount of liquid, so transfer the date-tahini mixture into a bowl and use a whisk to blend in the coconut milk. (I use the food-processor method.)
-
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.
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.
Set up your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Pour 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 10 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.
-
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:
- Caramel sauce
- Heath bar bits [affiliate link] or toffee bits -- these are probably in your grocery store's baking aisle
Orange variations:
- To infuse orange flavor into the ice cream: add a teaspoon of orange zest and 2 teaspoons of orange juice to the ice cream base. The bright, fresh orange flavor contrasts nicely with the warm, rich, spiced flavors of the tahini, dates, and cardamom.
- Or, to create an orange topping: make an orange liqueur sauce (such as this Easy Grand Marnier Sauce from The Spruce Eats) or just warm up some orange preserves or marmalade and drizzle it on top.
Rose variation:
- Add 1-2 tablespoons of rosewater to the ice cream base. Start with 1 tablespoon and add slowly, tasting as you go. Rosewater can be overpowering, and some people are more sensitive to it than others. Top with candied rose petals [affiliate link].
Spice variations:
- Swap the cardamom for another spice if you prefer, such as cinnamon.
- Use a spice blend, such as chai spice, pumpkin pie spice, or apple pie spice blend.