WARNING: This recipe is so good. Like really really good. It is so refreshing, anti-inflammatory, and it tastes absolutely divine.
I was inspired to make this by Girl Cooks World and Vedged Out. This recipe is absolutely RAWKING good, you will likely want to double it!
Cherry Garcia Ice Cream
*This ice cream recipe works awesome with fresh coconut meat or with canned coconut milk. I honestly like it both ways equally!
- 1 -1/2 cups fresh Coconut Meat* (from 2 or 3 Young Thai Coconuts)
- 1/2 cup coconut water*
*OR Use one – 12oz. can full fat coconut milk* (this replaces coconut meat + coconut water) - 1 cup frozen dark cherries, chopped (divided)
- 1/3 cup sweetener: coconut nectar, maple syrup, or (non vegan) honey
- 1/2 tsp almond extract (can be omitted)
- 1 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (omit for AIP)
- optional: 1 Tablespoon vodka, this makes a softer ice cream for scooping, if you plan to keep this frozen for a little while. The vodka doesn’t freeze, so when added to vegan ice creams it makes them softer, especially after being kept in the freezer for a while.
- optional: 1/2 Tablespoon lemon juice (brilliant idea from Vedged Out and Ben & Jerry’s Ingredient list)
Chocolate Pieces:
- 2 Tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 2 Tablespoons raw cacao powder (use carob for AIP)
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- Blend coconut meat and coconut water (or canned coconut milk) + 3 cherries (for pink color), sweetener, almond extract, vanilla & lemon juice in a high speed blender. Pour into ice cream maker. While mixing in the ice cream maker, make the chocolate pieces.
- Gently melt coconut oil over low heat, stir in cacao and maple syrup. Pour onto a piece of wax/parchment paper on a flat plate or baking dish. Freeze sheet of chocolate for 15 minutes, then break into small pieces.
- When ice cream is starting to firm up, add in frozen chopped cherries. When ice cream is ready, stir in broken up pieces of the raw chocolate. (You can also just pour the chocolate recipe over the ice cream, and it will act like a “magic shell” covering that hardens up when it hits the cold ice cream!)
Enjoy!
*Also check out Vedged Out’s Raw Version using cashews!
Also featured on Paleo AIP Recipe Roundup – Gluten Free Wednesdays – Naturally Sweet Recipe Roundup
Betty Rawker 
Nicely done! I have a raw version here: http://www.sunwarrior.com/news/raw-vegan-cherry-garcia-ice-cream/
Oh, your raw version looks amazing too!! I wish I had more access to young Thai Coconuts where I live in Oregon, so I could do this with fresh coconuts, but it is always hit or miss whether the local stores have them! Your cashew idea looks rawsome!!
Thanks babe! I’m totally afraid of hacking into a coconut…. I let one go rotten once since I couldn’t get up the guts to cleaver it….! xx
New Seasons in the frozen fruit aisle, has raw, organic, coconut meat! Just had a shake with it, in fact!
Oh, I have to go get some next time I go that way! (we live a ways outta town, 1 and 1/2 hours from any Whole Foods or New Seasons) I was at an Asian grocery store last week in Salem, grabbed a few bags of frozen coconut meat out of the freezer there, and then realized they all had added sugar, so put them back. I will totally check out New Seasons! I can usually find them closer to home at Winco in Mac, but went there today dreaming of fresh coconut and they were totally out 😦
This looks amazing! I’ll be trying this out real soon!
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I guess I’m gonna have to invest in and ice cream maker. Summer is around the corner and who wouldn’t want to dive into these delicious recipes, yum! Oh 1 question I’m not a huge fan of coconut flavor so when using the coconut milk does the ice cream taste a lot like coconut?
Hey Leslie,
I don’t personally notice the coconut flavor at all. The almond extract and cherries really stand out for me along with the dark chocolate pieces. But I can assume that maybe some people who really dislike coconut might be able to pick up on the coconut flavor?! Can’t honestly say for sure. I will say that homemade ice cream is the ultimate treat though!! xoxo
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Looks delicious–can’t wait to make it! How many 1/2-cup servings does it make?
And do you think it could be doubled & still fit into a Cuisine-art type of ice cream maker that typically makes a quart of ice cream?
Hi Maggie! This recipe makes about 3 cups, so a total of 6 x 1/2 cup servings. Since a quart is 4 cups, I don’t think you could double it? The machine I have is the Cuisine-art 1.5 quart and I can double it, but it pretty much fills it up.
Thanks! Hope you enjoy this recipe!
Made it as written–it’s absolutely delicious–the cherry/chocolate combination is delightful. And I do think that doubling it would be too much volume for the Cuisineart ice cream maker I have.
I might try putting a couple of tablespoons of vodka in it the next time to keep it a bit softer when it comes out of the freezer. I’m too impatient to wait for it to soften! Thanks for the great recipe.
For sure, I highly recommend even just a 1/2 tablespoon to 1 tablespoon of vodka for softer ice creams! I have been adding a little booze to all my ice creams with great success, and I need to go back update these recipes! Oh, and an ameretto liqueur would be insane in this! ♥
xoxo
Love the amaretto idea–definitely going to try that!
This recipe is DELICIOUS!!!!! I am so glad I tried it. The coconut milk makes a nice smooth and rich ice cream, I would have never thought of using coconut milk from a can! I used the lemon juice and honestly couldn’t tell….next time I may not, just to see if I can tell a difference. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Yay! Thanks for the most awesome feedback! So glad you enjoyed it!! Rawk on!
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this looks devine
Great recipe. I also love those icecream bowls too. Can you tell me where can I buy the bowls?
Thanks much
Megha
Hi Megah!
I found the ice cream bowls at “Cost Plus World Market” for $1.50 each!
Thanks!!
Another awesome recipe, Andrea! Thanks so much for sharing on Gluten-Free Wednesdays! 🙂 I really appreciate you linking up each week!
xo,
Shirley
Sweetness!! Thanks so much for sharing Shirley!!
I don’t have an ice cream maker 😦 Is there a way to make this wonderful-looking recipe sans machine?
Hi Selayna!
Well you’ve got a few options to make ice cream without an ice cream maker!
You can just use a base of frozen bananas instead of coconut, and whirl the frozen bananas in a food processor, then add in the cherries and chocolate for instant soft serve.
You can make “girl scout ice cream” in a bag like this recipe: http://spoonful.com/recipes/homemade-ice-cream-bag
Or some people like to freeze the coconut milk in an ice cube tray and run the coconut milk ice cubes through a juicer (with the blank plate) along with the cherries to create an ice cream.
And lastly, you can blend the ingredients as listed in my recipe, pour into a bowl and set in the freezer, and then pull out and stir every hour on the hour for 6 hours or so.
I will be honest though, if you want true creamy ice cream, like the stuff you buy at the store, or ice cream shop, then an ice cream maker is the way to go!
Best of luck!
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Betty….I appreciate all the work you do…..BUT….as a physician…..all I see is desserts…desserts and more ways to destroy your health and the health of others……Please…..I implore you to STOP promoting foods that continually spike and raise the glycemic index with never a moment’s rest….The constant influx of sugars will destroy your immunity….PLEASE read about it!!!!…..The vegan lifestyle..short term is an excellent way to reboot your system…long term…inherently dangerous….Every energy system requires B vitamins…and the nervous system requires B12…the myelin sheath….which is the insulation of our nervous “electrical” system will catabolize over time…..If I were living in Tahiti….w/o a care in the world…and the stressors or society were non existant..then veganism might just work…but NOT in an industrial high stressed hormoes out of control world
Hi Dave,
Why not go lecture someone like Little Debbie? Mrs. Butterworth, or Sara Lee?
Thanks and have a great day!
Betty Rawker
You can get plenty of B vitamins on the vegan lifestyle. You can also add nutritious yeast flakes, or a B12 tablet, to get your B12. However, I have not ever added the B12 tablet, and just had my B12 checked, and it is within the normal range. You can also get B12 from fortified cereals, but I stick to nutritious yeast flakes.
This recipe absolutely ‘rawks’! We’ll be making this again and again. Thanks so much for sharing it.
Hi Cathryn!
I am so glad you liked it!! It’s one of my favorite ice cream recipes! Thanks so much for coming back to leave a comment!
xo
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