Creamy vegan coconut matcha ice cream studded with black sesame brittle chips. Earthy green undertones with sweet roasted nutty notes that crunch with every bite. So creamy no one will know it's vegan!
If someone ever asks me to dream up my ideal ice cream, I've got my answer. It's this. Coconut matcha ice cream with black sesame brittle chips. I'll be over here eating this whole loaf pan of ice cream for my birthday on Saturday (after hugging all the cats at the cat cafe adoption center). Don't worry, friends, I made a second batch for you all to share (also I've picked out cats for each of you to take home as party favors. Kidding...but am I?).
Before we talk about this birthday ice cream, I wanted to thank all of you for your thoughtful comments on my last post about motherhood. Even the past two days were monumentally better as I took the time for myself, but also let myself enjoy the carved out moments to just be with Zo. I even let her taste the smallest little bit of this ice cream, to which she replied "mmmmm" and I promptly hid the spoon before she developed 1/10th of the sweet tooth I have.
The idea to throw black sesame brittle into ice cream came from my favorite scoop at a local shoppe - mint toffee marshmallow. That, and the unbridled joy that overcomes me when I find giant chunk of toffee in my ice cream - anyone feel me on this? I'm the kid who stole all the Heath Bars out of the ice cream so my dad thought he was eating plain old vanilla (who am I kidding, I still do that). When you make your own ice cream, you get to control the toffee chunk size (big) and quantity (a lot).
Every single bite has roasted seedy sweet crunch bits packed into super creamy earthy matcha-infused coconut ice cream. It's just sweet enough, with earthy green undertones, and roasted nutty notes that linger on your palate. (I unintentionally just wrote "a creamy sweet nutty finish" but it sounded too dirty. But then wrote it again because IT'S TRUE).
That little brown sticker says "Mary R" - my great grandma's name. She would probably recommend taking the contents of this loaf pan to a potluck. I would recommend eating it all yourself.
Matcha March is still in full swing. I've got one more matcha recipe coming next week - I'm not stopping just because St. Patty's Day is over (though, hey, Happy St. Patty's Day!).
Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 teaspoons high-quality matcha powder, I love Encha Latte Grade Organic Matcha
- 1 13.66-ounce can full fat coconut milk
- 1 13.66 to 16-ounce can coconut cream, I've tested with one 14-ounce can or three 5.4 ounce cans - I use Native Forest brand available at Whole Foods, some other major groceries, or online. See note.
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons raw turbinado sugar, or granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon vodka
- 1 whole vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped (or ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1½ cups black sesame brittle
INSTRUCTIONS
- Make a paste with the matcha and 2 tablespoons of coconut milk in a small bowl, whisking until completely smooth.
- Warm coconut cream, coconut milk, sugar, maple syrup, coconut oil, vodka, vanilla bean seed and pod, matcha paste, and salt in a medium pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When the cream begins to simmer, remove the pot from heat. Cover and let the mixture steep for 20 minutes. Remove the bean pod, scraping out the insides of the pod for all that vanilla goodness. Reserve the pod to make vanilla extract.
- Meanwhile, prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice cubes and water.
- Pour the base into a large 1-gallon Ziploc bag. Seal it and submerge the mixture in the ice bath until cold, about 30 minutes. (You can also skip this step by refrigerating until the mixture is cold, about 4 hours).
- Pour the ice cream base into the bowl of your pre-frozen ice cream maker. Follow the directions on your ice cream maker to churn the base into ice cream, until it is the consistency of soft-serve, about 15-18 minutes. Fold in 1½ cups black sesame brittle.
- Pack the ice cream into an air-tight storage container or a metal loaf pan, pressing a sheet of parchment paper directly against the ice cream or wrapping the whole thing in plastic wrap.
- Freeze until firm, at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.
Ngan -
Hi Sarah, which coconut milk brand did you use? I used the one I found in Asian supermarket. The coconut taste is so rich that it overpowers the matcha.
Sarah Menanix -
For coconut milk, I prefer 365 brand, Native Forest, or Thai Kitchens. I do not recommend using the coconut cream from Trader Joe's as they seem to have updated their supplier and the new consistency is a bit oily and grainy. I haven't tried the recipe with Chaokoh coconut milk, but I do find the coconut flavor a bit stronger in that one.
Sarah Menanix -
Also one more note: I highly recommend using high-quality matcha to get the best matcha flavor!
Kim -
Hey! This sounds amazing! I am the owner & mixologist of Norton’s Main Scoop and I have a big demand for vegan flavors and this sounds Devine. I’m curious about the vodka. Can it be omitted?
Sarah Menanix -
Absolutely! When I first started making my vegan ice creams, I did not use the vodka, but I found that the small addition just made it all the more creamier and easier to scoop!
Kim Norton -
Awesome!!! Thanks for the tip!
Jen -
Quick question: I have an anti-sweet tooth and am always reducing sugar in recipes. Coconut cream is quite sweet-could I swap that for another can of coconut milk or would that mess with the texture? Thanks!
Sarah Menanix -
I've never tried this, but my guess is that the ice cream would probably be much more firm when frozen - the sugar helps to keep it soft enough to scoop. Please let me know if you give it a go - I'd love to know!
Jennifer -
Hi what of ice cream maker do you recommend? Ive been looking to buy one but have been overwhelmed with the choices. Thank you!!!
Sarah Menanix -
I have the KitchenAid attachment ice cream maker and I love it! If you have a KitchenAid stand mixer, I highly recommend it!
Kate -
This ice cream sounds absolutely divine!! I am a toffee stealer for sure. Can't wait to try out this recipe!!
Carla -
I legitimately want to eat this ice cream EVERY DAY. With some extra brittle on the side. Black Sesame Brittle dipped into Coconut Matcha Ice Cream with Black Sesame Brittle chips.
Sheri Nix -
And I didn't get any of the ice cream, boo hoo! But I can tell you the Black Sesame Brittle was addicting... :)
heather (delicious not gorgeous) -
i pick the toppings out of everything too (chocolate chips out of pancakes, crumb topping off of coffee cake). oops. anyways, this sounds amazing, and i can't believe i hadn't heard of/thought of black sesame brittle in ice cream before?! i usually munch on it plain, but i think i could save some for ice cream (:
Joyce @ Sun Diego Eats -
Ummm everyone I want out of an ice cream ever!
Sue -
Hi Sarah,
I read Bon Jon Gourmet blog and got linked to your Macha Ice Cream recipe from there. This looks amazing! A question: in the directions, you say to mix corn syrup into the coconut cream mixture. Corn syrup isn't in the list of ingredients. Maple syrup is. Can you advise?
Thanks
Sarah Menanix -
Ah thank you for catching that Sue! It was a remnant from my previous version (I used to make this with corn syrup then switched to maple syrup and it works just as well!). Anyway, I've updated the instructions - again, thank yoU!
Sue -
Thanks Sarah I'm going to try it this weekend
Sarah | Well and Full -
Happy almost birthday, m'dear! I hope your special day is absolutely lovely, just like this ice cream :)