Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream (Vegan)

It has been so nice and unusually warm out lately, that I haven’t put the ice cream maker away yet. To make a more seasonally appropriate ice cream, I did decide to make the obvious pumpkin spice flavoured treat.  Sorry, I had to! We didn’t have any pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving because we were camping, so this is the next best thing. Plus, my husband doesn’t really enjoy pumpkin pie so I would have had to eat it all by myself.

This ice cream is another easy one to make. Don’t be intimidated by making your own ice cream.  Plus, when you make your own, there really is no fake stuff in it.  I added some pie crust and pecans to mine to make it more like pumpkin pie. You can just leave it plain or add whatever you want to it, such as crushed cookies or whipped coconut cream.

After I took the picture above, I totally dropped the bowl and ice cream, making a mess everywhere. I should have taken a picture. Just a few minutes prior, I had dropped a large box of straws too and had to pick up all 200 or so of them. I had to just walk away from the mess for a little bit. Luckily, I’ve had the bowl for over 18 years, so I wasn’t too upset.  Another funny thing that happened was when I first bought pumpkin to make the ice cream, I accidentally bought the pumpkin pie filling (soooo sweet!).  I hate wasting food so I did manage to make some pumpkin bread out of it but I didn’t need to add a drop of sweetener to it.

Note: This recipe uses an ice cream maker. If your ice cream maker requires components to be frozen, make sure to freeze them overnight. My ice cream bowl requires 24 hours of freezing before use. You could probably use without an ice cream maker but it won’t be as creamy.

MAKES APPROXIMATELY 1 LITRE

INGREDIENTS
– 2 cans (400 mL) of full-fat coconut milk (I used Thai Kitchen and I highly recommend. I haven’t be able to get the same creaminess from others)
– 1/2 cup organic agave (I used Wholesome Organic Raw Blue Agave)
– 3/4 cup real pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
– 1 teaspoon cinnamon
– 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
– 1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger (or 1/2 teaspoon real grated ginger)
– 1/4 teaspoon sea salt (optional, but recommended)

Spiced Nuts (optional)
– 1/2 cup pecans
– 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
– 1 tablespoon maple syrup
– pinch of chili powder and/or cayenne powder

DIRECTIONS
1. Prepare ice cream base by mixing all of the ingredients into a medium saucepan. Slowly bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
2. Put mixture in large blender or use an immersion blender (caution: liquid is hot so make sure blender is covered or if using immersion blender that your pot is tall enough that you won’t get splattered). Blend on low speed for around 30-45 seconds. If you want to add in 1 tablespoon of your favourite liquor right now, it does help improve the texture of the ice cream.
3. Pour mixture into a sealed container and put in fridge for 4 hours or more until complete cooled. To speed up the process, you could put in freezer, but don’t let the mixture freeze. You want it around 45-50F.
4. Prepare ice cream in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s direction. I use my KitchenAid ice cream maker attachment. To do this, I pour the mixture slowly into the bowl while it mixes on the lowest setting. I let it mix for about 15-20 minutes on the lowest setting. I then move it to the next setting for a minute or two and then the third speed for another minute or two until the ice cream is frozen and airy.

Spiced Pecans
1. Preheat oven to 300F
2. Combine all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix.
3. Line a pan with parchment paper and spread the mixture to a thin layer
4. Cook for approximately 20-25 minutes, flipping half-way until nuts are slightly toasted. Watch carefully because the time depends on the distribution of the nuts on the pan and your oven.
5. Let cool and chop. Top your ice cream with them or mix into it.