Do you know what happens when you add raw tahini to a chocolate base ice cream? Magic. That’s what happens. You get an incredibly, rich and robust ice cream that is creamy and has a dark chocolate flavor to it. It is incredible….like Dutch chocolate ice cream.
So, apparently I’m not the first person to think of adding tahini to ice cream….but I guarantee there isn’t another version like this one around. Each ingredient I use has a specific purpose that makes the end result divine.
It will for sure fool anybody who loves dairy ice cream….it is just as rich and creamy.
My parents just left my house sampling this ice cream and just loved it…lots of “mmmmm, amazing, wow” and shocked, saying “how can you make it taste this creamy with no milk or cream?!” Hahaha…all of the ingredients I use for this ice cream is like no other I’ve made before or seen…this combo comes together to create the most creamy and delicious, deep flavor.
If you love the bold flavor of tahini and are a chocolate fan, then this is the ice cream for you. My daughter is 2 years old and was practically fighting over us eating it…she had a chocolate face….I should have snapped a shot!
I posted a little teaser photo last week on Facebook here and you people got pretty excited about it.
My Mocha Ice Cream is pretty flippin fantastic, but this time I wanted a vegan ice cream that didn’t rely on what you always see in vegan ice creams:
cashews or coconut milk
So, I came up with this concoction and honestly, it is amazing. Each ingredient I use contributes to this amazing formula.
3 components combined that will make any dairy ice cream bow down to this ice cream:
- cocoa butter is a rich fat that contributes to the chocolate flavor and the creamy texture
- oat flour is a must, as it is crucial in thickening and contributing to the creamy texture
- tahini is very, very creamy and is dynamite for texture and contributing to a rich, deep flavor
The inspiration for this ice cream came from the amazing raw tahini from Rawguru. It is raw sesame seeds, not toasted, and is divinely creamy. It is a great base for so many recipes.
The flavors of chocolate and raw tahini join together with oats and cocoa butter to create the most creamy, robust and rich ice cream. This is like no other ice cream you've had before and will fool any dairy-loving friends and family. It sure did mine!
Ingredients
- 2 cups unsweetened almond milk(I use homemade because it tastes so much better and I make mine creamy)
- 1/4 cup oat flour (for truly raw oats click here)
- 1/2 cup raw cacao powder
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons Dastony RAW sesame tahini (Reduce this to just 1/4 cup if you are concerned of too strong a dark chocolate taste, which the tahini gives)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons raw agave (or maple syrup, coconut nectar, etc.)
- 2 tablespoons melted cocoa butter
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt (don't omit)
- I use Dastony raw tahini in this recipe because I love it's smooth, raw creamy texture. You are welcome to use whatever brand you have on hand, but make sure it is raw, as most tahini is from toasted sesame seeds and may impart too strong a flavor. I have only made this using the Dastony brand. OR you can try decreasing the tahini by a couple of tablespoons and tasting it.
Instructions
If you want to prepare your own almond milk and for the best flavor, it couldn't be more simple. If not, skip this step and just use storebought. Just soak 1 cup almonds in a cereal bowl covered with water for 8 hours or overnight. In the morning, drain and rinse the almonds. Add them to your blender with 3 cups water and blend until very smooth. Drain the milk through a nutbag or fine mesh strainer. A high powered blender works best, but a regular blender will work too, you will just need to strain the milk a few times. However, a nutbag will make your life much easier! If using a nutbag, make sure to really squeeze the almond pulp and get all of that wonderful milk out. Measure out 2 cups and store any extra in the fridge for smoothies, etc.
Add almond milk to your high powered blender and add the oat flour. Let it soak 10 minutes.
Add all of the remaining ingredients and blend for a couple of minutes until very smooth, scraping the sides as necessary. You really want to make sure the oats are completely pureed.
Pour in your ice cream maker, making sure to completely scrape out your blender. Churn for 15-20 minutes until the ice cream is firm. Place in the freezer to harden for 1-2 hours before eating. If it freezes overnight, just take it out 5 minutes before serving. Store in an airtight container. Garnish with chopped dark chocolate if desired.
Notes
*Raw, gluten-free, oil-free, soy-free, dairy-free
*Nutrition per serving: 324.3 calories, 5.44 g protein, 14.9 g fat, 45.4 carbs
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Wow! Who would have thought??? And there isn’t an overpowering sesame flavour/ I guess the chocolate masked it. How brilliant.
Thank you so much Cindy! Yeah, when I decided to throw some tahini in my ice cream base, my eyes and tastebuds were in shock at the flavor and TEXTURE after it finished churning in my ice cream maker!! The tahini isn’t overpowering…it just makes the chocolate taste like a very deep dark chocolate. My parents LOVED it. I would say if somebody doesn’t like tahini though…they may or may not like the deep flavor. My 2 year old certainly didn’t mind it, lol!
NOT FAIR
! I need that bowl in front of me right now!
I know right! I’ve made 3 batches, just finished the last of it today and it’s time to make MORE!
OMG BRANDI!!!! You are the BEST recipe developer. This looks AMAZINGGGG. I would literally leave work right now to go make it except that I don’t have cocoa butter
(( Where do you usually buy yours??
You are so sweet Erika..thank you! I’m pretty excited about this one….coconut milk and cashews make good ice cream, but I just didn’t want any coconut taste or a million cashews this time. I order mine from Amazon. I have the link above. I go through it rather quickly, so I just ordered more this week!
How rich and indulgent this chocolate looks, I can’t believe the effect of this sesame tahini on the creaminess of this ice cream!
AMAZEBALLS recipe
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
haha! Thank you Uru! Yes, it shocked me TOO!
This looks too good. I don’t have my ice-cream maker with me unfortunately but I’ll save this one for when it’s back in my possession.
Thank you Emma! I can’t wait til you try it
Amazing Brandi, whodathunk, LOL, tahini in ice cream. I really does look so creamy and I can imagine that the chocolate and tahini together would create a really profound flavor. You are the bomb!!
Thank you so much Suzanne! I’m pretty much in love with this ice cream…it’s that good!
HOW DO YOU NOT eat the entire thing?! OMG – so good looking! Sexier than Ryan Gosling!
haha I love that! Thank you!
Wow, I would have NEVER thought to use tahini in ice cream, but your ice cream looks FABULOUS!! You are a genius and I LOVE all your pictures so much. I wish I could eat them all up.
You are so sweet Melanie! Thank you so much…it really is the yummiest ice cream ever!!
Oh wow!! I’m excited to give this a try!!!! Love chocolate & tahini! Never thought of this combo. You rock!!
Love your presentation of ice cream too!! ^^ THANK YOU!!!!
Thank you very much Violet!! Please let me know when you do
I would have NEVER thought of this combination. It looks soooooo amazing.
Thank you! It works out amazing!
This just looks too good to be true!! I am in awe.
I’ve never had raw tahini before. Is it sort of like nut butter?
Thank you Whitney! Thankfully it’s not too good to be true, haha. Yes, it is like a nut butter but thankfully is a just made from raw sesame seeds, so people with nut allergies can have it. It is also very creamy, more liquidy than, say, almond butter. It makes the chocolate flavor more pronounced and more chocolatey…like a rich, dark chocolate
Wow, this looks amazingly delicious! I’ve got all ingredients, but I don’t have an ice cream maker…do you think it’s possible to make this recipe using Vitamix?
Thank you! I actually made the base in my Vitamix to get it really creamy, but I haven’t actually made Ice cream with any ice cream setting before in it, so I don’t know how that works. You can try for sure and just maybe do this when freezing it. The ice cream maker gives the lightest, creamiest result because of all the air that is incorporated while churning, so just make sure to try it like this without an ice cream maker: After fully blending it to get it completely smooth, pour into an airtight container and put in freezer for 30 minutes, stir it around some and freeze another 30 minutes and maybe one more time after that. It will help some to add some air into it and prevent some ice crystals. After it completely freezes, just let it thaw a few minutes before eating it.
Please let me know how it turns out!!
Hi I have all the ingredients except my tahini is not raw will that make a big difference?
Hi AJ! No, you can definitely use it. It just may be a slightly stronger tahini taste since sesame seeds are typically roasted. I would maybe decrease a tablespoon and taste it from the blender and see if you like it and can adjust it, if necessary. Bear in mind that the finished cold ice cream flavor is less pronounced, so if it tastes a bit strong, it’s typically perfect by the time it has chilled in the freezer. Please let me know how it turns out…I’d love to hear!
This looks delish! I don’t have any cocoa butter, is there a sub until I can get some?
The only thing I would suggest is to try 2 tablespoons of melted coconut oil. Use refined if you don’t want to taste any coconut flavor. Please let me know how it turns out!
The coconut oil worked! Despite our sad ice cream maker, 2 hours in the freezer delivered delicious, creamy vegan ice cream, yum! Loved the tahini, never would have thought to combine those flavors. Good idea thank you for sharing!
Awesome! I’m so happy to hear you loved it!! Thank you so much for getting back and letting me know. I really appreciate it
This looks AMAZING. I really want to try it but I am allergic to oats. Can you sub the oat flour for coconut or almond flour?
Hi Gillan! Thank you! I wouldn’t sub with any other flour because it would have a granular effect on the end product. The oats work because they turn creamy when soaked and blended. If you can’t oats, I would just eliminate them and add maybe 1 more tablespoon of melted cocoa butter and hopefully that will help make up for the lack of creaminess from the oats, since the oats definitely help. Please let me know how it turns out!
I’ve never tried raw tahini, I think I need to get my hands on some! This ice cream looks amazing Brandi. So creamy and delicious. Definitely bookmarking it. Thanks for always coming up with amazing healthy combinations (despite your acknowledgement of other tahini ice cream recipes, I’ve never heard of one so this is a first for me!) xx
Oooooh girl I made this and my family be freaking out!
That is so awesome!! Yay! Thank you so much, I love getting feedback and this one made me smile!
Thanks Rachel!
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I didn’t like the taste of this ice cream :/
Hi Agne! Really?! Oh wow, you are the first to not like it! I know we all have different tastebuds though, so you may prefer a less dark chocolate flavored ice cream. For me, this is my favorite ice cream ever because I LOVE the dutch chocolate flavor that the tahini gives. I’m curious though, did you sub any ingredients or use TOASTED tahini instead of raw? Because while the tahini gives it a deeper chocolate flavor, using TOASTED would be too strong (which I mention in the recipe) so, raw is important, it really makes a difference. Or reduce the tahini by a couple of tablespoons, taste the liquid from the blender and see.
If this was too strong for you, then you would probably love or prefer my more milder chocolate ice creams which have been HUGE hits. My Mocha Starbucks Ice Cream here: http://thevegan8.com/2013/12/13/mocha-ice-cream/
and my 6 Ingredient Chocolate Fudge Ice Cream cups…even all the kids have absolutely loved these! Let me know and thank you! http://thevegan8.com/2014/05/27/fudge-ice-cream-cups/