Almond Milk | The Useful Tool

Cacao, Almond Milk, and Banana Ice Cream

With summer in full swing, a cool treat is always appreciated. We explored venturing beyond our traditional ice cream recipes, and pulled in a few nutritious ingredients to make this rich, chocolatey cacao, almond milk, and banana ice cream.

Cacao Ice Cream Recipe

Cacao, Raw Almond Milk, and Banana Ice Cream Recipe

Cacao Powder

This recipe produces an “ice cream” with an incredibly rich, dark chocolate flavor imparted by the cacao powder, and has a creamy mouthfeel from the homemade almond milk. (You could use store bought almond milk, but the flavor and texture will be a little different.)

Any sweetener of choice can be used in this recipe, but we found that honey and agave nectar both pair well with the rich tasting cacao.

This ice cream was made using a blender and frozen bananas, which is great if you want to get this dessert on the table quickly. If you have an ice cream maker you could first blend all ingredients at room temperature, then transfer to an ice cream maker to freeze.

Cacao Powder

Ingredients:

2 heaping Tbsp Cacao Powder
2 Tbsp Raw Honey or Agave Nectar (or stevia for the sugar sensitive)
1/3 cup cold Homemade Almond Milk using raw almonds (see our recipe here)
2 large frozen bananas (break in 1-inch pieces before freezing)

Tools:

Mrs. Anderson’s Baking Silicone Baking Cups and Royal Blue Box Plaid Kitchen Towel Available from HIC

Blender
Measuring spoons
Big spoon or spatula to pull ice cream from blender (Pictured is HIC’s French Beechwood Spoon)
Dishes for ice cream (Pictured are Mrs. Anderson’s Baking Silicone Muffin Cups)

Place almond milk, cacao powder, and honey or agave in blender and pulse to start mixing slowly. Turning on high power without slowly mixing the cacao powder into the liquid first can cause it to shoot upwards in a cloud of cocoa dust. After almond milk, cacao powder, and honey are mixed gently, increase speed for a few seconds and mix well. Add frozen banana pieces, and pulse to get them moving. Then blend on high until the banana chunks smooth out and an ice cream consistency results. Serve at once, and sprinkle with additional cacao powder if desired. The deep chocolate taste is downright decadent.

*Hot weather tip: If you’re in an especially warm climate, or warm kitchen, ice cream can start to melt quickly after served. Try pouring into chilled ice cream cups (store them in the freezer) to help keep ice cream from melting quickly.

We appreciate our readers, and are interested in hearing more about your culinary adventures. Drop us a line and share what you’re experiencing! We’d love to hear your thoughts, anytime the mood strikes you.

Contributed by Nicole Herman, of HIC.

Homemade Raw Almond Milk

Homemade almond milk is delicious, nutritious, and so easy to make. You only need a few tools and two ingredients to make classic almond milk. The recipe shared in this post is from a wellness focused friend of mine, who showed me how to use it as a base for smoothies, to add moisture to baked goods, and on oatmeal. (And there are many other uses, including simply enjoying the almond milk’s simple goodness in a tall frosty glass.) The taste is mild, with a different creamier mouth feel and richer flavor than store bought varieties. Once you try homemade almond milk, you’ll see what a delight it is!

Almond milk can also be helpful for those who are lactose, soy, or gluten intolerant, as it doesn’t contain any lactose or casein, a milk protein that’s similar to gluten.

Almond Milk, the Finished Product

Almond Milk Recipe – Makes about 3 cups, using the 1 cup almond to 3 cups water ratio described below. If you prefer a thicker milk, you can also try 1 cup almond to 2 cups water ratio.

Homemade Raw Almond Milk Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup raw almonds, preferably organic
2 cups water for soaking almonds
3 cups water for making the nut milk
Optional extras: 2 tsp. cinnamon, and sweetener (1 tbsp. agave syrup, maple syrup, or honey are delicious)

Tools

Mesh Strainer (we’re a bit partial to our new HIC Stainless Steel Mesh Strainer, with a support handle that enables you to drop it onto the top of a bowl, and pour through hands-free. ) or a Nut Milk Bag (which is perfect for squeezing every drop of liquid out of the almond pulp.)
1 cup measuring cup
Blender
Jar or pitcher to hold finished almond milk

Step by Step Almond Milk Instructions

Almonds Soaking (overnight is ideal)

Soak almonds a minimum of 8 hours or overnight, so they are totally submerged. You’ll notice they plump as they absorb water. Note, the longer the almonds soak, the creamier the almond milk. They should feel soft when you pinch them, after soaking.

Almonds in HIC’s Stainless Steel Mesh Strainer

Drain and rinse the almonds thoroughly under cool water using a mesh strainer, after removing them from their soak.

Blending Almonds – First Pulse, Then Blend At High Speed

Put the soaked almonds and 3 cups fresh water in a blender. First pulse the blender, to get the almonds equally broken and prevent clumping. Then blend on high about 1-2 minutes, until the liquid inside is white and the almonds are broken into fine meal. In the picture here, the almonds were not fully blended yet, as you can see by the still large visible brown almond pieces.

Almond Milk Passing Through Stainless Mesh Strainer

Almond Milk Passing Through Stainless Mesh Stainless Strainer (this one pictured, made by HIC, Harold Import Co.)

Pour the almond mixture through a double mesh strainer or nut milk bag, set into a bowl placed below. Use your hand to press all the almond milk from the almond pulp that’s left in the strainer, or if using a nut milk bag, lift the bag up out of the bowl and squeeze the liquid out of the remaining pulp.

Now is the time to sweeten if desired. Taste the almond milk first, as you might enjoy it just as-is, without sweetener. To add sweetener, rinse the blender and place the strained almond milk back into the blender, and add a tablespoon of honey, agave, or sweeter of choice, blend to mix through about 20 seconds, and taste. I’ve added 2 tsp. cinnamon and it adds a delicious flavor.

Finished Homemade Raw Almond Milk. A Bowl Full of Goodness (click photo to learn more about the porcelain bowl show here)

Fresh raw almond milk keeps in the refrigerator for about 3 days unless cooked to pasteurize.

Using the leftover almond meal collected in the basket of your strainer or nut milk bag: The leftover almond meal can be added to hot cereal, or baked goods as is. You can also spread it out on a Silpat baking mat, on top of a baking sheet and bake it in a low oven until completely dry, and then use in baked goods the same as you would with store bought almond flour.

Other ideas to put that leftover almond meal to use?

We liked this recipe for Raw Cookie Dough Bites from the Detoxinista.

Enjoy! Questions? We’d love to help! Just use the “Leave a reply” link at the top of this post, or drop us a line at info@haroldimport.com

Article Contributed by Nicole Herman, of HIC