Apple Pie Ice Cream
Where does my recipe inspiration come from? While I would love to tell you that a lot of it comes from delicious meals I’ve enjoyed at restaurants or from shopping at local markets in different countries I have been to on my travels, that would be a complete lie. Most of the time, my recipe inspiration comes from the impending use by date on food hidden in the back corner of my fridge. Sorry to disappoint you.
I absolutely hate to throw anything away, especially food, and will do everything in my power to find a way to use it. I blame my Nana for this trait as I grew up watching her pull blocks of mouldy cheese out of the fridge that I swear were starting to grow fur, and carefully scrape off each layer until she was left with a piece of cheese less then a millimetre in size that was “relatively” mould free. She is even known to reuse the same Ziploc bag for 3-4 years at a time, thoroughly washing between each use. Well 10 years later I have become my Nana.
Last week while cleaning through my fridge I found a bag of bruised apples with a use by date of July 15 (this gives you a good indication of how often I clean my fridge). Unable to consider throwing them out, I set to work on a new recipe for apple pie which would be accompanied with a dairy free vanilla ice cream to serve on top. While chopping up the apples I had a light bulb moment and realized if apple pie + ice cream is a perfect match, then why not combine them into one. I mentally patted myself on the back for coming up with such a genius idea.
I have so many good things to say about this ice cream. Soaked cashews, apple juice, cinnamon and nutmeg are blended together until smooth, and then mixed with chunks of stewed apples and chopped pecans to create a delicious and creamy ice cream. I used pink lady apples which worked really well but I think that you could use any variety for this recipe. If using Granny Smith apples the amount of honey may need to be increased to compensate for the tartness. I used freshly pressed juice from the leftover apples but you can also use store bought juice as long as its naturally sweetened with no additives.
A bowl of this apple pie ice cream makes for the perfect refreshing dessert to enjoy after a heavy meal (and there seems to be an endless stream of those this time of year).
If you make this recipe let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear what you think or take a photo and tag me (@everylastbite_) on Instagram, I love seeing your photos!
Apple Pie Ice Cream
Ingredients
Ice Cream
- 2 cups Cashews soaked in water for a minimum of 4 hours
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp honey or other sweetener
- 1/4 cup almond milk*
- 3/4 cup apple juice
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans toasted
Apple Sauce
- 2 1/2 cups apple chopped
- 1/2 cup apple juice
Instructions
- Peel and core 3-4 apples and cut into small pieces no bigger then 1/4 inch in size. Place the chopped apple in a sauce pan along with 1/2 cup of apple juice. Allow the apple pieces to simmer on medium-high heat until the liquid has evaporated and the pieces of apple have become soft. Once cooked, remove from heat and set aside
- In a blender add the soaked cashews, vanilla extract, honey, almond milk, apple juice, cinnamon and nutmeg and blend until smooth.
- Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in the apple chunks and chopped pecans
- Pour the mixture into a pre-chilled ice cream maker and use according to directions
- Once the ice cream has finished churning and the ice cream is of the right consistency, serve immediately or pour into a container and store in the freezer. The ice cream should be removed from the freezer approximately 15 minutes before serving to soften
Notes
How many servings does this recipe make?
One batch of ice cream will serve 6 to 8 people. Good luck cooking for the big crowd, i’m excited to hear how it goes 🙂
Does it matter what kind of almond milk? Just original or does it have to be sweetened or unsweetened?
I usually use unsweetened as I prefer the taste. If you use sweetened I would decrease the amount of honey so it’s not too sweet.
Thanks, Carmen.
This is crazy delicious!! I don’t have an icecream maker so I placed the mixture in flat container in the freezer for 1.5hours, took it out semi frozen and blended before storing in a Tupperware.
Thats awesome! So happy to hear you liked it and its great to know that the recipe works well without an ice cream maker.
This looks incredible!! found it on food gawker!