Summer is here and I fully intend on enjoying every last second of it! The problem, however, is that summer only lasts a few weeks before Autumn comes creeping along and I have to break out the coats again. I do love the Fall, but I have been waiting and my body has been aching for sunshine that comes right now. The Winter was so long. So, so long. Thankfully, one can still eat ice cream in the Winter. It's just that it can be enjoyed outside in the Summer. 

The other day, I decided to break out my ice cream maker. You have to understand that I bought it years ago on a whim because it was a good deal. Since getting it, however, I have used it probably a grand total of….thrice. I was never able to achieve the creamy goodness that comes from the store, so I gave up. And then I had no time to experiment. And then it was in our basement still in the box. So yes, it was really time to either use it or lose it. I decided to try my hand at homemade ice cream again. I tried and tried some more until I finally came up with what I’m sharing with you today: a tasty chocolate chai ice cream.

The best part is that there is no dairy in it! I do love ice cream, but the dairy stuff makes me ill.

The base is a coconut cream and chai-infused soy milk mix that is pretty tasty if I do say so myself! It’s also creamy and has the right texture. Beyond that, it is inexpensive to make and will save you $5/pint of the dairy-free stuff at the store. You can’t get much better than that, really.

I wasn’t actually planning to make a chai-infused ice cream. I was just brainstorming flavours and I looked over and saw some loose tea that I had picked up a while back and it hit me:

chai + chocolate = seconds, please!

I already have a ton of ideas for future flavours, so stay tuned as I experiment and develop ice cream-making skills. 

Chocolate Chai Ice Cream (vegan + gluten free)

What you need:

• 2 cups soy milk

• 1 can (15 ounces) coconut cream

• 1 TBSP chai tea (loose tea or 1-2 tea bags)

• ⅓ cup arrowroot powder

• ¼ tsp salt

• ½ tsp vanilla

• ¼ cup cocoa powder

• 2-3 TBSP maple syrup or agave (depending on how sweet you want it)

What to do:

1. Heat 2 cups of soy milk

2. Steep the chai tea in the milk for 10-15 minutes, depending on how strong you want the chai flavour (I used a loose-leaf decaffeinated chai from Teavana)

3. After the tea is done steeping, add it, along with the rest of the ingredients, to a high speed blender. Mix well until there are no clumps

4. Add mixture to a large saucepan, and heat up slowly, continually stirring, until you have a pudding-like consistency.

5. Completely cool the mixture (about 4 hours in the refrigerator)

6. Put into ice cream maker and churn according to instructions

7. Add ice cream to a shallow container and freeze for a few hours. It will stay creamy for a few days in the freezer- just let it sit out for a few minutes after the first day till it softens a bit!

Have you ever made your own ice cream?