I have strong, fond memories of peach ice cream, mostly stemming from homemade batches throughout my childhood.. most notably the one time my sister kept inching closer and closer to my uncle and the old-fashioned “crank” style machine. She leaned just a little too close, he wasn’t paying attention, and WHAM! She tidied up the whole debacle with “Ow.. he cranked me!”
Luckily, it’s all on video.
So this season when I spied the fresh, local peaches at the market, I knew I had to recreate one of my favorite, seriously Southern sweets, but without the dairy, without the processed sugar, without the preservatives.. without all the “gross”, essentially. I thought it would go smoothly, but alas..
I have this problem with homemade ice cream. You see, no matter how long I freeze the bowl, the ice cream never freezes up, never resembles anything like “soft serve” while churning, none of it. I’ve lamented this problem, wondering why I can throw together a batch of eclairs in 90 minutes, yet can’t work up the simplest ice cream recipe! Well, turns out.. I get to blame my freezer! Thank God; I don’t handle liability well.
It appears that our freezer doesn’t actually freeze the bowl, so three months later I could pick out the bowl and shake, only to hear the ever-dreaded slosh-slosh-slosh of the liquid in its walls. Ugh. So what’s a girl to do, when she’s desperate to get a recipe out before heading to the beach, knowing how damn good the recipe is and wanting you to be able to make it with your fresh peaches? Well, there were hopes, there were prayers to the Ice Cream Gods, and then I figured out that as long as I churned the mixture long enough, thereby incorporating enough air into the recipe to give it that ice creamy texture, and then froze afterwards, I’d be good to go. And I was! Oh, oh was I.
I used coconut milk and soaked cashews as the base, providing an aromatic richness that works perfectly with the ripe, sweet peaches. There’s a touch of bourbon thrown in to keep the ice cream from freezing solid, but the bourbon in its own right provides this added depth of flavor that enhances the peaches, making them their peachiest ever. If I didn’t tell you, I doubt you would know this peach ice cream is vegan, and isn’t that the best compliment to a dairy-free or gluten-free recipe? Or maybe it’s that this recipe is actually almost healthy, made from only 7 ingredients: peaches, cashews, maple syrup, bourbon, coconut milk, coconut oil, and vanilla extract. Just reading the ingredient list is like a culinary sonnet: you know it’s gonna be good.
I took some out to O while he was working on building a deck and made him pose with a melting cone, but it wasn’t with us long. Husband approved.
Worth all the metaphorical cranking and freezer rage? 145%.
Vegan Peach Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup raw cashews , soaked in water at least 6 hours
- 2 cups ripe peaches , diced and divided
- 8 tablespoons real maple syrup , divided
- 1 tablespoon bourbon
- 1 14- ounce can full-fat coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix 2 cups peaches, 3 tablespoons maple syrup, and 1 tablespoon bourbon and let sit (macerate!) about 15 minutes.
Remove 1/2 cup macerated peaches and set aside. Blend all remaining ingredients on medium speed until very, very smooth, a few minutes. Add in remaining 1/2 cup of peaches and pulse a couple times, leaving some chunks for texture.
Recipe Notes
Chill until very cold, then churn and freeze according to manufacturer's directions.
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Hi! Want to make this but don’t want to use cashews. I don’t care about keeping it vegan so am wondering what they are used for and/or what I could maybe substitute in their place?
The cashews are very high in fat so they provide creaminess to the recipes.
Trying this recipe today with my farm-picked peaches! Do you skin the peaches first? Normally I would for ice cream, but since you blend them, I thought it might change the flavor if I skinned them.
Sounds like a great recipe. BUT I don’t want to give my grandbabies bourbon or any taste of alcohol. What is an alternative. Can I leave out the bourborn, I really like churned firm ice cream
You can leave it out! It will just make the ice cream firmer 🙂
Looks amazing when ur scooping it. My ice creams turn out rock hard in freezer, and u said Bourbon helps it not to? How so? And does it make it taste like alcohol? I dont like the taste of alcohol.
Since alcohol doesn’t freeze, a little splash of bourbon helps soften things up. It really doesn’t taste like alcohol, but just increases the depth of flavor!
Oh wow!!!! The photo of the recipe was enough to convince me… but coconut milk with a splash of bourbon?? Heavens yes!
Staples of any good diet! 🙂
It looks so creamy and delicious! one wouldn’t believe it’s vegan. Your Ice cream has the texture of rich, custard based ice cream 🙂
Thanks Muna! That’s the biggest compliment there is 🙂
That’s some seriously beautiful ice cream! I was in love with peach ice cream when I was a kid, and I haven’t had any since. Maybe now’s the perfect time. Peaches are perfect this time of year! Ugh… I can’t wait to get back into my kitchen now 🙂
Thanks M! Do you have an ice cream maker?! I can’t even imagine what you go through. At least you get to peruse the aisles of Monoprix while I seethe jealously across the Atlantic.
I am drooling right now.. The pics are gorgeous, especially the one with drippy ice cream down your hand. Pretty much what my hands look like when i try to eat out of a cone… 😀
Thanks Anne! And that’s actually my husband’s hand.. I was like DONTMOVEDONTMOVEDONTMOVE!!! because I thought the drip added a nice touch.. from a distance. Ha! 🙂
Ohhhhh you did it! Homemade vegan icecream is at the top of my agenda, constantly right now. Really appreciate how you’ve added only maple syrup to this recipe to sweeten it! And peaches and bourbon!? Mascerated!? Whaaaa? Right up my Southern alley! Love your beautiful photography! Thank you, Cheryl!
This ice-cream looks very fresh and so easy to make. Thanks for the amazing recipe 🙂
Thanks Mira! 🙂