I have never worked with cashews much despite the fact that they are renowned for their ability to make creamy vegan dishes. Today that changes with this incredibly easy and delicious Ninja Creami cashew ice cream.
This ice cream has the perfect texture and scoop thanks to a few little tricks. It uses briefly soaked cashews and water for the creamy base. After blending them thoroughly, we’re combining the cashew ‘milk’ with a mixture of caster sugar and glucose syrup or light corn syrup. Of course, we have to add a generous amount of vanilla flavour and a really good pinch of salt.
The result? A dreamy vegan vanilla Ninja Creami ice cream with the perfect texture and the exact right amount of bite. Let’s get into it.
Ingredient notes
First and foremost, let’s talk cashews. We need raw and unsalted cashews for this recipe. I fully intend to try a roasted cashew version for a more toasty flavour, but for a neutral flavour we need raw.
I recommend soaking the cashews in boiling water for at least 10 minutes prior to making this recipe. If you want to leave them longer, go for it. This just helps soften the cashews up for blending. I think most food processors/blenders these days are capable of handling it – my NutriBullet does a fine job.
Next, the glucose syrup or light corn syrup. I know they might be slightly annoying to acquire, but I promise you the hassle is worth it. Using a liquid sugar takes an ice from a sweet but kind of icy texture to a creamy, thick and luscious texture that scoops or swirls beautifully. It is not an optional ingredient at this point – anecdotally, it seems to help suspend the cashew milk in the mixture for an evenly textured ice cream.
Flavour options for this cashew ice cream
Although I have only tested vanilla at this stage, I have plenty of ideas as to how to flavour this cashew ice cream. At the moment I can’t offer more serious suggestions like strawberry or chocolate flavours (I will need to test those) but I have some delicious interim ideas.
- Cookies and cream flavour made by mixing in some Oreos (they are vegan and they offer gluten free/oat free cookies in Australia now)
- Mint chocolate chip by adding mint extract and chocolate (see my recipe here for how much mint to add and how I recommend adding the chocolate)
- You could experiment with adding less water and adding some pumpkin puree along with pumpkin spice
- You could also experiment with adding some mango in place of some water
- More ideas to come!
More vegan Ninja Creami recipes
- Ninja Creami vegan pumpkin ice cream
- Ninja Creami coconut ice cream
- Ninja Creami strawberry ice cream (use the vegan option in the body of the post)
- Ninja Creami real chocolate vegan ice cream
- Ninja Creami vegan Biscoff ice cream
Ninja Creami cashew ice cream (vegan)
Equipment
- NC300 machine with 470ml tubs
Ingredients
For the cashew ice cream:
- 100 g raw unsalted cashews soaked in boiling water for at least 10 minutes
- 275-300 g water
- 60-70 g caster sugar
- 50 g glucose syrup or light corn syrup (see notes)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or good quality extract
- Good pinch salt (1/8 teaspoon)
Optional ingredient:
- 0.5-1 g xanthan gum see notes
Instructions
- Place your cashews in a heatproof bowl and cover them in boiling water. Set aside for at least 10 minutes (you can leave them longer if it works for your schedule).
- Drain the cashews and place them in a high-speed food processor (I used a NutriBullet). Add 275-300g water and blend until completely smooth and frothy.
- Add the caster sugar to a medium saucepan. If you are using the xanthan gum, whisk it into the caster sugar.
- Pour the cashew milk into the saucepan and immediately use a silicon spatula to stir thoroughly (if you are using xanthan gum it has a tendency to clump up in the corners of the pot, hence the need for speed).
- Weigh in the glucose syrup and add the remaining ingredients, then place on a low medium heat. Cook just until the sugars have completely dissolved, then pour into the 470ml Ninja Creami tub. Because the milk with have frothed up during blending, it’s ok if the mixture is just a tiny bit over the fill line.
- Place the tub in the freezer for 24 hours with the lid off. When ready to eat, process the mixture using the ice cream function. You can respin it if needed.
- Return any leftovers to the freezer with the lid on. I recommend re-spinning leftovers before eating to restore the texture.
Notes
- Glucose syrup is more commonly available in Australia and found in the baking aisle. Light corn syrup is more commonly available in the USA and is not the same as high fructose corn syrup, although some brands can contain HFCS. Light refers to the colour and flavour rather than calories.
- The syrup is magic for creating a chewy and creamy textured ice cream and I do not have a substitute. Other syrups such as maple syrup bring too strong of a flavour for a neutral vanilla ice cream.
- The xanthan gum is optional, but I noticed two things in my testing. Firstly, there was a very thin layer of water at the bottom of the tub. There was also a high concentration of vanilla flakes at the very top of the tub. The vanilla flakes blended in nicely, but the band of liquid at the bottom remained. A small amount of emulsification from the xanthan gum would almost certainly resolve these minor quirks. The ice cream is perfectly delicious without it – it is just an option.
- I think the higher amount of salt is key to balancing out the cashew flavour and making this a very subtly vegan ice cream. Note that salt does impair freezing (as does sugar) so adding it precisely is key.
- If you don’t have a 1/8th teaspoon, use half of a 1/4 teaspoon.
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