I am a big ginger girl so today’s Ninja Creami ice cream is my idea of heaven. Inspired by the flavours of gingerbread, I bring you this festive treat: vegan Ninja Creami gingerbread ice cream.
This recipe is dairy free, egg free, vegan and gluten free. It uses Flora Plant Cream for the creamy vegan base (more on this in a minute). This means that the ice cream tastes undetectably vegan – no strong coconut flavour.
This base also uses light brown sugar and xanthan gum mixed with water. Xanthan gum is an incredibly useful ingredient in vegan ice cream making. It creates a rich, chewy and creamy texture without the need for dairy. We’re using water here because vegan milks tend to contribute a particular flavour, which we want to avoid here.
Finally, the gingerbread flavour: ground ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon work together with a small amount of molasses. Together, they create an incredibly complex and delicious gingerbread flavour in ice cream form.
Recipe notes for your vegan Ninja Creami gingerbread ice cream
- I have only tested Flora Plant Cream in this recipe and cannot offer any alternatives at the moment.
- I haven’t tested alternative sugars here. Although I have used maple syrup in other Ninja Creami recipes, I can’t say if it would work here.
- Xanthan gum adds body, viscosity and chew to your ice cream. I have not tested an alternative or tried this recipe without it.
- The molasses is optional but I think it adds such a depth of flavour with just this tiny amount. You can use the jar to make my gluten free gingerbread, too. If you’d prefer not to use it, just omit it.
- I add two teaspoons of ginger powder and some fresh ginger because I love ginger flavour. If you’d like a more subtle flavour, use a bit less.
Notes on the vegan cream
As I have mentioned, I used Flora plant cream in this recipe. This isn’t sponsored, just genuine appreciation for a great product. The plant cream here in Australia contains 30g fat per 100ml. This is roughly on par with regular thickened cream, which is generally around 35g fat per 100ml.
The Australian version uses the following ingredients: ‘Lentil milk (water, lentil Protein (1%)), vegetable oils (coconut, canola),sugar, modified corn starch, emulsifiers (sunflower lecithin, sugar esters of fatty acids, mono and diglycerides of fatty acids), stabilisers (guar gum, locust bean gum), natural flavourings, salt, colour (beta-carotene).’
If you’re based overseas, use a vegan cream with similar ingredients and proportions to the above for best results. Although I haven’t tested the versions overseas, they do seem to be very similar to the variety sold here in Australia.
International readers
In the UK, there are two varieties of Flora plant cream – regular and double. You want to stay as close to 30g per 100ml fat as possible, so choose the double cream variety.
In researching, I came across Elmlea brand plant cream which also has very similar ingredients list to Flora Plant cream. Make sure you choose the 100% plant cream version, though, as there seems to be a buttermilk version with a confusing name – ‘alternative to double cream.’
In America, it seems as though there is some Flora plant cream available in a limited capacity. However, it also appears that there is a variety from Country Crock that has similar ingredients to the Flora plant cream I used. It contains 30g fat per 100ml. I couldn’t tell if Canada has Country Crock or Flora plant cream available because their supermarkets have blocked international users from browsing lol.
I couldn’t find much information on the availability of vegan cream in Europe. Flora plant cream is made in Germany but I actually couldn’t determine whether it is available for sale there. I suspect that is to do with the fact that I live in Australia and I end up getting more local search results.
Either way, make sure your cream is at least 30% fat and has a similar ingredients list to the cream I have used. I can’t guarantee results that use something different.
More vegan Ninja Creami recipes
- Ninja Creami vegan pumpkin ice cream
- Coconut Ninja Creami ice cream
- Ninja Creami vegan vanilla ice cream
- Ninja Creami vegan Nutella ice cream
- Ninja Creami vegan chocolate ice cream
Gingerbread Ninja Creami (vegan)
Equipment
- NC300 Ninja Creami machine with 470ml size tub
Ingredients
- 100 – 125g light brown sugar (see notes)
- 2 g xanthan gum
- 5 g (2 teaspoons) ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 250 g water
- 150 g Flora Plant cream
- 1 teaspoon molasses optional
Instructions
- Combine the light brown sugar, xanthan gum and spices in a medium pot. Whisk well to combine then add the water. Whisk thoroughly to combine as the water thickens just slightly due to the xanthan gum. Use a silicon spatula to make sure there is no sugar and xanthan gum clumped around the edges of the pot.
- Add the vegan cream and molasses (if you are using it) and stir to combine.
- Place the mixture over a medium heat and cook for 1-2 minutes. You should have a light brown mixture that is smooth, uniform and colour.
- When you’re happy, pour the mixture into your 470ml Ninja Creami tub. Once cooled a little, place in the freezer for 16-24 hours with the lid off. Leaving the lid off can ensure it doesn’t form a hump as it freezes (which can damage your machine).
- When ready to consume, process the ice cream using the ice cream function. Re-spin if necessary to achieve a good texture.
- Return leftovers to the freezer with the lid on.
Notes
- 100g sugar makes for an ice cream that is a firm texture upon processing. 125g sugar makes for a soft serve consistency ice cream upon processing. Sugar lowers the freezing point of ice cream, so higher sugar mixtures result in ice cream that softer in consistency. It’s still a great texture, but in summer you may need to pop it back in the freezer for 10-15 minutes after processing. If you like a sweeter ice cream, use 125g. Don’t exceed this number or the ice cream won’t freeze and you’ll have a slushie consistency.
- I haven’t tested any other varieties of vegan cream here, nor have I tested coconut cream or a vegan cream alternative. See the notes in the body of the post in regards to the vegan cream. You can find my Ninja Creami coconut ice cream recipe here. I haven’t tested adding gingerbread flavour to that recipe.
- The molasses is optional but it does add an interesting depth of flavour.
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