Vanilla Tahini Ice Cream - Vegan MoFo 2014 Day 1

Woot!!! Vegan Month of Food 2014 has begun! :)

This is my 4th time participating in MoFo. Even though there's a lot going on in my life this time around, I couldn't help but sign up for the event yet again because I've really enjoyed it each and every year! Blogging on an almost daily basis is one part of the excitement, but also visiting the various participating blogs, drooling over the delicious foods and interacting with my fellow MoFo-ers is a truly delightful experience.

For Vegan MoFo 2013 I had chosen a Raw Foods theme. I created and shared a bunch of video tutorials using an app called HowDo and they were a big hit. Unfortunately HowDo closed. :( I'm going to miss that app terribly this year. But once the Vlogging bug has bitten, it's hard to let go. So I plan to shoot at least a few YouTube videos through MoFo this time around.

My theme for this time is ICE CREAMS!!! :D I'm expanding that to include other frozen desserts too so there's a lot more variety.

Today's recipe is a Vanilla Tahini Ice Cream. I made it at Carrots as soon as I signed up for MoFo. Everyone who tried it absolutely loved it. So now our bakery chef Kanchan makes it often. :)

This ice cream does not require an ice cream maker (but if you have one then feel free to use it). It melts quickly and has a light, soothing feel to it. The roasted sesame and pure vanilla flavours go together beautifully.

I've used Merry Whip (commercially available non-dairy whipping cream) in this ice cream. But if you'd like to avoid this, you could use whipped coconut cream in it if you like. However, it might takeaway from the flavour a bit.

I've also used whole vanilla pods as the flavouring because I can't stand the artificial vanilla essence that's available locally. Besides, we don't use any artificial colours or flavours at Carrots so I couldn't have used it in this recipe anyways.

Getting good, pure vanilla extract that's vegan isn't easy here. But if you have the patience and inclination, you could make your own extract at home by putting chopped vanilla beans into rum or vodka for about 6 months. I have tried this at home (again, not at Carrots because we're an alcohol-free restaurant) but compared to that, I am in *love* with the depth of flavour and texture that whole vanilla beans give. So I recommend using them.

Vanilla Tahini Ice Cream

40 g Cashews
20 g Toasted Sesame Seeds
150 g Commercial Vegan Whipped Cream (Rich's or Merry Whip)
1.5 pods Whole Vanilla Beans
200 g Sugar
1 litre Water

- Grind cashews, sesame seeds and broken vanilla pods into a fine powder
- Add a little water at a time and blend into a creamy paste
- Add the remaining water, sugar and whipped cream and blend well
- Freeze in an airtight box for 8-10 hours
- Re-blend this icy mixture
- Freeze again for 8-10 hours
- Scoop and enjoy! :)