This particular recipe was not intended to be ice cream sandwiches, and I’m not really sure that they look like ice cream sandwiches but after tasting them I thought that ice cream sandwich is exactly what they tasted like! The base resembles the soft chocolate cookie on a typical ice cream sandwich and the melted chocolate topping is typical of ice cream sandwich too! In reality this is just a mostly raw vegan slice. The filling contains blackberries but I honestly can’t taste them at all. The blackberries serve mostly to give colour and for a few extra nutrients and antioxidants. Every once in a while I might taste a little blackberry seed in there, but other than that, the blackberry taste is not noticeable at all.
For the chocolate coating I wanted to keep it as raw and healthy as possible so I melted down some Pana organic eighty percent. I love my chocolate really dark but I am mindful that many people are still adjusting to the dark chocolate taste. You can melt down basically any chocolate you like for this, preferably a healthy version that’s refined sugar free if you can. You can even use dark chocolate chips. Even if you are not vegan or dairy free, it’s important to try and avoid dairy in chocolate (milk chocolate) as dairy doesn’t allow for proper assimilation of all the healthy minerals in cacao powder like iron and magnesium. Dark chocolate is also great because it has less sugar overall. I’ve also made my own chocolate coating in the past but for this particular recipe I was in a bit of a rush so wanted to keep things as simple as possible.
Although initially I wasn’t sure if I loved this dessert, ( I’m very picky because I make so many desserts) the more I ate of it, the more I decided I loved it! I would get excited about having a little slice after dinner every night and I can happily say that I finished this entire dessert all by myself (over a period of time) I don’t think my husband had any at all. As I mentioned above I love dark chocolate so this dessert really appealed to me, however both the base and the topping are very dark so it may not be for everyone.
This particular dessert actually stores really well in the fridge (after it has set in the freezer). The fridge gives the desert the perfect texture. It can of course be stored in the freezer too but takes a very long time to defrost and in my opinion is too rock hard to eat while frozen. Once it is set in the freezer, move it to the fridge and allow it to thaw in there overnight and the next day it will be absolutely perfect!
As usual the recipe is refined sugar free, dairy free and gluten free.
| Vegan Chocolate Blackberry Ice Cream Sandwiches | Print |
- BASE:
- 1 cup almond meal ( I used blanched but any almond meal will work)
- ½ cup cacao powder
- ½ cup maple syrup
- FILLING:
- 1½ cups cashews ( soaked for 3-4 hours or overnight)
- ½ can coconut cream
- 2 TBSP cup maple syrup
- 1 TBSP coconut oil
- juice ½ lemon
- ¼ cup fresh blackberries
- drop vanilla extract
- CHOCOLATE TOPPING:
- 1 cup dark chocolate (I used 80% raw naturally sweetened chocolate)
- ¼ cup almond milk or any plant milk
- For the base: in a bowl mix together base ingredients with a fork until they become slightly wet and sticky. don't worry if the mixture is too dry, keep mixing and it will come together. Do not over mix as it can become too wet.
- Press down evenly into the base of a lined square baking dish and set aside.
- For the filling add all the filling ingredients into a high-speed blender and blend until smooth.
- Pour over base and smooth out with spatula and place in the freezer to set (about 3 hours).
- Once the filling is hard, meltdown dark chocolate over low heat and mix with almond milk until smooth.
- Pour over blackberry filling and smooth out until evenly coated. Freeze again until chocolate is set. Store in the fridge for best texture.
