I recently took to ice-cream making over summer. I never really eat ice-cream as I find it has too much sugar and fat for my liking and it’s just not worth the extra insulin.
So, I decided to try and make my own low carb, low sugar and low fat version. So, here is my Diabetic friendly Chocolate Ice-cream!
I didn’t have an ice-cream maker though until recently, so I spent quite a bit of time experimenting with the technique of freezing the mixture in ice-cube trays then putting it in a blender and re-freezing it.
The texture was really nice and this technique worked really well … that is until about the fourth batch of ice-cream when I just got tired of the lengthy process.
So, for my Birthday my lovely hubby bought me an ice-cream maker – yes that’s right, no jewellery for me, I just wanted a kitchen appliance.
It really makes the whole process much easier and helps to make low-fat ice-cream more fluffy and airy, so it’s worth the investment.
One tip though, if you have a Cuisinart ice-cream maker… you have to freeze it for 2-3 days prior to the first use as this helps to ensure your ice-cream forms properly.
I had to call the manufacturer as the handbook indicated less time than this and I found the ice-cream was turning out like soup. This is a great tip which would have been very handy to know from the start.
I also tend not to use cream in my ice-creams to keep the fat content down. I use full-fat milk and a technique of blending raw, unsalted cashew nuts in a blender.
The cashews help to give body to the ice-cream and achieve a creamy, silky texture. It does tend to melt a bit faster than regular ice-cream though, so I like to pop the churned ice-cream into the freezer for about one hour before serving.
My Diabetic friendly Chocolate Ice-Cream is a family favourite. The natural oils from the raw cashews give it a nice rich creaminess, and the cocoa hits the spot when I’m having a serious chocolate craving!
I admit though, the creamy texture is thanks to the really fine blending of the cashew nuts I achieve use a Vitamix blender. You can try other blenders though.
Monk fruit powder is my preferred sweetener for this recipe as it has a really nice natural caramel flavour.
I recently came across Monk Fruit Powder at my local health food store and I use it quite a bit especially for chocolate-based recipes (see my earlier post about Monk Fruit Powder).
It is lower in carbs than a lot of sugar alternatives at 0.9g for half a teaspoon, which is great, but I find I have to use double the amount of Monk Fruit Powder compared with 100% pure Stevia extract which can add carbs to the total carb count of a dish, so this is just something I have to keep in mind when using it, but to be honest I never use more than 4 tsp per recipe so I find it’s a great sweetener.
For more info about Monk Fruit, check out my post, Sweeteners Explained.
So give my yummy Diabetic friendly Chocolate Ice-cream a try when you’re having your next big chocolate craving!
Diabetic Friendly Chocolate Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 45 g raw, unsalted cashews
- 4 tsp pure Monk Fruit Powder (or your preferred sweetener)
- 2 cups full cream milk
- 7 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
- 2 tsp pure, unsweetened vanilla extract
Instructions
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Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until the nuts are very finely ground. I use a Vitamix for this.
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Pour mixture into a container and cover with a lid. Refrigerate mixture overnight.
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Remove mixture from fridge, pour into an ice-cream maker and follow the manufacturer's directions.
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Once done, spoon the ice-cream into a storage container and freeze for about half to one hour before serving.
Recipe Notes
Note: if the ice-cream has been stored in the freezer for a while and it freezes hard, leave it out of the freezer to thaw, or warm it in the microwave for approx. 25 seconds before serving. I prefer to make small batches as it's much better eaten the same day as it was made.