Dairy-Free Cantaloupe Ice Cream

I love cantaloupe. When it’s available in abundance, we eat it almost daily. My farm share contained two cantaloupes last week. Yipee! I decided to use them to make cantaloupe ice cream.

Easier said than done. I’ve eaten cantaloupe sorbet (in Krakow, Poland), which was out of this world delicious, but it no doubt contained a lot of sugar. Since I’ve kicked refined sugar out of my life, I challenged myself to make a cantaloupe ice cream with no added sugar

Of course, I couldn’t use cream, the base for all great ice creams. What to do? I used my old standby, cashew cream, which is thick, creamy and freezes well. I blended the cashew cream with cantaloupe in my Vitamix, but the result was disappointing. Not sweet enough, and it didn’t taste enough like cantaloupe.

Without added sugar, the fragile cantaloupe flavor slips away. I found that vegetable glycerin, plus stevia, plus erythritol and a small amount of maple syrup yields the best flavor. I add a little fresh lemon juice to give the ice cream an acid boost. Don’t overdo the lemon juice, or the ice cream will separate.

My ice cream maker has grown legs and wandered away (it’s likely hiding somewhere in my attic), so I poured the blended cantaloupe cream into ice cube trays and keep them frozen until I’m ready to serve an icy summer dessert.  I put the frozen cubes of cantaloupe ice cream back into the blender, and blend them to a smooth, soft-serve consistency, which I serve immediately, garnished with a sprig of fresh mint.

Springhouse Turtle

Print Recipe

Dairy-Free Cantaloupe Ice Cream

Icy and creamy, this summer dessert is made with cashew cream and fresh cantaloupe.

Ingredients

• 1 whole cantaloupe, seeded and cubed
• 3/4 cup cashew cream
• 1/4 cup powdered erythritol
• 1 teaspoon liquid stevia
• 2 tablespoons vegetable glycerin
• pinch sea salt
• 1 teaspoon fresh mint leaves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Instructions

1

Put all ingredients into a blender, and blend until smooth.

2

Pour into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.

3

Keep ice cream in freezer in a tightly sealed container.

4

Or pour the cantaloupe mixture into ice cube trays, and freeze.

5

When ready to serve, put cubes into blender, and blend until creamy.

6

Serve garnished with fresh mint leaves.

Springhouse Turtle