Brownies ‘n’ Yoghurt Ice Cream

Lately I have been obsessed with brownies. I made the recipe I posted recently over and over. I tried different nuts (peanuts, walnuts) and different liqueurs. I also made them with a decreased amount of alcohol and instant coffee powder one time and I have to say they are very versatile!

This is a version made with walnuts and instant coffee powder. They tasted almost like a bar of dark chocolate. They are perfect for people who don’t like sweets that much. They were more bitter than sweet as the coffee powder enhanced the taste of the chocolate I used (85% cocoa). I baked them in my square muffin pans and I had to decrease the baking time a bit.

That was probably my third or fourth batch. Yeah, I lost count and suddenly the freezer was the home of dozens of brownies. They make such a great snack and because they have so much chocolate, they can be eaten shorty after you take them out of the freezer. But one day I got a little bit tired of the brownies. It was hot and I wanted something else. So I prepared the ice cream maker and the next day was planned around ice cream making. I mixed the batter together before work and churned the ice cream when I came home.

At first I wanted to use coconut milk for the base, but many of my ice cream recipes have coconut milk in them. It makes for a rich and creamy base, but there are only so many variations of coconut milk ice cream you can try. At some point it gets boring. So I used soy yoghurt and refined coconut oil instead and with the help of a tablespoon of rum and some guar gum the ice cream turned out as creamy as if I had used coconut milk.

The brownies are perfect for ice cream. They don’t harden that much and the slight bitterness makes a great contrast to the sweet and refreshing yoghurt mixture. If you do not have guar gum and/or don’t want to use rum, just leave those out. You might want to use an additional tablespoon of refined coconut oil though.

Brownies ‘n’ Yoghurt Ice Cream

120 g (3/4 cup) almonds
320 ml (1 cup) soymilk
150 g (3/4 cup) raw sugar
240 g  (1 cup) soy yoghurt
80 g (6 tablespoons) melted, refined coconut oil
1 tablespoon rum
1/2 teaspoon ground vanilla or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon guar gum (optional, substitute xanthan gum)
120 g brownies, cut into bitesized pieces  (2 brownies made from this recipe, pan cut into 12 pieces)*

Place almonds and soy milk in a blender. Process until smooth. Add remaining ingredients except for the brownies and repeat.

Refrigerate for about 4-6 hours. Prepare the ice cream in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, do this. When your ice cream is done, stir in the brownie bites and store in the freezer until frozen properly.

 * I used walnuts and added 1 tablespoon of instant coffee powder.