After a devastating storm and black rain, the mid-autumn festival recorded the highest temperature (33.7°C) in Hong Kong’s history. In this extreme weather, perhaps it’s not too late for some ice cream.
I never thought making ice cream could be so easy until I realized that no ice cream shops sell “no added sugar” ice cream, and I have to make my own. Investing in an ice cream maker just for a trial seemed excessive, especially if I might not even need one.
As a breast cancer survivor, I also prefer to consume minimal dairy products. Coconut milk is a common substitute for dairy, but since the health benefits of the saturated fat in coconut are debatable, I prefer not to use it excessively. That’s why I appreciate Arman’s “almond milk ice cream” recipe, which contains only cashews, almond milk, and maple syrup. All you need to do is mix everything in a blender and then chill it in the fridge for a few hours. Here’s Arman’s 12-serving ingredient list:
- 2 cups cashews
- 2 cups almond milk
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
Based on what I had at home, I substituted macadamia nuts for cashews. And to avoid added sugar, I replaced the maple syrup with a banana, which naturally contains around 15 grams of sugar (compared to about 100 grams of sugar in ½ cup of maple syrup), resulting in less than 2 grams of sugar per serving. I also added 2 avocados to make it creamier. During taste testing, I found that adding a pinch of salt made the flavor more interesting, so I came up with my own recipe as follows:
- 2 cups macadamia nuts
- 2 cups almond milk
- 1 banana
- 2 avocados
- A pinch of salt
To make the ice cream smoother, it’s better to soak the nuts overnight as advised by Arman, but not doing so would give the ice cream some nutty texture. If I am making the ice cream for a party, I can always add some maple syrup for my friends and keep a separate scoop of low-sugar ice cream for myself.
