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Chocolate Shell Vegan Ice Cream Sandwiches: A chocolate shell twist on a classic frozen dessert. A thick layer of raw cashew ice cream sandwiched between two layers of homemade chocolate shell.
“Oh man!!! Are these really vegan ice cream sandwiches???”
“Made with CHOCOLATE SHELL.?”
“Dude. No way!”
That’s what Erik said when I beamingly presented these to him, chest-puffed out and everything. Yes, there comes a time in every adult woman’s life when her chest needs to be puffed out for pride purposes. That time is today.
Because. Vegan ice cream sandwiches. With CHOCOLATE SHELL. Dudette.
So it all started when I had a HUGE craving for ice cream, chocolate, frozen-awesomeness and all that good stuff. BUT. That craving was immediately met with the Stern Look from my inner health guru (that jerk). So I did what any sane person would do: eat all the ice cream novelties hidden in the back of our freezer in The Box I consulted The Internet.
Oh Internet, what do you have to help me quell my sweet-toothed, sugar-addicted, tantrum-throwing inner child?
Enter: Detoxinista. That lady can cook. Dude. If anyone can understand The Need for sweets, but also has The Jerk yelling about healthy New Year’s resolutions, it’s her. I found this awesome recipe on her website for klondike bars.
Okay, so here’s the thing. Dipping a quickly-melting raw cashew ice cream bar completely in chocolate shell is HARD. No joke. You gotta move like the wind. But then. The Wind freezes up your chocolate shell faster than you can say “what the hamburger” and boom! You’ve just got a sloppy mess of would-be chocolate goop sitting on a melty pile of earnest cashew milk (by now it’s milk).
Alright. So what did I do to fix this personality deficit/obvious cooking skills-inability? Create layers, baby! Yep, baby. Hey, I have cashew milk now… so why not?
You see, my version of the chocolate shell hardened up so fast that I couldn’t keep up. But if we split the recipe up into three separate stages, with ample time sandwiched (tee-hee) in between, we’re good to go.
So here’s how the chocolate shell vegan ice cream sandwiches are made: lovingly and calmly line an 8×8 pan with wax paper, parchment or foil. Then, stir up all of the homemade chocolate shell ingredients. Pour this shell mixture into the pan. No sweat, it’s not like The Wind is gonna get you like- well, you know. Smugly pop your pan into the freezer.
Then, you toss your soaked and drained raw cashews into a food processor with flair. Obviously. Add in maple syrup, coconut oil, salt and vanilla extract. Blend until you can no longer hear negativity smooth. Take your pan (again, smugly) out of the freezer. Pour the cashew ice cream mixture over your now hardened chocolate shell. Place it back in the freezer for a time. Put your stunner shades on and wait. Like a boss.
Once you’re totally sure that the tricky cashew ice cream layer is fully hardened, go ahead and make the last layer of chocolate shell. Perhaps some gentle finger poking in the general direction of your ice cream layer can help your “is it hard” cause.
Now, whip up your last batch of chocolate shell and pour it over the ice cream layer. Refreeze. Then slice it like it’s hot. But it’s not.
Then, tell me about all of your wildest dreams and favorite childhood desserts below, with several chocolate shell vegan ice cream sandwiches in hand, of course.
Chocolate Shell Vegan Ice Cream Sandwiches
Ingredients
Chocolate Coating
- ¼ cup cocoa powder, divided
- ¼ cup melted coconut oil, divided
- ¼ cup maple syrup, divided
Vanilla Ice Cream
- ¾ cup raw cashew pieces
- ½ cup nut milk, almond, cashew, or whatever you prefer
- 1/3 cup coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Soak raw cashews for 3 hours.
- Line an 8x8 pan with wax paper or parchment paper. Set aside.
- Make the first chocolate shell layer: In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons of each of the following: cocoa powder, melted coconut oil and maple syrup. Whisk until smooth. Pour this mixture onto the lined pan. You need to work quickly as this chocolate shell sets very fast. Set this pan in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Make the vanilla ice cream: In a small saucepan over low heat, warm up nut milk and coconut oil until smooth. Remove from heat. Allow to reach room temperature.
- Drain and rinse the soaked cashews. Place the cashews into a small to medium-sized food processor or blender.
- Add coconut oil, milk, maple syrup and vanilla extract into processor or blender. Blend until smooth.
- Take the baking pan out of the freezer. Pour the cashew mixture over the chocolate layer, making sure to create an even layer. Carefully place the pan back into the freezer for 1-2 hours.
- When the cashew layer is completely frozen, make the last chocolate layer.
- Make the last chocolate shell layer: In the same medium-sized bowl from earlier, whisk together the remaining 2 tablespoons each of cocoa powder, melted coconut oil and maple syrup. Whisk together until smooth. Take your pan out of the freezer and quickly pour and smooth the chocolate mixture over the frozen cashew layer. Place back into the freezer for 30 minutes.
- Slice into ice cream sandwiches: Remove the pan from the freezer. Lift the bars out by pinching two ends of the wax or parchment paper. Set onto an even surface. Slice into 16 pieces. Enjoy immediately.
Notes
- Adapted from this recipe.
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If you’re in the mood for a peanut butter fix, try my Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Popsicles (Vegan, Gluten Free).
Beat the heat with my light and refreshing Vegan Blueberry Coconut Popsicles (Gluten Free, Dairy Free).
What do you enjoy eating ice cream sandwiches with?
Brilliant Clicks.. I love ice cream sandwiches…
Ice cream sandwiches always make me extremely nostalgic! I am always so impressed by how you transform such few raw ingredients into desserts that makes this non-vegan dessert lover drool.
It’s so funny, I’m learning that ice cream novelties in general make everyone really nostalgic. Including me. Lol. Thank you so much Megan! 🙂
Demeter, why are even your older pictures so pretty? And even your first posts so funny? I came here to find ugly, old photos, it’s so unfair!
JK, I came here actually to find a good ice cream sandwich recipe. I knew you’ll have one for me. Need to make one for next weekend for a friend. So thank you so much again for this!!! I hope it’s going to be as delicious as it looks like 🙂
What?? No! Lol. Thanks for saying that E. Truth be told, I took these photos on my old iPad, with bold aqua curtains and bright red furniture all adding to the color “balance.” Lololol. Yeah, I’m quite the smart cookie. So I’m just go ahead and take your compliments, and move swiftly away… 😉
Oh, I hope your friend like these! Definitely a different twist on the classic. It’s perfect for big chocolate lovers. 🙂 Be sure to tell me what she thinks! xo
I can see thst iam more chocolate obsessed than you. I never could have completed this recipe fully. Woul have completed half of it by licking from the beginning. Cashews for ice cream is new to me. Loved the texture and color. As you said i am obssesed on the color combo in every post of yours
You are?! Well, we can share our love/obsession for chocolate together. 🙂 Oh, it was definitely very hard to resist the urge to eat everything before freezing. How’d you know? 😉 I hope you get a chance to enjoy this! Thanks so much Smitha! xo
OMG I need to try this! I have been having such a craving for ice cream lately (probably because it’s finally warmer, we have like 24°C now, it’s crazy!). But of course the guilt always follows, knowing how much sugar they put into that stuff. But these here look incredibly delicious AND they’re healthy. Thanks for a great recipe! 🙂
Oh, I hope you do! These go great with warm weather. I can’t believe it’s so warm there! That’s awesome. Yup, guilt-free desserts are the absolute best–that’s one of my main goals with this blog: eat yummy stuff that’s actually secretly healthy. Thanks Natanja! 🙂
These look perfect! Will definitely try them!
They’re ridiculously enjoyable. Hope you like them, Mira! 🙂
You make some gorgeous food! I wish I could order this from you!
Haha! Thank you! Oh man, I would be sweating (along with the ice cream sandos) to see if you liked it. 🙂 Hope you enjoy the recipe!