I scream, you scream, we all scream for (pistachio) ice cream!

Welcome to the first deep dive into my recipe development process. A process that is very emotional for me (but I absolutely love it).

Going in, I knew that making a dairy-free and refined sugar-free ice cream that tastes exactly like the real thing would be a process. But, in typical fashion, I immediately got frustrated with my first batch because it wasn’t right.

Tears aside, I’m a big believer that the fewer ingredients a recipe has, the more important those ingredients are. And because ice cream uses so few ingredients (5 to be exact: milk, cream, egg yolks, sugar, and salt), it was imperative to nail the right dairy alternative and sweetener.

So, the recipe development process for this ice cream was less about ice cream making (it is, but it also isn’t) and more about using the right ingredients.

so let’s chat ingredients

finding the right dairy-alternative

Typical ice cream uses both milk and cream to give ice cream that classic rich and creamy mouthfeel (the milk serves to lighten up the texture so it's not too cloying).

After years of disappointment in grocery store non-dairy alternatives (I swear, most nut milk brands are like cloudy water), I didn’t bother looking for a store-bought non-dairy milk or cream.

Instead (like the type-A gal that I am), I decided to make homemade nut milk to use in my homemade ice cream (like one does).

To replicate the combo of milk and cream in traditional ice cream, I used a combo of cashews and almonds in my milk-cream hybrid. The creaminess of the cashews perfectly replicates the richness of heavy creamy, while the almonds add protein and structure you would normally get from 2% milk.

So basically, 4 cups of water, blended with 1 1/4 cup cashews and 1 cup of almonds, equals a super creamy non-dairy milk-cream hybrid.

NOTE: thanks to my family, who are able to tolerate dairy, I’ve been able to test this recipe with dairy as well, so you can use this recipe regardless if you’re non-dairy or not!

coconut sugar vs. honey

When I make anything refined sugar-free, I typically reach for coconut sugar. And since coconut sugar is the best swap for granulated cane sugar, I initially tried making this ice cream with it. And it was bad (my brother, an ice cream aficionado, tasted my first batch and the only thing he said was “I’ll help you" which is code for “this is bad”).

Snarky brother aside (I never actually accepted his help), coconut sugar has a distinct caramel-like flavor that completely overpowered the subtle nutty sweetness of the pistachios. Plus, it heavily discolored the ice cream.

And yes, in hindsight, I should’ve realized this before even experimenting with coconut sugar, but I was too excited to make ice cream to think.

Which is why I prefer using honey in this particular recipe - it compliments the pistachio and cardamom so well, plus it doesn’t discolor the ice cream and lets the natural green of the pistachios shine through.

pistachios, pistachios, pistachios

After multiple rounds of testing this recipe (8 batches and 3 weeks), I can honestly say that you can manipulate the pistachios a multitude of ways with similar results. You can use pistachio butter, chopped pistachios, or infuse the base with ground pistachios; all methods work with similar results.

I prefer using pistachio butter in this recipe - which ensures the whole nut is used for maximum flavor.

Now, the important question - to roast or not to roast. If you want to compromise color for flavor, roast the pistachios. I personally prefer the sweet flavor of raw pistachios, but you will get a deeper, nuttier flavor with roasted pistachios.

It's really just a personal preference!

custard making, chilling, churning, and all things ice cream making

After the exhaustive process of figuring out my ingredients for this recipe, making the custard base, chilling, churning, and freezing the ice cream seemed like child's play.

And it more or less was.

Because while I might be using non-traditional ingredients, the ice cream-making process is the same: make the custard, chill it overnight, churn it, freeze it, and enjoy.

That said, I do have a few notes on ice cream making:

• Making a custard base seems a little intimidating (i.e. tempering eggs) but my little trick to make it easier is to keep the heat low. Yes, it makes the process slower, but low heat ensures that the custard cooks slower and ensures you won’t have a scrambled egg situation on your hands.

• Chill the ice cream base before churning. Adding the warm ice cream base to the ice cream maker is a recipe for disaster - it won’t churn properly. Let the base chill for at least 6 hours, ideally overnight.

• Speaking of chilling, freeze your ice cream bowl at least 16 hours (preferably 24 hours) in advance. Otherwise, it won’t be cold enough to properly churn the ice cream.

• And a good ice cream maker is super important for making ice cream (duh)! And since our ice cream maker is on its last leg, I justified finally buying the KitchenAid ice cream attachment (and I’m in love).

and now for the recipe (duh)!

If you made it through that rollercoaster, thank you! I hope you enjoyed this little insight into my recipe development process. When I develop a brand new recipe (like this one) where I don’t have a starting point, it’s a bit harder.

Anywho, can’t wait for you to make this - this pistachio ice cream is my crowning achievement in non-dairy ice cream.

The beauty of this recipe; you can customize it to your dietary preference. Use cane sugar if you like, swap out the nut milk for heavy cream and milk, etc. Details are in the recipe!!!!

-Yasmeen