Ingredients
100 gms seedless dates, preferably Medjool
100 gms fresh coconut cream
100 gms pumpkin, diced or canned pumpkin purée
1 cardamom
Slivered almonds or any other dried fruit of choice for garnish
Method
1. If you do not have seedless dates, just use the ones you have and remove the seeds one by one. Note: Mejdool dates are an excellent option because they are naturally sweet with a hint of caramel-like flavour. They also give a creamy texture to the ice cream. In a blender, add dates, coconut cream, diced red and cardamom.
2. Blend it until a thick paste is formed. Move it into a loaf tin, freeze it for a couple of hours, and serve cold.
Pumpkin in desserts and drinks is not new. You have the classic pumpkin pie and spiced latte on café menus during the cold months, and as summer approaches, a whole new trend of making treats with pumpkin begins. Ice cream is just one of them.
To make a dairy version of this dessert, more like ice cream, replace coconut cream with sweetened condensed milk, fresh pumpkin with purée, and add heavy whipping cream and vanilla extract.
You begin with whipping the cream until stiff peaks are formed, followed by condensed milk and vanilla extract. Add half a teaspoon of pumpkin spice mix for a pie-like flavour. A typical pumpkin pie spice mix consists of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Mix them all well, place in a loaf tin and let it sit in the freezer for a couple of hours. Drizzle with some caramel sauce and garnish with dried fruits and serve.
This ice cream recipe is unique because, unlike how ice-creams are traditionally churned, this one does not need to go through the process. Churning ice-creams by hand or machine is a way to prevent crystals from forming on top of it. However, heavy cream and pumpkin do the trick in this recipe and save the churning time. You get a no-machine needed, churn-free cold treat ready for a hot summer day.
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