Creamy, fresh and plant-based, this dairy-free strawberry cheesecake ice cream is a true delight, and healthier too! No refined sugars, gluten or grains either.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a small loaf pan with parchment paper and set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix together the almond flour, coconut sugar, coconut oil, raw honey and sea salt. Once mixed, pour into lined loaf pan and pat down in an even layer with your hands. Bake in preheated oven for 14-16 minutes or until light golden brown. Set aside to cool.
Add chopped strawberries to a small saucepan over medium heat. Mash with a potato masher until mostly smooth. Bring to a gentle simmer and then reduce heat to medium-low. Continue to cook for about 25 minutes, stirring regularly. Set aside to cool (strawberries will continue to thicken while cooling).
Add softened nut-based cream cheese, coconut sugar, chilled coconut cream, almond milk and vanilla extract to a high-powered blender container. Blend on high until free of lumps and completely smooth.
Pour mixture into ice cream freezer bowl and churn according to the manufacturer's insructions. For reference, mine churned for about 17-20 minutes. While churning, remove the crust from the loaf pan and chop into small pieces. Once ice cream is done churning, pour into large loaf pan or other freezer-friendly container and fold in the crust pieces and cooked-down strawberry puree.
If you want softer ice cream, serve right away. Otherwise, place in the freezer to firm up for a few hours or so. The ice cream will get quite hard overnight, so you may need to let it sit for 10 mintues or so at room temperature before serving.
Make sure to put your ice cream freezer bowl in the freezer the day before making the ice cream!
I used and recommend this brand of unsweetened almond milk, this brand of coconut cream and this brand of plant-based cream cheese. None of these have any gums, fillers or anything weird.