Cherry-Date Ice Cream – No Dairy or Added Sweeteners

I just cannot get enough paleo ice cream! Even after a whole week of ice cream posts, I am still dreaming up new recipes. Blame it on the hot summer weather. This time around, I was inspired by the cherry trees that are growing in my back yard. They are still very young and immature, so I had to purchase cherries for this recipe, but I am confident that we will be getting a very respectable cherry crop a few years down the road. These little trees have been loving the summer heat and sunshine, and have taken off in the past few months.

This is a wonderfully creamy and decadent ice cream treat that is dairy-free and naturally sweetened using nothing but fruit – the natural sweetness of cherries and dates is so tasty that I did not even have to add honey, and I still ended up with a decadent dessert. And I found that (even though I ate a lot of ice cream in one sitting!) I did not get any sort of a sugar high or crash at all. The natural fruit sugars are perfectly balanced by all the gloriously healthy fats in the coconut milk and egg yolks. I like the added flavor of vanilla and almond extracts, but I left them in parentheses for my paleo challenge participants, since both are out of the question for our strict 30-day trial.

1 can coconut milk
2 cups dark sweet cherries, pitted
4 dates, finely chopped
2 pastured egg yolks (from a farmer you trust, since we are eating them raw!)
(1 tsp almond extract)
(1 tsp vanilla extract)

Combine the coconut milk and chopped dates in your food processor and process on high until the dates are evenly incorporated and no chunks remain. Add in the remaining ingredients and process to your desired consistency. (I left just a few small chunks of cherry in my ice cream, just for some textural variety.) Place the mixture in your ice cream maker and freeze according to your manufacturer’s instructions. Store in the freezer for a few more hours to get a good, solid ice cream consistency (if you can wait that long), and then enjoy. Nick and I found it to be an ideal treat to share on the back porch at the end of a hot summer day.

I am sharing this recipe at Sweets for a Saturday, Simply Delish, the Whole Health Weekend Link-Up, Monday Mania, Show Me How Monday, Mangia Monday, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Tasty Tuesday, Made From Scratch Tuesday, Gluten-Free Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday, Turning the Table Thursday, Sweet Treats Thursday, Sweet Tooth Friday, Friday Food, Primal Cave Friday, Friday Potluck, Allergy-Friendly Friday, Fat Camp Friday, and Delectable Tuesday.