Vegan Rosemary Gelato with Pecan Brittle
Super smooth vegan rosemary gelato with crisp, golden pecan brittle. The perfect blend for a delicious festive frozen dessert!
Prep Time2 hours hrs
Cook Time20 minutes mins
Freezing Time5 hours hrs
Total Time7 hours hrs 20 minutes mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: English, Italian
Keyword: vegan ice cream, vegan rosemary gelato
Servings: 10
Calories: 366kcal
Author: Richard Makin
High Speed Blender
ice cream machine
For the Rosemary Gelato
- 300 ml soy milk
- 300 g coconut milk (the kind from a can - must be 15% fat or higher)
- 4 sprigs rosemary
- 120 g coconut oil (deodorised or "refined" coconut oil is necessary as it has no coconut flavour)
- 270 g light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon liquid lecithin
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Pecan Brittle
- 90 g light brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch flaky sea salt
- 75 g pecans
To Make the Rosemary Gelato
Place the soy milk and coconut milk in a medium saucepan. Place over medium heat. Stirring constantly, bring the mixture to the brink of boiling (steam should begin to rise from the surface) but do not allow the mixture to boil.
Immediately turn off the heat, add the rosemary, cover with a lid and leave to infuse for minimum one hour.
Once infused the mixture should be much cooler and very fragrant. Remove the rosemary and discard. Sieve the mixture (to ensure no rosemary needles remain) and transfer it to a high-speed blender.
To the blender, add the melted coconut oil, light brown sugar, lecithin and vanilla extract. Blend on the highest speed until the mixture is completely smooth. Keeping the mixture in the blender container, place in the fridge for at least one hour to chill, ensuring it's covered tightly with a lid. While the mixture chills, make the pecan brittle.
To Make the Pecan Brittle
Line a baking tray with baking parchment and set aside. Place a large frying pan over low heat and add the light brown sugar, cinnamon and salt.
Using a heat proof spatula (ideally silicone) stir the mixture constantly. The sugar will appear to do nothing for a while but will then begin to melt and caramelise very quickly, so do not leave the pan.
As soon as the caramel mixture begins to bubble (only a few seconds after melting fully) add the pecans and stir to coat them quickly. Remove the pan from the heat and quickly (but carefully) pour the caramel covered pecans onto the prepared baking sheet.
Leave the pecan brittle to cool completely for at least half an hour. Once it's cool and completely firm, chop it roughly into pieces. Place in and bowl and set in the fridge for later.
To Churn and Assemble the Gelato
Place a freezer-proof container with a tight fitting lid into the freezer to chill in advance. The container should hold at least a 1 litre capacity.
Remove the chilled gelato mixture from the fridge and blend again until smooth.
Pour the mixture into your ice cream machine. Churn the mixture according to your machine's instructions or until it is the consistency of a thick soft serve.
Remove the gelato from the ice cream machine and, working quickly, scoop out a quarter directly into your chilled freezer-proof container. Sprinkle over a quarter of the pecan brittle. Repeat this layering process until all the gelato is in the container, topped with the remaining pecan brittle. Cover with the lid and freeze immediately for a minimum of 5 hours (you can eat the gelato immediately but the texture is far superior once "hard-frozen").
When ready to serve, remove the gelato from the freezer and scoop away!
Calories: 366kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Sodium: 29mg | Potassium: 187mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 36g | Vitamin A: 118IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 83mg | Iron: 2mg