Spiced Apple and Blackberry Kuchen Ice Cream

August 7th, 2011

Like many committed at-home cooks, I’ve lived through a full-on love affair with Nigella Lawson. It was so long ago, but I remember methodically going through her cookbook and making a new recipe each weekend, as if it was yesterday.

When I think back to that time, one of the recipes that immediately comes to mind is Nigella’s German-American Kuchen (translated as “cake” from German), a breakfast cake with apples, cinnamon, orange zest, and blackberries. Baking it would fill the house with the intoxicating aroma of baked vanilla, spices, and citrus.

In this heat though, we’d much rather eat ice-cream, almost over anything else. So, without any further hesitation, we decided to recreate that kuchen in the form of a nutritious frozen dessert that could possibly be eaten for breakfast, if we so wished.
We really enjoyed the result, it covered all the flavour bases of the original, yet became its very own dish. Imagine a smooth, creamy ice cream, with the unexpected hint of traditional spices and fresh berries.

I had lots of fun making this a swirled ice-cream, my first attempt ever. I got giddy with excitement when my scoop produced these whirled, galaxy-like portions. The spiced apples, used to top the ice cream, also came out sensational. Good enough to be eaten on their own.
My husband proclaimed this frozen kuchen “the best ever,” Paloma licked the bowl clean.

Blackberry Sauce
2 cups fresh blackberries
raw honey or another sweetener of choice – to taste

In a high speed blender, combine the berries with your sweetener of choice. Run the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve to discard the seeds.

Kuchen Ice-Cream
2 cups raw cashews – soaked overnight
2 cups meat of fresh young Thai coconut
1 cup freshly squeezed apple juice
3/4 cup agave syrup or another sweetener of choice
zest of 2 oranges
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 cup coconut oil

In a high-speed blender, combine all the ingredients until smooth. Chill well, and process in your ice-cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Pour a small amount of ice-cream into a chilled container, then spoon some blackberry sauce on top. Continue with the ice-cream, alternating with layers of blackberry sauce to get a swirled effect when you scoop. Cover the container and freeze for a couple of hours before serving.

Spiced Apples
raw honey mixed with a couple drops of vanilla extract
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
1-2 apples – thinly sliced
zest of 1 orange
sprinkle of ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg – to taste
fresh blackberries – optional

Whisk the vanilla infused honey and orange juice in a small mixing bowl. I didn’t measure the amount of honey precisely, just eyeball it according to the amount of apples you’re using. Mix the apples with orange zest and spices. Pour the honey mixture over, stirring and making sure that all of the apples are coated. Let sit for a couple of hours or while making the ice cream.
Serve the ice-cream with spiced apples, fresh blackberries, and extra blackberry sauce if you prefer.

Tags: dessert, raw food, recipe

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