On the menu today is a rich, fruity, exquisite kefir ice cream -- a healthy alternative to store-bought desserts.
As opposed to store-bought ice creams, this one will be tangy. This pleasant tang is the hallmark of fermentation and is due to the kefir's long fermentation time (24 hours).
Tip: Make the kefir a couple of days in advance so that it's ready by the time you want to make the ice cream.
Serves: 1
Prep times: 5 minutes (+3 hours freeze time)
Ingredients:
- 1 cup kefir* (see below)
- 1 tbsp. cocoa powder, or to taste
- A handful fresh or frozen berries
- A few squares of dark chocolate, broken into chips
- Natural sweetener to taste
- Optional: 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions:
- In a freezer-friendly jar or bowl, mix the kefir, vanilla, sweetener, and cocoa powder. Do not blend.
- Add the fruit and chocolate chips, and mix again.
- Freeze for about 3 hours.
Take the ice cream out of the freezer 25 minutes ahead of time, to let it defrost a little.
* For a rich flavor, make your kefir with either whole milk, half and half, or cream:
- To make 1 quart of kefir with whole milk: follow these instructions
- To make 1 quart of kefir with cream or half and half: In a quart jar, whisk 2 cups of good quality cream/half and half + one sachet of Easy Kefir starter + 1 tbsp. of Prebio Plus. Add 2 more cups of cream/half and half, and whisk again. Secure the lid and let ferment on the counter for approximately 24 hours or until thick and pleasantly tart. A shoutout to Donna Schwenk from Cultured Food Life, whose cultured kefir butter inspired the kefir cream used in this dessert.