Saffron Ice Cream Recipe (dairy-free) Aka: Bastani Akbar Mashti

Hi Everyone 🙂

Hope you are all having a great weekend so far!!!!

so today I wanted to post my Favorite ice cream of all time! ( this is for you Onlineubeautiy finds 😉 )

If you have a Persian store or restaurant in your town and even better if you have a Persian friend you have heard of this ice-cream ( hopefully) -“Akbar Mashti”

This ice-cream is unlike any ice-cream ever made, it is rich… it is delicious and so super addictive! Of course the original recipe has cream in it and since I have transitioned to a vegan lifestyle… I have been missing this ice-cream!!! so I decided to try out a few alternative ways of making this into a non-dairy recipe!!!

and I GOT IT!!!

To make this diary-free you will need to use a dairy-free Vanilla ice-cream as a base. I use the vanilla ice-cream made from Coconut cream.. don’t worry the coconut taste is so mild you won’t even taste it!!!

If you are feeling ambitious you can make your own coconut cream ice-cream base. I already wrote a blog on how to make this on my “ there is no cream in this ice-cream Blog” based on a recipe by Gemma Stafford on youtube.

* Note: saffron contains many plant derived chemical components which are known to prevent diseases. They are also known to promote overall well-being of the body. The active components in the saffron make our body lose its depressing characteristics making it a dietary necessity sometimes.

*Note: Rose water: it is rich in flavonoids, anti-oxidants, tannins and essential vitamins like A, C, D, E and B3. Rose water is a mild sedative and anti-depressant. It enhances moods, helps relive nervous tension and improves skin texture!!!

enough chit chat… let’s do this 🙂

Preparation:

– Prepare the vanilla ice-cream base ( Gemma’s Video) or buy a suitable vanilla ice-cream.

you will need to Chill 1 can of coconut milk in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
Chill all of your bowls so that your ice-cream does not melt while preparing.

Ingredients (for at least 8 servings):

3 quarts creamy/rich vanilla ice cream ( coconut milk based)

1 can ( 13.5oz) Full fat coconut milk —

you can adjust the amount based on your desire to have more or less in the ice cream

3/4 cup rose water (golab) — you can adjust this amount to your liking. ( buy Persian rose-water if you can)

chopped pistachio –desired amount (usually not too much ~ 1/2 cup)

1/2 teaspoon saffron – mix with a tad bit of hot water to make it liquid (adjust the amount if you desire more or less saffron)

Directions:

-Open the can of chilled coconut milk. The cream should have risen to the top… scoop out the cream into your mixing bowl..( you can drink the water if you want 🙂 )

-This cream should be pretty thick…you should whip up the coconut cream on high speed ( with electric beater) until it’s light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. or you could mix it up by hand.

-Put ice in a large bowl and then put a smaller bowl on top of the larger bowl… Then pour all the vanilla ice cream into the smaller bowl and use a large spoon or spatula to mix the ice cream. (the ice will keep it from melting,You dont want the ice cream to melt when you are preparing it.)

-Add the saffron, rose water, coconut cream and pistachio (you might want to keep some pistachios for later) and stir with the spatula until everything is evenly mixed.

-Once the Saffron Ice-cream “Akbar Mashti” is mixed up put the ice cream into a suitable container that can be placed back in the fridge. At this time if you like sprinkle some pistachios on top of the ice cream

-Allow the ice cream to freeze again and then serve as desired.

Traditionally this ice-cream is served with the special ice-cream bread ( ice-cream sandwich) but you can enjoy this with or without it!!

if you really want to try it with the bread…you can get the bread from a Persian store near you 🙂