Mayan Coconut Iced "Cream"

You may have gathered that I have been trying to be more critical of the dairy that my family and I have been eating. As a result, I have found myself replacing cheeses and milk with some non-dairy options. As I have mentioned before, I have been playing around with cashews in my Oats in a Jar and even investigating ways to make my own "cheese" (possible future post?)

My friend, Wendy, on her blog, Fit-and-Frugal, just posted a recipe for some Vegan Mayan Chocolate Coconut Iced "Cream" (which it appears she got from Swoon) and I just had to give it a try.

We had my husband's mom and step-dad over last night and since one of them will be celebrating a birthday in the near future, we thought it would be a great time for them to hold off on their diet for a small bowl of this rich iced "cream."

Having made my own ice cream before (with the cream and half-and-half), I will admit that this didn't thicken as much as the dairy recipes do. But after it went through my machine for 25-30 minutes, I just transferred it to a glass container to go in the fridge, and it hardened up in there and was perfect when I served it up a few hours later.

But the taste of this iced "cream" is amazing. There's the immediate sweet and cool bite of the chocolate followed by the hint of the heat from the cayenne. I thought about putting in a bit more cayenne as I tasted it, and I am glad I didn't, because I felt like it got a bit spicier over time.