Vice Cream: Gourmet Vegan Desserts (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Many people who have shifted to a healthy plant-based diet have told me that the hardest food for them to do without is quality ice cream. Now, thanks to Jeff Rogers, you can make your own gourmet frozen desserts without dairy products. And they’ll taste better than Ben & Jerry’s or Baskin-Robbins ever did!” —John Robbins, author of Diet for a New America and The Food Revolution“The vice cream was quite delicious. . . . We enjoyed the taste test and felt honored to be among the first to try this exciting cruelty-free dessert. We are all nut lovers, so the maple walnut was a huge hit. We loved the chocolate chip too, especially the way the chips are like tiny morsels that go through every spoonful, making each bite totally tasty.” —Ingrid E. Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)“Sinfully sumptuous, fun to make, and all vegan! That’s one improvement in ice cream that’s long overdue.” —Dr. Neal Barnard, president of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine“When it comes to his vice cream recipes, Jeff Rogers has made an impressive addition to the world of delicious, healthy desserts that adds pleasure to our life without the need for artery-clogging cholesterol and saturated fat. Jeff’s recipes are simply and sinfully great.” —Francis Janes, international restaurateur“Jeff Rogers doesn’t just give you a slice, but a whole spoonful of heaven with his amazing frozen dessert recipes. His creations are delicious and unforgettable. Yum!” —Sabrina Nelson, Webwitch, VegSource.com

Product Description

It’s love at first bite! Until now, vegans and lactose-intolerants have missed out on perfect rich, creamy ice cream, and have been left with bland, too-healthy-tasting alternatives. Who knew it was possible to create a satisfying ice cream–like dessert without the milk and cream? Jeff Rogers and his vice cream to the rescue! VICE CREAM offers more than 70 scrumptious recipes for all the vegans out there who’ve been missing scoop after scoop of mouthwatering ice cream. For the first time, you can make truly creamy and delectable ice creams using purely vegan ingredients—the milks come from nuts, the sweeteners are maple syrup and dates, and the flavors are just amazing. Recipes include favorites like chocolate, vanilla, chocolate chip, mocha, and peanut butter, as well as fresh fruit flavors like blueberry, raspberry, lemon, and strawberry, and many more. After your first spoonful, you’ll be astonished at just how tasty and rich this healthy alternative to the heaviness of "real" ice cream can be. With vice cream in the freezer, you’ll never yearn for milk-based ice cream again.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Celestial Arts (September 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587611996
• ISBN-13: 978-1587611995
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #103,904 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

106 of 107 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delicious!!! And in many cases, so easy to make that it practically makes itself!, March 29, 2006

By	Groovy Vegan (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

I held off reviewing Vice Cream until I made the following flavors at least once and shared them with a friend: Vanilla Delight, Chocolate, Chocolate Chip, Mint Chocolate Chip, Mint Carob Chip, Chocoholic Delight (chocolate chocolate chip), and in the raw section, Strawberry. After all, I wanted to be able to review this book with some authority. :-)

And the verdict is: Delicious!!! In fact, the regular Vice Creams (cashew based) are better than all the Baskin Robbins and packaged ice cream I had before I was vegan, and equal in deliciousness to homemade dairy ice cream. The regular Vice Creams are also better than all the packaged vegan ice creams I've ever had. The only equally tasty non-dairy ice cream I've had is made fresh at the soy dairy at The Farm in Summertown, TN.

The raw strawberry Vice Cream I made (p. 48), (the first of the two raw strawberry Vice Creams in the book) was very good, but not as fabulously delicious as the cashew based Vice Creams. In addition, the raw strawberry Vice Cream was more complicated to make than the regular Vice Creams, as I had to make almond milk first, which involves soaking almonds overnight, blending them with water, and then squeezing the water through a nut bag. The dates muddied the pink color a bit, so if you want a raw vice cream with the pink color you've grown accustomed to in childhood, you might want to try sweetening with agave nectar instead of dates.

I had never made home made ice cream nor Vice Cream before, and I was amazed at how simple it is. To make regular Vice Cream, I blend cashews, water, and some flavorings in a high powered blender which I chill overnight in the fridge. I use a K-Tech, but a Vitamix would work too. A regular blender would probably work if you blend longer. The next morning, I pour the blender contents in a Cuisinart ice cream maker (adding any chocolate chips near the end of the mixing time) and about 20 minutes later, I have fresh, delicious, soft-serve ice cream. If I want it firmer, I freeze it a few hours. It's important that when freezing the ice cream, you don't pack it into the container, otherwise you're defeating the purpose of the ice cream machine mixing the contents with air. Jeff says Vice Cream keeps several months, but at my house it's always finished within a week.

Vice Cream comments:
* I have calibrated my sweet tooth to be about 75% of Jeff Rogers' sweet tooth. When he calls for 1 cup of maple syrup, I use 3/4 cup and add an extra quarter cup of water. When he calls for 1 cup pitted dates, I use 3/4 cup, otherwise I find the Vice Cream too sweet.

* I always use ground up fresh vanilla bean in place of any vanilla flavor Jeff calls for. It's extra work to cut a vanilla bean into small pieces and grind it up in a coffee grinder, but totally worth it.

* There is controversy in the raw foods community about whether cashews can really be raw. The Living Tree Community says their cashews are really raw, and I believe them. One can increase the rawness of the cashew-based Vice Creams by sweetening with raw sweeteners such as dates or agave nectar.

* I've tried many of the "ordinary" ice cream flavors. I leave it to someone else to review the Raw Jalapeno Heaven and the Coconut Durian!

* There's a pattern to making the Vice Creams. If your favorite flavor is not in the book, it would be easy to use Jeff's book as a template to concoct your own.

The bottom line on Vice Cream is that it's delicious and quite easy to make. I'm looking forward to my first summer with Vice Cream! :-)

62 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yummy Desserts at Last!, March 16, 2005

By	K. M. Vu (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As someone who preferred Ben & Jerry's and Hagen Daaz only a few short years ago, I have never liked the soy based "ice creams" sold in stores. Now that I no longer eat dairy, I have more often skipped dessert altogether rather than eat the soy brands unless I was desparate. No more! This wonderful little cookbook is a dream come true. I was very skeptical when I first saw it: How can cashews and maple syrup even begin to satisfy my craving for a rich, creamy frozen dessert? Well, they can and then some. I couldn't be happier with the taste and texture I found with the first recipe I tried (chocolate, of course). Also, the recipes are very easy to follow and take very little time. And the selection of recipes is mouth watering; there are so many great flavors to choose from.

One thing readers should be aware of is that almost all of the vice cream recipes use cashews, which can be pretty expensive. Give it a try, though, and you won't be able to resist!

57 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great "ice-cream" recipes for vegans, November 4, 2004

By	C. Cornell (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am a vegan and am also allergic to dairy. All of my life I have wished for a great "ice cream". The recipes in this book are amazing. They are creamy and rich tasting and there are also options for raw fooders. In addition to ice creams, there are recipes for sauces. One recommendation is to make sure you blend the mixture very well before putting it in your ice cream maker to prevent it from being grainy. This book has so many gourmet and creative ice cream flavors and tips for creating your own ice cream flavors. I highly recommend this book.