Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

This is my last ice cream sundae post for the summer.  It's been delicious fun, though I am starting to crave healthier recipes again...

Before I change my focus, I had to try one last "stir-in" ice cream recipe, this time using non-dairy strawberry ice cream as the base. I've already tried vanilla (as with my recipe for Peanut Butter-Banana Ice Cream) and chocolate (as with my Mocha Ice Cream), so this rounds out the classic trio. My favorite vegan strawberry is the So Delicious from Turtle Mountain, so that's what I used tonight.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups low-fat strawberry non-dairy ice cream
• 1 cup vegan sour cream*
• 1 cup Tofutti cream cheese
• 1 cup vegan powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Place a large bowl in the freezer to chill.  Meanwhile, let the ice cream stand at room temperature until softened (the So Delicious takes about 25 minutes).

2. While the ice cream softens, combine the sour cream and cream cheese in a bowl; beat with a hand mixer for about 1 minute, until combined.  Gradually add the powdered sugar, beating well. Beat in the vanilla extract.

3. Combine the softened ice cream and the cream cheese mixture in the chilled bowl, stirring with a rubber spatula to combine.  Cover, return to the freezer, and refreeze to desired consistency. 

For an "Ultimate Cheesecake" sundae, try topping this ice cream with my recipe for Fresh Strawberry Sauce, and sprinkling with graham cracker crumbs.

*I recommend using We Can't Say It's Sour Cream for this recipe. Other vegan sour creams would work fine, but they will rapidly increase the number of calories per serving, and part of what I liked about this dessert is that it's on the lighter side. 

Nutrition Info:
12 servings (1/2 cup), Calories 181 

Tasting Notes:
Wow - I was a little skeptical as I stirred all the ingredients together, but this really is surprisingly like a frozen strawberry cheesecake filling. Just the right tanginess from the sour cream, fruity from the strawberry, and not even too sweet from the powdered sugar. The ice cream is lacking in texture and crunch (solved a bit by my cheesecake sundae suggestion above), but I would stir crumbled graham crackers or vanilla wafer cookies right into the mix next time, which would also round out the full flavors of cheesecake. 

Rating:
3.5