Prickly Pear Ice Cream

Below you will find two recipes for prickly pear ice cream: the recipe I actually made, and the recipe I would eventually like to make. See, I used to live in Arizona, where I took prickly pear fruit for granted. You could just walk out to your yard (or your neighbor’s) and pick the prickly pears. Now I’m in Seattle and have a great plum tree, but no cacti. My mother-in-law graciously gave me a bottle of prickly pear syrup, which I used in the first recipe below. The syrup would make a great addition to lemonade or margaritas, but sadly tasted more like sugar than prickly pear. (This didn’t keep us from enjoying the ice cream, mind you!) I think if I could find prickly pear concentrate, this method would produce better results.

The second recipe is what I will try to make when I get my greedy little paws on some prickly pears. It will also be a great chance to use agave nectar in ice cream, since you’ll have this whole desert thing going on.

Recipe #1:

2 c. soy creamer, or any non-dairy milk
1 ½ c. soy milk, or any non-dairy milk
¾ c. prickly pear syrup
2 T. lime juice
2 T. arrowroot powder
2 – 4 T. tequila (optional)

Mix ¼ cup of soy milk with the 2 tablespoons of arrowroot and set aside.

Mix the soy creamer, soy milk, prickly pear syrup, and lime juice together in a saucepan. When the mixture has just started to boil, take off the heat and stir in the arrowroot slurry. This should immediately cause the liquid to thicken (not a lot, but a noticeable amount; it will be thicker when it cools).

Set the ice cream mixture aside to cool. After the mixture is cool, stir in the tequila, if using. Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions.

Recipe #2:

5 - 6 ripe prickly pear fruits
2 c. soy creamer, or any non-dairy milk
1 ½ c. soy milk, or any non-dairy milk
½ c. sugar (or ¼ c. agave nectar)
2 T. lime juice
2 T. arrowroot powder
2 – 4 T. tequila (optional)

Carefully (they have spines!!!) peel the prickly pears and puree in a food processor.

Mix ¼ cup of soy milk with the 2 tablespoons of arrowroot and set aside.

Mix the pureed prickly pears, soy creamer, soy milk, lime juice, and sugar (or agave nectar) together in a sauce pan. When the mixture has just started to boil, take off the heat and stir in the arrowroot slurry. This should immediately cause the liquid to thicken (not a lot, but a noticeable amount; it will be thicker when it cools).

Set the ice cream mixture aside to cool. After the mixture is cool, stir in the tequila, if using. Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions.