Dairy Free Chocolate, Strawberry, and Vanilla Ice Cream Cupcakes
It’s that time of year again. When the suns shows it’s bright face for long hours and the temperature starts rising. That means it’s time for Ice Cream. Now I know some people enjoy ice cream year round. Heck, think of the lines you see at JP Licks or at Graeters during the winter. It’s somewhat crazy. To me summertime means ice cream time.
As many of you know, I’m lactose intolerant. This makes ice cream time (I mean summertime) very hard on me. Before I found out I was LI, I was a regular ice cream eater. My dad loves ice cream too and I think that’s where I got it from.
I will admit that there are some dairy free ice creams out there, but in all honesty, they’re just not the same. They lack the smooth creaminess of a great ice cream. So sometimes I splurge a little and eat ice cream during the summer. My stomach reminds me how bad of an idea it was, but it’s always worth it.
When I saw the announcement about the Ice Cream Cupcake Blogging event again this year (check out the ice cream cupcakes I made last year), I knew I wanted to do at least one dairy free version. I went with a classic flavor combo – chocolate + vanilla + strawberry. YUM!
I used my favorite vegan chocolate cupcake recipe for these guys. I made the full sized. Then I used the cone method to remove a large cone from the cupcakes. I put a small scoop of Tofutti vanilla ice cream into each cupcake and then dropped in a frozen strawberry. I threw the cupcakes back into the freezer for a while to let them set while I made some strawberry cream cheese frosting (I just added about 1/2 cup of strawberries to a classic cream cheese frosting).
I wanted to have it be more like a glaze, so I thinned it out quite a bit. Looking back, I think thick cream cheese frosting would have done better on these cupcakes. I’d also use fresh strawberries in the cupcakes because the frozen ones were hard! After a quick zap in the microwave, they were perfect!
I am submitting these cupcakes into the blogging event hosted by Cupcake Project and Scoopalicious. Be sure to check back to vote for their reader’s choice cupcakes. Voting will be the first week in June.
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
These pancakes look perfect! I don’t make pancakes that often, but this mix would be an easy throw together to keep in the freezer. Yum!
Great idea to freeze the mix. I have been making our pancake batter from scratch for a while now, and it’s nearly impossible to go back to the boxed stuff! They just taste flavorless and cardboard-y. I had been reluctant to make mix ahead of time because I didn’t want it to go bad. Thanks for the idea!
What a great idea to have a homemade pancake mix on hand!
A good substitute for buttermilk – since most of us don’t keep it on hand, but do have milk in the fridge:
1 TBS white vinegar with enough milk added to make 1 cup. Allowed to sit for at least ten minutes, this mixture will clot up and mimic buttermilk sufficiently for most recipes.
Those pancakes look amazing!! Oh my goodness.
i think it is a great idea about freezing milk, too. I buy whole milk for baking only so I need to do that.
Wow. Those look so good I might have to whip some up…..like…NOW.
http://www.simplysweeter.blogspot.com
You can also use lemon juice instead of vinegar in the substitute for buttermilk provided by Nancy.
One thing to note about this recipe though. Not only is the buttermilk needed for the chemical reaction, but it also provides a great flavor to the pancakes that I don’t think you get from using the substitute. Also, buttermilk will keep for a very long time in the fridge since it’s acidic.
AB mentioned in his cookbook that there are only four thinks he will not make without buttermilk: cornbread, biscuits, waffles, and pancakes. I tend to agree with him.
What a great idea to make your own pancake mix and then when you want quick pancakes, you can have a healthy mix 🙂
Mmm, these look way better than a mix! Great tip to store the mix in the freezer too!
Yum! I love blueberry ‘anything’. Alton Brown recipes are always winners. If you’re looking for an even healthier pancake recipe, check out my ‘fluffy whole wheat pancakes’ on my blog. I mix batches of the dry ingredients and keep them in the freezer. Thanks for posting – I’m off to buy some blueberries! Oh, and I’m a new follower 🙂
These pancakes look amazing!! Bookmarked!
Hey Jen I am eating these pancakes at this very moment. They are so fluffy and filling! May I borrow this recipe for my blog and link it back to you??