Aquafaba Files
The No-Churn Berry Ice Cream of Your Summertime Dreams
This fluffy vegan ice cream doesn’t require an ice cream maker, nuts, or milk — but it does draw on the magical properties of aquafaba
The Aquafaba Files is a Tenderly recipe series by Laura Vincent, exploring the almost suspicious versatility of this ingredient that is little more than the leftover liquid from a drained can of chickpeas.
This was intended to be a sorbet recipe, but the aquafaba had other plans. Traditionally, egg whites are added to sorbet, to improve its texture upon freezing. With this in mind, I figured folding some whipped aquafaba into a quickly-made berry syrup would produce a summer-ready sorbet — imagining the air bubbles suspended by the the protein in the aquafaba would mellow out the ice crystals formed by the water content of the fruit and syrup.
Instead, I opened the freezer to find the mixture had turned into the most fluffy, lush, instantly scoopable berry ice cream. Now, I love sorbet — but this culinary serendipity was pretty exciting.
