• If you’re interested solely in the recipe, skip this bullet point and keep on reading. For those interested in sourcing nutrient-dense food, low-toxic household products, and discounts on brands that may support your AB journey, you may find value in my product guides. Head over to this page if you’d like to check them out. All are free (and always will be).
• Note: If you liked this ice cream recipe, click here for more animal-based ice cream recipes.

Prep work: 24 hours prior.

• *To prep the raw milk (ASHLEY20 for 20% off), leave it sitting (preferably a fresh, unopened container of raw milk) in your fridge for 24 hours prior to making the ice cream. The goal is to get the cream to accumulate at the top of the container, so when you pour out your 4 cups, it's mostly cream. There is a photo of this in the "Tips to make the best..." section above. And don't fret - some cream stays behind, so this method won't ruin the taste or texture of the remaining milk.
• Note: I created this recipe when I did not have access to raw cream. I do now though and prefer to use it for convenience. If you have access to raw cream and want to use that instead of following this method, I recommend a 3:1 milk to cream ratio (you can always adjust this up or down to your liking). Cream is very thick/dense. I've tried this recipe with 100% cream and could only eat very small portions at a time due to how heavy the result turned out to be.
• Don't forget to freeze your ice cream maker bowl 24 hours in advance as well.

Prep work: 2 hours prior.

• Soak the pitted dates for 1-2 hours in a bowl with water.
• Note: skip this step if you are using honey, date syrup, or maple syrup instead of the dates.
• ***Note: to date, I have tried honey, blended dates, maple syrup, and date syrup to sweeten this ice cream. Date syrup wins by a landslide!

Make the ice cream batter.

• Drain the soaked pitted dates and place them in your blender along with the sea salt (ASHLEYR for 15% off).
• Note: if you go through tons of salt in your household like we do, check out this salt purchasing hack that will save you money + make things more efficient. We started this last year, and I'm so happy we did!
• Pour the raw milk (remember, don't shake it!) into the blender.
• Scrape the seeds of the vanilla bean into the blender, and add the vanilla extract.
• **Note: if you do not have a vanilla bean, use 2 tsp of vanilla extract.
• Blend the batter until it's mostly smooth. Some chunks are okay if you prefer them. They end up as chunks in the ice cream!

Make the ice cream.

• Remove your ice cream maker bowl from your freezer, set up your ice cream maker, and turn it on so it begins to churn.
• Pour the ice cream batter into the machine. It should fill up to the brim. I placed about 95% of my batter in (it filled almost to the top), and I let it churn and thicken a bit before adding the rest. You may get a little overflow. This is fine.
• Let the ice cream maker run for 20 minutes (or longer if you prefer your ice cream thicker).

Eat your ice cream!

• Note: If you eat the ice cream right after it's finished churning, it will have a texture of soft serve. My husband loved it like this! If you store it in the freezer for 1-2 hours, it has a wonderful creamy texture (similar to standard ice cream). If you store it for longer, you may have to thaw it out a bit before scooping it.
• Store it in the freezer as you would regular ice cream (this is the container I used; here is another idea).
• Serving hack: after you scoop some ice cream into a bowl to eat, salt the top with a generous amount of sea salt. My husband pioneered this and it was a game-changer. It brings out a warm caramel flavor and is so delicious. Enjoy!