Homemade Almond Milk / Almond Milk Creamer (Dairy-, Gluten-, Soy -Free, Low-Carb, Raw, Vegan)

As you know, I’ve been making my own nut milks, but for some reason it hadn’t occurred to me to make my own almond milk. I have had the almond milk in the cartons and even though I don’t dislike it, it doesn’t blow me away either. So, almond milk wasn’t really on my to do list.

Since another Azure Standard delivery is coming in a few day’s time, I was in “use up the last little bits here and there and make room” mode and found some almonds in the freezer.  So, just because I was in the mood for a change, I thought I would make some almond milk!

Oh my goodness!! Homemade Almond Milk is N.O.T.H.I.N.G like the stuff in the cartons! It’s not even in the same flavor category!

The homemade stuff is rich and creamy (not slightly watery like the bought stuff) with a full round flavor, slightly sweet and very satisfying!

And with the addition of just a couple of healthy ingredients you have a delicious non-dairy creamer that won’t separate or curdle in hot or iced drinks!

And it’s so easy to make! If you have never tried homemade Almond Milk, you are so in for a treat!

Basically I went about it much like I did with my cashew milk.

Homemade Almond Milk

Soak 1 cup of whole almonds (I use organic) in water for 4 hrs. or as long as over night. Drain the almonds and rinse.

Place almonds in a blender with about 4 cups of filtered water. If you have a Vitamix, just fill it to the “max” line of the 32 oz. container with water. Blend on high until it’s all well incorporated. It takes less than a minute in the Vitamix, but will probably take longer in a regular blender.

Place a Nut-Milk Bag in a large bowl and pour your almond milk through the nut milk bag. Then squeeze, squeeze, squeeze until there’s no more milk coming out.

Discard the pulp (unless you want to reuse it, but I haven't found anything that yields a tasty result so far) and decant the Almond Milk into a jar or bottle.

Personally, I like to add a pinch of  Himalayan Sea Salt , 2 tsp of Maple Syrup and 1/2 tsp of Butter Vanilla Bakery Emulsion (or extract) to mine to round out the flavor some more, but that is optional. Shake it up and refrigerate!

Give it a quick shake before use. It doesn’t separate, but the milk can settle a little. A quick shake takes care of that though!

Note:

1.) Any kind of sweetener of preference can be used in this.

2.) We are soaking the almonds to remove the enzyme inhibitors from the nuts, so please DO discard the soaking water, as we don’t want them in the milk.

3.) For an even (naturally) sweeter Almond Milk, peel the skins off the almonds (or use blanched almonds) to make the milk.

4.) I have read that the 1 gallon paint strainer bags at Home Depot work just as well as nut milk bags and are much more inexpensive. They don’t last as long, but apparently they do the job. I haven’t tried them myself however.

5.) Four or more layers of fine cheese cloth also works for straining and squeezing the Almond Milk.

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Almond Milk Creamer

Make almond milk as above, then after squeezing the milk, return the milk  to the blender and add

1.5 tbsp. Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

2 tbsp. Maple Syrup (or sweetener of choice)

pinch of  Himalayan Sea Salt

2 tsp of Vanilla (or any other kind of flavor you like your creamer to have) extract

Blend to incorporate fully.

You can use this straight away, especially the foamy head it makes in the blender for a Cappuccino or Café au lait, or refrigerate for later use.

Shake before use.

Notes:

1.) This creamer doesn’t seem to separate or curdle like almond milk does in hot or iced drinks. At least not for several hours! However, if preparing an iced late, I would recommend adding the creamer last, so the coconut oil doesn’t harden around the ice cubes.

2.) You can just make a little at a time too by using about 1/2 cup of homemade almond milk, 1/4 tsp Coconut Oil, 1/8 tsp flavor extract of choice and sweetener to taste.

3.) Use up to 2.5 tbsp. of Coconut Oil  for a richer, creamier result. Personally, I like it best at 1.5 tbsp., but experiment and find your own happy place!

4.) Use 2 dates in place of sweetener and blend until it is thoroughly incorporated.

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Chocolate Mousse (Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Gluten-Free, Reduced Sugar) - with Vitamix Instructions

On of the other new things in my life is a later model Vitamix 5200. Seldom has an appliance been so long wished for, eagerly awaited and then put to use repeatedly over days and weeks as this machine!

 

It.is.fantastic! Especially for the making of nut anything. The texture it produces just can’t be beat.

When I first went dairy free, I was using an ordinary blender and a Personal Blender and even though it produced pretty passable results that certainly worked for me, they were nothing compared to the texture the Vitamix 5200 was able to give me. Incidentally, the personal blender did much better than any full size blender, in case you're wondering!

 

Just as an example:

I was able to make perfectly fine cashew milk in my personal blender. It took a lot longer and I had to do it over and over to incorporate most of the soaked cashews, but I got there. The cashew milk would separate in the refrigerator rather quickly, but it didn’t matter that much - shake it up before use and go!

When I got my new Vitamix 5200, the first thing I did was cashew milk. The difference was amazing! All of the cashews just sort of incorporated into the water and made this smooth, creamy milk. And I have yet to see any separation in the refrigerator from that milk. And all of it was done in about a couple of minutes or so!

 

Diary-Free Cream Cheese:

I made pretty good tasting cream cheese before, but there were texture issues. Not terrible, but enough to give away that it wasn’t dairy. With the Vitamix 5200,  that is no longer the case. Depending on what nut combination I use, it comes out smooth and creamy - almost akin to whipped cream cheese! Especially when I put a few macadamias in it!

 

The other thing that I have discovered with the Vitamix 5200,  is cooking in it!  SO easy, especially for puddings, sauces and soups! Just dump everything in it and go!  So, quite a few of my future recipes will be with Vitamix 5200 instructions, especially the non-dairy ones!

 

As you can see I am totally in love with my Vitamix, as are my kids. I haven’t even told you about all our morning smoothies, our healthy and nutritious after school “ice creams” and such! We’ve had green juices, smoothies and shakes for breakfast for years, but I always had to be careful what to use, since both my kids and my husband are quite sensitive to texture problems. Unless it’s completely smooth, they have issues! Now, with the Vitamix 5200,  it doesn’t matter what I use anymore, since everything ends up completely smooth and incorporated! It even makes chia seeds disappear right into the shake without grit or anything! Amazing!

 

Ok, I stop gushing about my little machine! By the way, I am in no way affiliated with Vitamix 5200 , they don’t know I exist. I just love, love, love this machine!

 

Speaking of my kids. My kids are dairy lovers through and through. My girl in particular is also a dairy “snob”. She won’t just accept any ole thing as dairy and has refused nut milks of any kind. Good thing they don’t have to be dairy-free! However, having said that, it was my girl who declared the following chocolate mousse “the best chocolate pudding ever!”

So, here comes the recipe. Note that I will give you instructions both for the Vitamix 5200 and a stove top method, but that due to the lack of air incorporation in the stovetop method, it will be more of a pudding than an airy mousse.

 

Chocolate Mousse (Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Gluten-Free, Reduced Sugar)

 

 

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups Nut milk of choice (I like it best with Cashew Milk, it makes it creamer. Cashew milk  method is in “additional notes”)

1/4 cup of full fat coconut milk (I use Native Forest Organic Classic Coconut Milk)

2 tbsp. cornstarch (or tapioca starch, or potato starch, or dairy-free, unsweetened vanilla custard powder)

1/3 cup of sweetener of choice (I use liquid stevia equivalent)

2 whole eggs

2 egg yolks

1 tsp Lorann’s buttery vanilla emulsion (or vanilla extract, but add after the mousse is cooked)

1 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

 

1 cup Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, Gluten, Dairy, nut & Soy Free, Mini Chips

 

Vitamix Instructions:

Add all ingredients, except for the chocolate chips to the Vitamix and process for 6  minutes on high. The mixture will be hot and have thickened. Turn the blender off, add the chocolate chips and process for another minute on high. Add the vanilla extract (if using) and incorporate.

Pour into ramekins, small mason jars or custard forms, let it cool down to room temperature and chill overnight.

 

Stove Top Instructions:

Please note that this will be more like a thick custard if made on the stovetop, rather than a lighter mousse as the stovetop method doesn’t incorporate the air into the mixture as the Vitamix does. It is nevertheless delicious!

 

Add 1 cup of the nut milk, the coconut milk, the sweetener, vanilla emulsion and cocoa powder to a pan and whisk well.

In a bowl, mix 1/2 cup of nut milk, the eggs, the egg yolk and the corn starch.

Warm the mixture in the pan, taking care not to let it boil over! Once the milk is hot, add the egg and cornstarch mix under constant whisking until it thickens.

Add the chocolate chips and let them melt into the custard under constant stirring.

 

Add the vanilla extract if using, stir it in well, then pour into ramekins, small mason jars or custard forms, let it cool down to room temperature and chill overnight.

 

 

Additional recipe and substitution notes:

1. Please do chill these overnight! They take a little longer to set up than their dairy counterparts and won’t get to the right texture for several hours. But when they do, they are so worth the wait!

 

2. I make my cashew milk the following way:

Soak 1 cup of cashew pieces in water overnight. Rinse in the morning, add the drained cashew pieces to a blender with 3 1/2 cups of water. Blend on high until smooth and incorporated, about 2 minutes in the Vitamix. If you are using a regular blender, it tends to work better to make it in several smaller batches. Process for as long as you can without overheating your blender! Then combine the batches. If you still have bits floating in your milk, you may want to drain your milk through a nut bag or very fine mesh sieve.

I also like to add a pinch of real salt and a couple of drops of liquid stevia to give it some depth of flavor. I store my cashew milk in a glass jug in the refrigerator. So, whenever I refer to Cashew Milk, this is what I use!

 

3. If you are using the Lorann’s Baking Emulsion, you can use it right at the beginning and cook with it, as the flavor won’t dissipate. If you are using regular vanilla extract, you will need to wait until the end to add it, as it has a tendency to evaporate and take most of the yummy vanilla flavor with it.

 

4. The dairy-free, unsweetened vanilla custard powder I speak of in the recipe refers to the Cook & Serve kind, NOT instant!

 

5. You can use unsweetened MimicCreme instead of the home made cashew milk.

 

6. It does work without the coconut milk, but you will get a slightly different texture and consistency.

 

 

7. You could use all coconut milk, for an even thicker and creamer option (it will however impart some of the coconut flavor!)

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