Before I made these Choco Tacos, my husband and I were reminiscing about childhood treats.
To be honest, I don't think I've actually ever eaten a Choco Taco. As a kid, the ice cream man came to our neighborhood often, but I'd always choose some sort of popsicle or drumstick. Choco Tacos were the Cadillacs of ice cream -- the nicest and most expensive treat. I couldn't spend $3 of my hard-earned allowance on a Choco Taco.
The beauty of this recipe is that it's grain-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free -- so it's basically healthy, right?!
If you have a pizzelle iron, you're only a few steps away from having your own dessert shells. Find a good shell mold in your house (whether it's a cannoli form or towel rack, cleaned well of course). You'll just place the hot pizzelle onto the mold and hold it there for a few seconds. Poof! You have a dessert taco shell.
Vegan + Grain-free Choco Tacos
1 quart of vanilla bean ice cream, recipe here
1 batch of grain-free "taco" shells, recipe below
1/2 c. dark chocolate
1 T. coconut oil
a few tablespoons of cacao nibs and chopped nuts, for topping
For the Choco Taco Shells
Adapted from Oh the Things We'll Make
2/3 c. almond flour
1/3 c. starch (corn, tapioca, arrowroot, etc.)
1 flax egg (3 T. water and 1 T. ground flax seed)
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/4 c. coconut sugar
1 tsp. vanilla-infused bourbon
4 T. coconut oil, melted
1/4 c. coconut cream (from the top of a chilled can of coconut milk)
Directions
In a small cup, combine the water and flax seed. Allow the mixture to sit for 3-5 minutes.
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the almond flour, starch, salt, and coconut sugar. After the flax has thickened, add it to the bowl, along with the bourbon, oil, and cream. Stir until everything is combined well. It will be a thick dough.
Heat your pizzelle iron and spray it with coconut oil or olive oil. Using an ice cream scooper, scoop a ball of dough onto the iron. Close it and cook the dough for 2:00-2:15 minutes -- set a timer. (For whatever reason, my dough cooked more on one side. Go figure.) When it's done, find your mold and wrap the warm pizzelle around the mold to form a taco shape.
Repeat this process with the rest of the dough. Depending on the size of your iron, you should be able to get at least 8 shells from this recipe.
Once the shells are molded and cooled, add softened vanilla bean ice cream to the shells. Wrap the tacos in foil and freeze them overnight.
The Next Day
In a double boiler, melt the chocolate and coconut oil. While those ingredients are melting, have your toppings ready to sprinkle; I used cacao nibs and almond slivers.
When the chocolate is melted, dunk the top half of each taco in the chocolate. Add your toppings immediately. Because the ice cream is so cold, your chocolate should harden almost immediately. Wrap each taco in the foil again and put it back in the freezer.
Enjoy these fun copycat Choco Tacos -- with less guilt than the original!
Cheers,
-Aileen