So there we were at Zaxby’s (one of my husbands favorites) and I saw a poster for this cake batter milk shake and thought that it looked delicious. Then I thought, there is no way I am going to drink away upwards of 1000 non-meal calories. I’m not in high school anymore, Toto.
Unfortunately fortunately, the craving persisted so I decided to try at home. I tried a couple of times, but  it never really tasted like cake batter to me. I mean, is “cake batter” a flavor? Aren’t there like 1 million different kinds of cakes, thus an equal number of “cake batter” flavors?! I decided to eat an oatmeal raisin cookie while I pondered how to resolve this.
Then I thought, why don’t I make an oatmeal raisin ice cream? That should be doable. So I busted out my Vitamix blender and poured about 1 cup of regular almond milk in there. About half way through and past the point of no return, I realized I didn’t have any raisins, but I had currants so I used those. Thus the Oatmeal Currant Cookie Ice Cream. Raisins would definitely work so don’t worry if you don’t have currants. Currants are just super tiny raisins. Here is the recipe that followed:

1 cup almond milk
1/3 cup coconut sugar (you can also used about 5 dates if you want a sugar free version)
1/2 cup rolled oats (not quick cook)
pinch salt
pinch baking soda (sounds really weird, but it’s used in vegan cooking for flavor)
1/4 tsp butter extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups of ice (or until desired consistency is reached)
1/2 cup currants

Combine first 7 ingredients in a high powered blender (I used Vitamix) and blend for 10 seconds. Take the blender down to a power of 1 and add ice cubes. For a creamier consistency, you can add 1/2 tsp of guar and xantham gums. Increase blender to “high” while tamping until desired consistency is reached. Pour into a container and stir in currants. The high powered blenders are so cool because they can really pulverize the ice cubes so it isn’t really icy. However, if you make the ice cream this way, it doesn’t freeze really well (it gets really hard, as it is mostly water).

If you want a richer ice cream and don’t want to add ice, use the following recipe. You could even churn it in an ice cream maker if you wanted it a bit fluffier.

2-2 1/2 cups almond milk
1/2 cup coconut sugar
3/4 cup rolled oats
pinch salt
pinch baking soda
1/4 tsp butter extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup currants

Add all ingredients to a pit and bring to boil and reduce to simmer for about 2 minutes. Allow mixture to chill. Place into an ice cream maker, or freeze in ice cube trays and blend with a high powered blender later.

I always add 1 tbs cacao nibs, some oats and extra currants for the top for some added texture that makes the ice cream more than one dimensional. I love the little chewy, crunchy bits.