Creamy vanilla ice cream rippled with fresh strawberry rhubarb swirls, and studded with bits of homemade brown sugar crumble. This frozen vegan treat is a combination of two favorite summer desserts: homemade ice cream and strawberry rhubarb crumble!
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium-sized bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon together. Cream in the vegan butter. Squeeze crumble together into 6-7 cookie-like mounds (1/2"-3/4" thick) and place on a baking sheet. Take care not to make them thin, they will spread during baking. Bake for 9-11 minutes. Let cool completely.
Once cool, press off any over-crisped edges. Crumble the rest into 1/2-1" pieces. Keep in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use.
For the Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce:
In a medium-sized pot, combine the rhubarb and strawberries. In a small bowl, mix the sugar with the cornstarch, then sprinkle over the fruit. Stir to coat the fruit, then cook over medium heat. Bring the fruit to a simmer, stirring frequently. A sauce will start to form from the juices released out of the fruit, and will start to thicken. Once simmering, cook for 5-8 minutes or until the rhubarb has softened a bit and the sauce is thickened so that it coats a spoon.
Remove from heat. Blend with an immersion blender, or in a blender until smooth. Keep in an airtight container in the fridge until chilled, about 2 hours.
For the Ice Cream Base:
Combine all of the ingredients for the ice cream base in a high-speed blender. Blend on high until completely smooth. You shouldn't feel any grit when you rub the ice cream base between your fingers. This can take 3-10 minutes depending on your machine.
For No-Churn Option:
Pour half of the base into a 9" x 5" loaf pan. Gently fold in 1/6 of the crumble. Spoon 3 tablespoons of the chilled fruit sauce onto the base. Drag a toothpick or pointy end of a knife through the sauce into the white base, creating swirls, cutting down sideways a bit so the sauce drags down into the base and doesn't remain in a layer. Top with the remaining base, fold in another 1/6 of the crumble into the top half of the ice cream, and then swirl in another 3 tablespoons of the fruit sauce.
Cover the ice cream directly with plastic wrap and freeze until scoop-able, 4-6 hours. If your freezer is very cold, or the ice cream is in the freezer for more than 4-6 hours, leave it out on the counter for about 20 minutes (or in the fridge for an hour) to soften. Serve with remaining fruit sauce and crumbles.
For Ice Cream Churn/Maker Option:
Pour the base into a container and place plastic wrap directly over it so that a skin does not form. Chill completely, about 4 hours or as per the base preparation instructions of your ice cream maker.
Follow the instructions of your ice cream maker to freeze the ice cream base. Once the base is ready, pour half of it into a 9" x 5" loaf pan. Gently fold in 1/6 of the crumble. Spoon 3 tablespoons of the chilled fruit sauce onto the base. Drag a toothpick or pointy end of a knife through the sauce into the white base, creating swirls, cutting down sideways a bit so the sauce drags down into the base and doesn't remain in a layer. Top with the remaining base, fold in another 1/6 of the crumble into the top half of the ice cream, and then swirl in another 3 tablespoons of the fruit sauce. Cover the ice cream directly with plastic wrap and freeze until scoop-able, 2-4 hours. If your freezer is very cold, or the ice cream freezes more than 4 hours, leave it out on the counter for about 20 minutes(or in the fridge for an hour) to soften. Serve with remaining fruit sauce and crumbles.