Beat the Summer Heat with These Cannabis Ice Cream Recipes

Summer is finally within our reach, and what better way to commemorate the occasion than with some delicious cannabis ice cream!

A generous scoop of regular ice cream is already pretty excellent, but the incorporation of cannabis makes the deal that much sweeter. We guarantee that you will find cannabis-infused ice cream incredibly hard to resist!

Today, we’re outlining an easy-to-follow yet delectably delicious recipe for making cannabis-infused ice cream to help beat the summer heat.

By the end of this article, you’ll be singing, “I scream, you scream, we all scream for weed ice cream!”

Things to Consider Before Starting the Cannabis Ice Cream Recipe

Before getting to the good part, we first have to lay a few ground rules to ensure that this procedure is carried out effectively.

Namely, to produce the desired effects for the cannabis ice cream, which, on top of cooling you down, is supplying the righteous reefer effects, you need to perform decarboxylation. The word is scary, but don’t worry, we’ll walk you through it.

While decarboxylation may seem like a daunting and complex process, it’s actually incredibly straightforward.

Essentially, decarboxylation is the process of ‘activating’ the cannabinoids, specifically THC, in weed to produce its psychoactive effects. You’ve likely conducted it before without realizing it. That’s because the primary facilitator of this process is exposing the cannabis to heat.

So, if you’ve ever smoked a joint, you’ve decarboxylated your weed. The process itself performs the act of converting the THCA, the non-psychoactive acid form of THC present in raw cannabis, to its co-cannabinoid, THC, by removing an extra carboxyl ring (COOH).

Don’t worry. We aren’t going to bore you with all the chemistry-related details. All you need to know is that decarboxylation is necessary to give your cannabis-infused ice cream that little extra sweetness!

How to Decarboxylate Cannabis

As we said, the decarboxylation process is incredibly straightforward; if you aren’t sure how, no worries! We’ll walk you through it.

To decarboxylate your weed, simply break your nugs apart into smaller pieces and spread them out on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. Be sure to preheat your oven to 105°C (220°F)  before you do so.

Bake these broken-apart nugs in the oven for between 30-45 minutes, depending on the density and thickness of the cannabis. Once the moisture has evaporated from the buds and they’ve been in for the allotted time, you can take them out and either store them or use them to make edibles.

In this case, your weed is now officially ready to be added to ice cream!

For more information on decarboxylation, be sure to check out our comprehensive guide.

How to Make Cannabis Ice Cream

Now for the main event! Hooray! It’s time to actually make cannabis ice cream.

First and foremost, we’re going to start with the basic principles of making straight-up cannabis ice cream. A little later on, we’ll expand on how you can customize this recipe to suit your specific flavour preferences.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

• 2.5-3 grams of decarboxylated cannabis (doses may vary based on tolerance, pick your strain of choice)
• 500ml of heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 75 grams of sugar (or a healthy alternative sweetener of your choosing)
• 2 ripe bananas
• A pinch of salt
• 3 tablespoons of rum and honey
• One large saucepan
• A whisk
• A bowl/plate
• A weed grinder
• A freezer container to store the weed ice cream

Here’s What to Do:

1. Place the saucepan on the stove on medium heat and add in your heavy cream. Be sure to keep an eye on the flame to prevent it from burning.
2. Consistently stir the cream for a few minutes.
3. Add in your butter, salt, and sugar into the same saucepan. Don’t stop stirring!
4. Once the mixture is well-blended, you can add in the cannabis. Use a weed grinder to break apart the already-decarboxylated buds, and add them into the mixture in the saucepan.
5. As the mixture heats on the side, cut up the bananas into a bowl/plate and mash them up with a fork.
6. Add the mashed banana, honey, and rum to the mixture and stir continuously.
7. Pour the mixture into the freezer container, and, voila! That’s it! Be sure that the container you’re using can accommodate a good scoop of ice cream.

Ice Cream Variations

Once you’ve got the basic recipe down, you can have fun experimenting with different flavour variations. These will likely vary based on if you have certain ingredients or not, but the beauty of the original recipe is that it’s incredibly versatile.

Below, we’ll outline three easy examples for switching things up.

Chocolate Cannabis Ice Cream

Are you ready for round two? Excellent! This one goes out to all you chocolate lovers out there. Here’s how to make a chocolate ice cream recipe that will have everyone asking for more!

Here’s What You’ll Need:

• 3-3.5 grams of cannabis (decarboxylated)
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup of milk
• A pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder (unsweetened)
• 55 grams of chocolate (semisweet)
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 3 egg yolks
• One large saucepan
• A whisk
• A bowl/plate
• A freezer container to store the weed ice cream
• Cheesecloth, filter or strainer

Here’s What to Do:

1. Combine the decarboxylated cannabis, oil, sugar, milk, cocoa powder and salt into a saucepan over medium heat. Be sure to stir continuously.
2. When all the ingredients are well-mixed, filter the mixture through the cheesecloth or strainer, allowing everything to come through the other side.
3. Pour the strained liquid back into the saucepan, and place it on simmer. In a small bowl, add the egg yolk and whisk lightly. Add roughly half of the hot mixture and stir it for a few seconds before adding it back into the saucepan.
4. At this point, the mixture should start to thicken. However, be careful not to boil it! Remove it from the heat and add in the semisweet chocolate after chopping them up.
5. Pour the combination of ingredients into a chilled bowl and refrigerate for a minimum of 2-3 hours.
6. After the necessary time has passed, add the heavy cream and stir it into the cooled-down mixture.
7. Pour this into the ice cream maker, and freeze the result.

Strawberry Cannabis Ice Cream

Round three, here we go! Who doesn’t love a refreshing strawberry?

Here’s What You’ll Need:

• 2-2.5 grams of decarboxylated cannabis
• 2 cups of diced strawberries
• 1 cup of sugar
• 2 cups of heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
• A pinch of salt

Here’s What to Do:

1. Add your decarboxylated weed and milk into a saucepan and allow the mixture to heat for 60-90 minutes on low heat. The ideal heat to maintain would be 46°C/115°F. Be sure to watch that the mix doesn’t boil.
2. Add the diced strawberries into a bowl with 1/2 cup of sugar and allow this mix to sit.
3. Combine the strawberry-sugar mix with the heavy cream, vanilla, salt, and the rest of the sugar. To this mix, add the milk and cannabis mixture and slowly combine it all into a thick paste.
4. Pour this into the ice cream maker and freeze the end result.

Banana Split

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