Whenever I have extra, ripened bananas, I will peel and freeze them for another day, another use. One of the family's fave ways to eat these frozen bananas is in "nice" cream - which you may have heard of. It's basically a frozen dessert made primarily of fruit and nut butter. It's a great, easy, week-night dessert, when everyone is wanting a little something more, but you don't want to indulge in an all-out baked good. As the weather is finally warming up, I thought I'd share some of my favorite variations on this treat.
Basically, you need some frozen bananas (peeled prior to freezing), any frozen fruit that you like (below, I've used mangoes, cherries and raspberries), and any nut butter of your choice. I've found cashew butter lends the best flavor, although almond butter is a close second. Although I generally try to minimize peanut butter, it's also a yummy option, especially when paired with some cocoa powder. A little vanilla or almond extract takes it to the next level. And voila, you have an easy, fast, whole-food based treat.
The How To:
2 frozen bananas
1 cup frozen fruit: cherries, blueberries, strawberries, mango, etc.
1/4 cup nut butter (almond or cashew work best; sunflower seed butter should also work fine, though I've not tried it)
dash of almond or vanilla extract
Put all of the above into a food processor and process until smooth and creamy.
That's it! It will be the consistency of soft-serve ice cream. You can put it in the freezer for a while if you want a harder consistency.
Try some of the following flavor variations (nut butter, fruit, flavoring) in addition to the ones pictured above, that have been a big hit in our house. All start with a base of 2 frozen bananas:
1. Cashew butter, mango, pinch of cardamom, pinch of saffron, dash of rose water
2. Peanut butter, 2 additional frozen bananas, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, dash of vanilla
3. Peanut butter, 1/4 cup chocolate chips, 1/4 cup cocoa powder dash of peppermint extract
Let me know if you try and what flavors you experimented with.
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