April 9, 2018

Cashew Banana Ice Cream

This is the perfect way to use up some already freckled bananas that you find just a little too ripe to be enjoyed as a fruit snack. You don’t have an ice cream maker? Well, there’s a way around it, if time is not an issue! Whatever way and whichever toppings you choose, this ice cream will be a hit. I love to watch my ice cream maker do its thing and turn the delicious, heavy banana cream into ice cream, and I’m sure you’ll find an audience too. Obviously, not only kids love to watch this process. In my case, not all of the cream made the metamorphosis to ice cream – it’s just too good not to sample once in a while!

If you use an ice cream maker with a freezer bowl, remember to put it into the freezer several hours before use. Mine has its permanent place in the freezer because, you never know when you feel like making ice cream, right!

Remember to soak cashews! 😉

You will need:

a high speed blender
preferably an ice cream maker or a stand mixer with whisk attachment.

Ingredients:

Cashew banana ice cream:

2 cups (280 g) raw, unsalted cashews, soaked for at least 4 hours, drained
1 scant cup filtered water
pinch of Celtic sea salt
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 – 4 good size, very ripe bananas
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3.5 oz (100 g) pitted, dried dates

Topping suggestions (all optional):

fresh fruit
pecan nuts or walnuts
shaved or grated vegan chocolate
chocolate cream sauce:
- 1 oz (28 g) cacao butter
- 1 Tbsp virgin coconut oil
- generous 1/4 cup (35 g) raw, unsalted cashews, soaked for at least 4 hours, drained
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) filtered water
- 1 1/2 Tbsp unsweetened cacao powder
- 1 1/2 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- small pinch of Celtic sea salt

Preparation:

Place all the ice cream ingredients into your high speed blender. Blend on high speed for about 1 1/2 minutes or until a very creamy texture is achieved. Stop blender around halftime to scrape down sides, then continue. If the banana cream warmed up in the blender, let it cool down.

Ice cream maker:

Follow manufacturer’s instructions for your specific machine. I have to start the ice cream maker first then, while it’s running, pour and scrape the cream into the freezer bowl.

Every machine is a little different, but mine takes about 30 minutes until you can call it ice cream.

Immediately, transfer the ice cream right into serving bowls or into an appropriate container to store in the freezer. I usually remove it from there about 15 minutes before serving so it’s easier to scoop out.

No ice cream maker:

Pour the banana cream into the bowl of your stand mixer and pop into the freezer for about 30 minutes. Remove from freezer and attach bowl to stand mixer with whisk attachment. Whisk at medium to high speed for about 2 minutes. Return bowl to freezer. Repeat these steps until the result is ice cream, usually 2 – 3 times. Once the cream is not slushy anymore, you can crank up the speed of your mixer to really get a lot of air into the ice cream to make it light and fluffy. Always scrape down the sides.

Add toppings right before serving or before storing in the freezer.

For the chocolate cream sauce, melt cacao butter and coconut oil in a water bath or double boiler. Add to your high speed blender with remaining ingredients and blend at high speed until hot and creamy. Serve as a topping right away,……

….. or let cool down to add to freezer container on top of ice cream.

This cashew banana ice cream tastes just wonderful by itself, but use your imagination for any further topping ideas! Enjoy it just the way you like!

Notes:

To me, homemade ice cream tastes best when it’s freshly made. The perfect reward for all the anticipation during the churning process!
If you decide on keeping your homemade ice cream in the freezer for a while, really make sure to give it at least 15 minutes at room temperature to soften before even trying to scoop it out!
If you have kids, let them help! It’s such a fun project!

The evolution of cashew banana ice cream toppings:

with grated vegan chocolate…..