Berries, frozen banana and cashews are among the dairy-free delights in these four recipes from new book Guilt-Free Nice Cream by Margie Broadhead
Nice cream is essentially a healthy dessert made by using frozen bananas, that will ensure a magically creamy taste. They are also dairy-free, with no preservatives and completely natural. There are over 70 recipes in the book divided into two types: a soft-serve version and a frozen one, both just as good and incredible simple to make.
RASPBERRY RIPPLE COCONUT NICE CREAM
Cool and creamy nice cream with the crunch of granola: a hard combination to beat.
Serves 4
- 150 g (5 oz/1¼ cups) raspberries
- 2 bananas, peeled and frozen
- 200 ml (7 fl oz) tinned coconut milk, chilled (thick part only)
- 85 g (3 oz/¾ cup) cashews, soaked for 4 hours
- 60 ml (2 fl oz) maple syrup
- 1½ tbsp melted coconut oil
- ½ tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- a pinch of sea salt
To make
Blitz three-quarters of the raspberries in a food processor and set aside. Next, blitz the remaining ingredients, except for the leftover raspberries. Stir through the blended raspberries and reserved whole raspberries. Pour into a container, cover and freeze for 2 hours, or until scoopable. Serve in bowls with granola.
MANGO, BERRY AND LIME NICE CREAM SLIDE
This creamy, refreshing, bursting with goodness ice cream is thought by the chef for a lovely summary morning, but obviously you can enjoy it any time of the day.
Serves 6
- 1 handful of fresh raspberries, to fill
For the base:
- 75 g (2 oz/ cup) rolled oats
- 4 pitted Medjool dates
- 1 tbsp desiccated coconut
- 1 tbsp maple syrup tbsp unsweetened cacao powder or cocoa powder (optional)
For the lime nice cream layer:
- 1 banana, peeled and frozen
- ripe avocado
- zest of 3 limes 125 ml (4 fl oz) freshly squeezed lime juice (about 5–6 limes)
For the raspberry nice cream layer:
1 banana, peeled and frozen
- 125 g (4 oz/1 cup) raspberries, fresh or frozen 1 tbsp coconut yoghurt or tinned coconut milk, chilled (thick part only)
- 2 tbsp almond milk
For the mango nice cream layer:
- 1 banana, peeled and frozen
- 160 g (5 oz/1 cup) mango chunks (about mango)
- 1 tbsp coconut yoghurt or tinned coconut milk, chilled (thick part only)
- 2 tbsp almond milk
Toppings:
- freeze-dried raspberries
- raspberry powder
- crushed pistachios
To make
- Line the inside of a 21 × 11 × 7 cm (8 × 4 × 3 in) loaf tin with cling film (plastic wrap).
- Blend the ingredients for the base together in a food processor, and press into the bottom of the lined loaf tin.
- For the lime layer, blend together all the ingredients to form a thick and creamy nice cream. Pour into the prepared tin, on top of the base. Pop in the freezer to firm up for 20 minutes or so, then scatter over the fresh raspberries.
- Blend the ingredients for the raspberry nice-cream layer. Spread this over the fresh raspberries in the tin and freeze for another 20 minutes to firm up.
- Repeat with the mango layer, blitzing all the ingredients together and then pouring into the tin, on top of the raspberry nice-cream layer.
- Once all the layers are assembled, stick 6 lollipop sticks into the loaf at equal intervals and sprinkle the surface with the freeze-dried raspberries, raspberry powder and crushed pistachios.
- Leave in the freezer to firm up for a good couple of hours. When ready to serve, slice into portions and enjoy.
MATCHA AND BLACKBERRY COCONUT POPS
A dreamy flavour combination that make an ideal breakfast especially when you have a million things to do and are rushing out the door.
Serves 8
- 65 g (2 1/2 oz/1/2 cup) fresh blackberries
- 60 ml (2 fl oz) maple syrup
- 130 g (4ó oz/1/2 cup) coconut yoghurt
- 1 tbsp melted coconut oil
- 2 bananas, peeled and frozen
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp matcha powder
To make
- Rinse and purée the blackberries in a food processor or mash with a potato masher. Push the berries through a fine mesh sieve to get rid of the seeds. Combine the berries with the maple syrup, 2 tablespoons of coconut yoghurt and the melted coconut oil. Set aside.
- In a food processor or blender, blitz 1 banana and the vanilla extract until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides every 30 seconds. Set aside.
- Blend the remaining banana with the matcha and the rest of the coconut yoghurt, until the mixture is creamy and pale green in colour.
- Carefully drop a spoonful of the matcha nice cream into the bottom of each popsicle mould. Follow with a spoonful of the blackberry purée and then the vanilla nice cream. Repeat until the pop-moulds are full but not overflowing.
- Insert the popsicle sticks into mould, leaving about 3.5 cm (11/2 in) exposed. Pop into the freezer for at least a few hours.
- To release pops, dip the moulds into warm water. Don’t use hot water or the pops will melt and won’t hold their shape. Firmly pull up on the sticks and carefully remove the pops from the mould. If you want to save the pops for later, simply lay them flat on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Once they have frozen solid you can store them in a freezer bag.
NEAPOLITAN NICE CREAM CAKE WITH BROWNIES
A cake you can bring out for any occasion, even when there isn’t an occasion. The chef Margie suggests to top it with a tumbling tower of extra brownies and a big gaudy candle or a sparkle plonked on for good measure.
Serves 10
For the black bean brownies:
- 225 g (8 oz/11/2 cups) dark chocolate, broken into chunks.
- 1 × 400g (14 oz) tin of cooked black beans, rinsed and drained
- 30 g (1 oz/1/4 cup) unsweetened cocoa powder, or cacao powder
- 2 large eggs
- 80 ml (2½ fl oz) coconut oil, melted
- 1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- a generous pinch of salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp instant coffee granules
- 2 tsp of maple syrup
For the strawberry nice cream:
- 80 g (3 oz/½ cup) cashews
- 120 ml (4 fl oz) almond milk
- 2 bananas, peeled and frozen
- 150 g (5 oz/1 cup) strawberries, hulled and chopped
- juice of ½ lemon
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 125 ml (4 fl oz) coconut oil, melted
For the vanilla nice cream:
- 80 g (3 oz/½ cup) cashews
- 3 bananas, peeled and frozen
- 120 ml (4 fl oz) almond milk
- 60 ml (2 fl oz) coconut oil, melted
- 11/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
To make
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4). Take an 18 cm (7 in) round cake tin and line the base with parchment paper. To make the brownies, pop everything into a food processor and blend until it’s smooth and creamy. Tip the mixture into the prepared tin, smoothing out the surface. Pop into the oven for about 35 minutes, until firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and cool in the tin for 10 minutes then place on to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, place back in the tin.
- To make the strawberry nice cream, put the cashews in a blender or food processor and pulse to a fine powder, then add the almond milk and blend again. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until thick and creamy.Repeat this same process for the vanilla nice cream.You will have two delightfully creamy nice creams; one pink and the other white.
- Scoop the vanilla nice cream over the top of the brownie. Cover with cling film (plastic wrap) and pop into the freezer for 20 minutes to firm up. Spread the strawberry layer on top, then recover and return to the freezer for at least 2 hours before serving. Once firm, carefully remove the cake from the tin and leave it to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. You can always make extra brownies and serve the cake adorned with a pile of extra brownies for an added wow factor.
Margie Broadhead is a professional chef who trained at Ireland’s world-renowned Ballymaloe Cookery School. She has worked in a number of top London restaurants, has cooked at Windsor Castle, as well as volunteering to teach Zulu women the art of cookery in South Africa. Margie also set up her catering company and hugely become popular blog, Made by Margie.
READ MORE:
Easy chocolate bananas recipe – healthy treat of the week
Best dairy-free ice cream in London
https://www.healthista.com/best-smoothie-for-weight-loss-berry-oaty-60-second-smoothie-challenge/
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