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It’s been SO hot here I don’t even know what to do with myself. I’ve told you this before. I’m not a hot weather person. So these triple digit days are killing me. I’ve been wanting to perfect an oven recipe for you guys for the last couple of weeks, but honestly, I just can’t bring myself to turn on the oven. The house is hot enough as it is. So I thought I should stick with the no-bake recipes. Even better, I thought I should stick with freezer recipes. So I decided to make a Double Chocolate Cherry Nice Cream.
Why Double Chocolate Cherry Nice Cream?
I want to say first that I don’t particularly love the term “nice cream”, but as it’s a much better name than “blended banana with stuff in it”. So I’ll stick with it. But please remember that foods are neither mean nor nice. They aren’t good or bad. It’s just food. And this food happens to be absolutely delicious.
So obviously I started with a banana base. But instead of adding almond milk like I have in the past, I decided to use coconut cream. Adding this higher-fat ingredient gives this Double Chocolate Cherry Nice Cream some extra richness. And creaminess too, obviously. Then, to give this dish its chocolate flavor, I used raw cacao powder. Raw cacao is great because in retains the minerals and antioxidants that it’s cocoa counterpart does not. But it’s used essentially in the same capacity.
Now you could stop here with delicious chocolate nice cream, but why would you when you could add cherries and dark chocolate chips to the mix? Plus, it wouldn’t be Double Chocolate Cherry Nice Cream without those things. I used 85% cacao chocolate chips from Pascha to keep the added sugar to a minimum, which still adding that extra chocolatey crunch. I’m also absolutely obsessed with cherries right now, so I knew I wanted to include some in this recipe. They pair perfectly with chocolate and the tartness of the cherries (even sweet cherries) is in perfect harmony with the sweetness of the banana base.
It’s really that simple. No crazy ingredients. Not a ton of sugar. But this dish is the perfectly cold, perfectly sweet treat for any summer day. And if this heat wave keeps up, you’ll have plenty more coming your way soon!
Servings |
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- 4 ripe bananas fresh or frozen, broken into pieces
- 1/2 cup coconut cream I use the one from Trader Joe's
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp cacao powder or cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup sweet cherries pitted and chopped into small pieces (plus more for topping)
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips I use the 85% from Pascha (plus more for topping)
Ingredients
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- Add banana pieces, coconut cream, and cacao powder to blender or food processor.
- Blend until completely smooth. I used this time to chop up the cherries.
- Remove blade from blender or food processor. Fold in cherry pieces and dark chocolate chips.
- Pour nice cream into parchment paper-lined loaf pan. I wouldn't use much larger than a 9"x5" pan.
- Top with additional cherry pieces and chocolate chips, if desired.
- Place in freezer for at least 3 hours to set.
Oh, wow, this sounds so delicious. Weather in Spain is also really hot these days so I would love to have some of your nice cream at hand right now to enjoy. Love the idea of adding pieces of chocolate and cherry. I am sure strawberry or any kind of berries would also work great.
oh my gosh I bet strawberries would be delicious in this! Great suggestion thank you!
Yummy!! This looks awesome. I will be trying this one.
Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy it!
All I can say is wow! This sounds absolutely delicious. And to find out that it wasn’t really ice cream… even better. My family and I have been on a mission to start cooking more food at home. We will have to add this one to our dessert/fun snack list.
Thank you so much for your kind words! You’re so sweet! I hope your family likes it!
I really like the idea of a nice cream for the health and caloric value alone. Not to mention it sounds incredibly tasty too.
Thank you! I hope you enjoy!
I love your comment “They aren’t good or bad. It’s just food.” That’s what we believe in my home as well – it took my four year old very selective eater for me to come to that understanding, and I think we’re all benefiting from the switch in mindset. And I LOVE chocolate cherry ice cream… and bananas… I might just have to try this recipe.
Thank you! I’m really trying hard to focus on “intuitive eating” as opposed to demonizing certain foods. Just trying to eat what my body needs, wants, and craves, honor my hunger cues, and live my life! I’m glad you guys are benefiting from that mindset as well! If you give this recipe a try, please let me know! I hope you love it! 🙂
I liked the term nice cream which you have used. Considering that it’s healthy as well as delicious. I just wanna try it now.
I definitely would recommend it! If you like bananas, it’s super good and definitely hits the spot!
this looks and sounds yum! a must try definitely!
thank you so much!
Oh wow. I can’t believe how easy this sounds and how delicious it looks. I’m trying this in the next few days
honestly it’s SO easy! I think you’ll love it! Enjoy!
Nice cream is my fave!! I’ve never put coconut cream in it before, but I’m excited to try it!
it adds some awesome creaminess to it! I think you’ll love it!
I am going to have to try this! I often find myself with bananas that are over ripe and banana bread is not always the best option! This looks amazing!
Lauren
https://livebythesunshine.com
This would be so perfect for you then! Idk about you, but it’s way too hot here to do any baking!
This sounds delicious! What a perfect combination of ingredients, yum!
Thank you so much!