Summer and nice cream… what could be a more delicious dessert; eat a scoop on a cone, pop a scoop on a smoothie bowl, eat in a biscuit sandwich, serve with fresh slices of ripe fruit.

The natural sweetness of a nice cream depends on the ripeness of the bananas when frozen, you’ll know the bananas are ripe when the skins are spotted.

What to use: a food processor or a high-speed blender - if you use a high-speed blender, you’ll need a work horse like Mod or a Vitamix which can blend frozen fruit to produce a silky soft cream serve texture quickly in about 2-3 minutes. You will need to pulse and use the blender stick to force the frozen fruit onto the blades to help break it down, making sure the remaining frozen bananas get to the blade. A food processor also works.

MAKING NICE CREAM

Freeze - peel and slice the bananas, place in freezer bags until fully frozen for 4 hours or overnight.

Blend - place the frozen banana slices into a powerful blender or food processor and pulse the mixture. You will need to pulse and use the blender stick to force the frozen fruit onto the blades to help break it down, making sure the remaining frozen bananas get to the blade as the mixture becomes creamy. When the mixture looks like soft serve ice cream in texture, add a few spoons of yogurt and blitz for 20 seconds to get more air into it.

Soft serve nice cream can be eaten as soon as it is blended.

Firmer nice cream - transfer to a safe freezer storage container like an enamel tin (cover with plastic film) and freeze for 4 hours until firm. Allow to sit in the fridge for 30-45 minutes to evenly thaw before scooping.

NICE CREAM IDEAS

When adding flavours, blend with the bananas instead of afterwards. You may need to adjust the sweetness based on the fruit, so drizzle with a little honey or maple syrup if needed. To make it creamier, add a little plant milk.

USE 2 (2 cups) frozen bananas per person + 1 fruit:

VANILLA, RASPBERRY & PISTACHIO NICE CREAM - blend 1 tsp vanilla extract with the frozen bananas, mix in ¼ cup (37 g) raspberries + 2 tbsp shelled pistachios

RASPBERRY NICE CREAM - ½ cup (75 g) frozen raspberries

BLUEBERRY NICE CREAM - ½ cup (75 g) frozen blueberries

STRAWBERRY NICE CREAM - ½ cup (140 g) frozen strawberries

CHERRY NICE CREAM - ½ cup (70 g) pitted cherries

APRICOT or PEACH NICE CREAM - 3 apricots or 2 peaches

MANGO NICE CREAM - ½ cup (75 g) frozen mango

TROPICAL NICE CREAM - ½ cup(75 g) frozen tropical fruit

OTHER NICE CREAM IDEAS

USE 2 frozen bananas per person + 1 flavour

MATCHA - ½ tsp (1 g) matcha powder

PEANUT BUTTER - 3 tbsp (42.5 g) peanut butter

HAZELNUT BUTTER - 3 tbsp (90 g) hazelnut butter

CHOCOLATE - 3 tbsp (42 g) cacao powder

CHOCOLATE CHIP - ½ cup (90 g) chocolate chips, mix in

PISTACHIO - 1/3 cup (35 g) shelled pistachios or 3 tbsp (90 g) pistachio butter

SALTED CARAMEL - 1 medjool date, 2 tbsp (28 g) peanut butter, 1 tbsp (15 g) protein powder

COOKIES & CREAM - 3-4 favourite cookies crumbled, mix in