“Mum, can we freeze some bananas and make ice cream?” is a familiar question in our house. Immy loves it when we make the not-quite-ice cream that is blended, frozen bananas and I love how easy it is to make as a fabulous after school snack….or morning tea treat…or even, possibly a breakfast surprise. I mean, who wouldn’t love ice cream for breakfast!
We like to mix it up, generally just adding one or maybe two simple ingredients to the base of frozen bananas.
To make the banana ice cream base (which is perfectly yummy as it is!), pre-cut your bananas into roughly 1 1/2 cm chunks and spread them out onto a lined tray to freeze overnight. Once frozen you can put the pieces into a plastic bag or container in the freezer until you need them. I find 3-4 bananas makes enough ice cream for 3-4 afternoon snack serves, obviously depending upon the size of your bananas and the size of your serves.
When you are ready to make your not-quite-ice cream, pop the banana pieces into a food processor and hit start. Process or blend until smooth. It will take a little while for the bananas to get really smooth and creamy and you may need to scrape down the sides of the processor a few times. In our house it is then ready to serve (my girls don’t do waiting so well, especially at afternoon tea time!) but if you find it has melted too much just pop it back into the freezer for a few minutes before serving.
Here are three simple variations…
Banana & Raspberry/ Banana & Blueberry
To your food processor add (approximately) 3 cups of frozen, sliced banana (3-4 bananas) and one cup of frozen berries. Blend until smooth. Serve.
Choc Banana
To approximately 3 cups of blended, frozen banana (3-4 bananas) add 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder and blend until well combined. Sweeten with a little honey if necessary. Stir through a couple of handfuls of choc chips or m&ms. Serve.
Nutty Banana
To approximately 3 cups of blended, frozen banana (3-4 bananas) add 2 tablespoons peanut butter and blend until well combined. Serve.
Have you tried making not-quite-ice cream with bananas before? Do you have a favourite flavour combination?
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Christie Burnett is a teacher, presenter, writer and the mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to access engaging, high quality learning ideas.
