When it gets hot, we think of Nice Cream. And when it's hot here in the Okanagan, it's cherry-picking time. So it's a no-brainer to make Chocolate Cherry Nice Cream, our dairy-free version of ice cream. Give it a try, we think you'll like it!
Chocolate Cherry Nice Cream (serves 2-3)
- ¼ cup almonds
- 4 dates
- 3 tablespoons raw cacao powder
- 2 frozen bananas
- 3 tablespoons date paste or 16 drops liquid stevia (I like Green Drops Vanilla Crème Stevia)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or ½ teaspoon vanilla powder
- 1½ cups frozen cherries
Put the almonds and dates in a food processor and chop well.
Add the cacao, bananas, date paste (or stevia) and vanilla and blend until it’s very smooth.
Add the cherries and pulse to mix in if you want chunks of cherries in the nice cream, or blend well if you want it all smooth.
For a firmer ice cream texture, you can put it all in the freezer for 30-45 minutes.
NOTE: you can replace the cherries with any fruit and omit the cacao if you want the straight fruit flavour.
I always keep 4-6 bananas in the freezer in hot weather so I’m ready to go with this recipe, but if you don’t have any bananas frozen already, for a quick nice cream, slice the bananas and freeze on a parchment covered baking sheet for at least 25 minutes.