Easy Baobab Chocolate Nice Cream
Nothing screams summer like some delicious ice cream! Ice cream is great for the hot months, as its refreshing, sweet, and literally melts in your mouth. But ice cream sometimes gets a bad name for being loaded with too much added sugar, milk, or flavor. For health-conscious folks, that makes ice cream a complete no-go.
Enter ‘nice’ cream! If you’re looking for a zero added-sugar, 100% natural, DIY summer dessert, ‘nice cream’ is the way to go! Nice cream is made from one single base ingredient; frozen bananas. Because bananas are mildly-flavored, using them to make this ice cream substitute is an easy choice.
You can add any variety of flavors, powders, fruits to your nice cream to create a custom ice cream flavor. The best part is, it’s 100% vegan and dairy-free! So you can enjoy ‘nice cream’ guilt-free!
The star of our recipe today is baobab powder. Baobab powder comes from the dried fruit of the baobab tree. It’s rich in antioxidants and vitamins including vitamin C, vitamin B6, potassium, and many other trace minerals that help support a healthy immune system, skin and fight inflammation. What’s more, it has a sweet, tangy citrus flavor that makes it perfect on its own just mixed with cool water as a drink.
The mild flavor of bananas pairs perfectly with the citrus of the baobab powder in this recipe to give a delicious, sherbet-like nice cream!
For our recipe today, we’re making a baobab-infused chocolate nice cream.
Ingredients
4 medium-sized bananas, sliced and frozen
2 teaspoons of unsweetened cacao powder
1 teaspoon of baobab powder
½ tablespoon coconut milk or plain soy milk
1/8 cup unsweetened chocolate chips
1/8 teaspoon Stevia (optional)
Coconut shavings (for garnishing)
Method:
- Take your frozen banana slices out of the freezer and put into a blender.
- Add ½ tablespoon of your plant-based milk.
- Blend till smooth consistency.
- Add in your cocoa powder, baobab powder, and sweetener if you’re using any. Blend on high speed for a few seconds at a time till well incorporated.
- Scoop out and serve in a dessert bowl or ice cream cup.
- Garnish with crushed roasted nuts, chocolate chips, or coconut shavings.
- Serve cold or with your favorite summer pastry!
Tips for Making The Perfect Nice Cream
Making ‘nice cream’ is super easy, but getting a perfectly smooth, true to real ice cream feel can be tricky. Here are a few hacks to make sure you get the best results every single time.
- The more spotty and ripe your bananas are, the sweeter and creamier your nice cream. Avoid overripe bananas as they give are likely to give a runny consistency.
- The size you slice your bananas matter. For best results, cut your bananas into half-inch slices preferably. You don’t want your banana chunks too big to smoothen out.
- Try not to stack your banana slices one on top of the other. Place them individually on a flat plate or sheet, lined with baking paper or aluminum foil so you can remove them easily.
- If you’re looking for a soft-serve consistency, let your bananas thaw for a few minutes before blending. You can also add a tablespoon or two of plant-based milk to your frozen bananas before blending. Be careful not to add too much liquid, lest your nice cream turns runny.
- If you’re looking to combine your nice cream with some other fruit, try to blend it together with the bananas, otherwise, you can add other ingredients like Moringa leaf powder or peanut butter after blending your bananas.
- You don’t need an ice cream machine to make nice cream. A high powered blender or food processor will do just fine. Food processors are more likely to give your nice cream a chunky texture than a blender would so pay attention. IF your blender needs additional liquid to blend your frozen bananas too, that may make your nice cream too runny.
- For a truer ‘ice cream’ texture, pour your blended banana mixture in a loaf tin and freeze for 2 – 3 hours. This makes it easy to scoop.
Did you try out this recipe? Tag us on social media. We'd love to hear from you!
