I’ve made banana icecream for ages. I put it in my first cookbook and served it to lots of people, and I thought it was pretty good. Still, as a dedicated sensation-seeker I’m always looking for ways to make things better and my newest innovations add up to a quantum leap. Sweeter, creamier, richer. How so? Overripe persimmon is amazing as a sweetener. I scoop blobs of it out into a plastic dish and freeze it ready to use. When they’re out of season you can use frozen chunks of a very ripe sweet pearlike du comice (be sure to peel it first).
Coconut cream adds creaminess, just keep it chilled in the fridge so it doesn’t warm and soften the frozen banana too much. Dark cocoa powder gets the richness going and the final X-factor is a splash of whiskey (or rum). Alcohol adds great depth and lifts this into a decadent adult treat. You can think of it as simply carrying on what the vanilla essence started (it’s 35per cent alcohol if you read the label).
This dessert still has the angelic natural fruity base of the original but it’s the little doses of devil that keep me coming back for more. And more. You get the idea, I’m in love with it. By the way, it’s a great idea to keep your serving glasses in the freezer too so this stays firm when served. Compared with old-fashioned dairy icecream, it melts a little faster.
Ingredients
| 150 g | Bananas, frozen; about 1½-2 bananas (Main) |
| 1 tsp | Vanilla extract |
| 1/8 tsp | Salt |
| 50 g | Persimmons, frozen, or use pear |
| 120 g | Coconut cream, cold from the fridge, about ½ cup (Main) |
| 4 tsp | Cocoa powder |
| 3 tsp | Whisky |
| 2 drizzles | Maple syrup, to serve |
| 2 sprinkles | Cacao nibs, to serve, or use extra cocoa powder |
Directions
- Pop four serving glasses or bowls into the freezer to chill.
- Place all ingredients in a powerful blender or food processor and do whatever you need to do to get it whizzed up. It's important to blend this until silky smooth, you may need to cajole the thick mixture on to the blades by shaking and tilting your blender or stopping the food processor to spread the mix around. It's a balancing act between cold for firmness and softened enough to whizz up. If need be you can always stick it back in the freezer for 15 minutes before serving.
- Spoon into glasses and drizzle with a little bit of maple syrup then sprinkle with cacao nibs or cocoa powder.