Have you ever tried ice cream made with frozen bananas? It’s a type of homemade ice cream, prepared with frozen fruit and yogurt (Greek, in my case). It’s a very easy, very delicious dessert with very few added sugars, no eggs, no gluten. The ice cream with frozen fruit can be served as a dessert after a meal, as a snack, or as a treat. It’s made quickly, and depending on the type of fruit used, that is, more or less water-rich, it can be served immediately after blending or may need to be kept in the freezer for a bit longer, from a minimum of half an hour to a maximum of two hours.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Rest time: 5 Hours
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 10
- Cooking methods: No cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer, and Autumn
Ingredients
- 1.1 lbs bananas (weighed without peel)
- 2 cups plain Greek yogurt (also lactose-free)
- 3 tablespoons wildflower honey
- 1/2 lemon
Steps
Peel the bananas, break them into chunks with your hands (to slow down and avoid oxidation due to contact with metal utensils), place them immediately in the mixer bowl (where possible), or in a glass or steel bowl, cover with plastic wrap and immediately put in the freezer, for a minimum of one hour to a maximum of 12 hours.
When the banana chunks are frozen, transfer them to the bowl of a mixer, along with the juice of half a lemon.
Immediately add the cold, thick, and compact Greek yogurt, the honey, and blend at high speed (not in pulses, mind you, as the ingredients would unnecessarily heat up and that’s not what we want) the time necessary to obtain a thick or semi-thick mixture, with an upward movement of the mixer to incorporate as much air as possible.
Depending on the obtained thickness, you can serve it immediately, pouring it into the cups you kept in the freezer, or you can put it back in the freezer for another half hour or more to give it the right consistency or simply to eat it later. This type of ice cream tends to become solid if it stays too long in the freezer, but it’s a condition that can be easily remedied by leaving it out of the freezer for 10 minutes and blending it again.
Taste the mixture and sweeten it a bit more if you think it’s necessary.
And voilà, the ice cream is served.
The ice cream in the photo was quickly and promptly tasted by my son, who had added a generous spoonful of muesli and chocolate chips to the bottom of the cup.
Bon appetit
Tips and suggestions: Bananas (like apples, some types of pears) are a dense and compact fruit that does not release liquid, especially in contact with sugar or honey, so if all the utensils are chilled, the fruit is frozen just right, and especially if the ambient temperature is not excessively high (an element not to be overlooked), the ice cream can be served and eaten immediately after blending.
However, there are types of fruit that are rich or very rich in water, like peaches, kiwis, watermelons, melons. In these cases, the blended mixture will immediately be much more liquid. It’s not an error, the procedure is not wrong; it will just be necessary to place the blended mixture in the freezer and wait for it to reach the right consistency.
This is also the reason why I prefer and recommend using good Greek yogurt, that is, yogurt that is really thick and compact, not liquid.
