speedy raspberry "ice cream"

From my last post you may have been misled that kitchen-wise there was a hive of activity here at chez-food nazi. To continue this misconception, I whizzed up a batch of I-can’t-believe-its-not-ice-cream for my sister when she stayed recently.

Fortunately there were three frozen banana’s waiting in the freezer. I grabbed a punnet of (expensive, organic) late season raspberries from the market and, after rinsing, through them in the blender with the frozen bananas.

Preparation time – less than a minute.


Sure it needs to go back into the freezer for another couple of hours but how simple is that? My guest was suitably impressed and has returned to New Zealand to continue the tradition.

Tip 1: Raspberry “ice cream”, sorbet and the like, tastes great served with a dash of Grand Marnier liqueur.

Tip 2: Always replace the bananas with some more peeled, ripe ones in a bag in the freezer.

ice-cream that even a fruitarian could eat

Is it really 2 months since I bought Jill Dupleix’s ”Lighten Up”? Barely a day has gone by without thinking about her “Mock Choc ice-cream" and with a few ripe bananas patiently waiting in the freezer I don’t know what I was waiting for. The recipe I refer to is a creamy, sugar-free, frozen concoction made from bananas, cocoa powder and dark chocolate. Instead I took the idea and ran with it, as I always do. With so much fresh fruit in the house the thought of making ‘ice-cream’ without a machine and using no dairy on a hot day was irresistible. I admit to being just a little sceptical as to just how creamy the result would be.

“I can’t believe it’s not ice-cream”
(Serves 4, unless you want to keep it all for yourself)

3 bananas – peeled, chopped and frozen overnight
1.5 large mangoes
1 ripe wipe peach (it was begging to be used, another 1 would have been even better)
a generous squeeze of fresh lime juice

Blend all ingredients in a food processor til smooth. Pour into a container and freeze for at least 3 hours. Remove from freezer 10-15 before serving.

Verdict: yum! Of course I could have used 2 or mangoes or all white peaches if I'd had more. The lime gave the flavours a slight lift. Dupleix does a raspberry version too. Obviously most soft fruits would go well.

Enhancements: a splash of Grand Marnier when serving gives the mango an extra kick.

Variations: any leftovers make a great base for a smoothie.



sure an ice-cream scoop would have made for finer food styling - but it's just lucky I scraped enough of the leftovers out to take a pic before I scoffed it!