Davina’s Healthy, Easy Banana & Peanut Butter Ice Cream

This is the easiest ice cream you can imagine – you just whizz up frozen bananas with nut butter and a hint of lime and you have something totally divine. It’s excellent just on its own, but if you really want to go mad, try this dark chocolate sauce. Just an occasional treat, mind!

151 calories per serving (321 with sauce)
Prep: 10 minutes (+ freezing)
Cooking: 10 minutes (sauce)

Serves 4

Ingredients
4 large, ripe bananas (not black)
2 tbsp nut butter (peanut or any other kind)
zest of 1 lime
½ tsp cinnamon (optional)

For the chocolate sauce (optional)
50g dark chocolate (100% cocoa solids)
50g maple syrup
150ml single cream (ice cream only)

Method
Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Peel the bananas and slice them into rounds. Place them in a single layer on the baking paper, then freeze them for 2 hours.

Put the frozen bananas in a blender or food processor. Blitz, scraping down the sides of the jug or bowl regularly, until the bananas have broken down and have a smooth and creamy texture.

Add the peanut butter, lime zest and cinnamon, if using, and process again until everything is well combined. The mixture will have the consistency of soft ice cream. If you want to firm it up a little, you can transfer it to the freezer for another hour or so. Serve with or without chocolate sauce.

To make the chocolate sauce, break up the chocolate and put it in a saucepan with the maple syrup, single cream and a pinch of salt. Stir over a very gentle heat until everything has melted together and you have a smooth, liquid sauce. Serve hot or cold – the sauce will firm up a little as it cools.

Extracted from Davina’s Kitchen Favourites by Davina McCall (Seven Dials, approx €23). Portraits by Elisabeth Hoff. Food photography by Debby Lewis-Harrison.