It's turning out to be a hot, hot, hot summer, and if you're looking to beat the heat, I’ve got just the recipe to cool you down. Cherry Chocolate Nice-Cream. Need I say more? Well, perhaps I should clarify for those of you who are new to the term "nice-cream", which is a quick DIY dairy-free banana-based ice-cream. It's essentially the easiest, tastiest and possibly healthiest way to make ice-cream at home.

I’m super excited to share this recipe for a couple reasons. Firstly, I’ve been making this one a lot at my cooking lessons and sharing photos on my Instagram stories. Needless to say, I had lots of requests and it's about time I share this with those of you who haven't been able to attend the lessons.

Secondly, this is the first of many upcoming projects that I'll be doing with my friend Ana Tavares. You might remember seeing her as a guest blogger, or perhaps you’ve stumbled upon her Instagram where she posts stunning food photography. If you speak Portuguese you may have discovered her vegetarian food blog or cookbook (which has been hugely successful in Brazil). Ana took the photos for this post and we plan to collaborate in the coming months to create more great culinary content in both English and Portuguese.

Scroll down to learn how to make Cherry Chocolate Nice-Cream and stay tuned as we’ll be sharing another recipe collab next week.

CHERRY CHOCOLATE NICE-CREAM

Makes 3 - 4 servings

Ingredients:

4 overripe bananas
1/3 cup cocoa powder or raw cocao powder
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Non-dairy milk of your choice, optional
1/4 - 1/3 cup frozen dark sweet cherries or sour cherries depending on your taste
Optional topping: unsweetened coconut flakes

Directions:

Chop the bananas into small rounds and freeze them overnight on parchment lined baking tray.

Add all ingredients - except cherries and coconut flakes - to a food processor or high-speed blender. Process until completely smooth (similar to a soft serve consistency). If you find your blender isn’t strong enough to handle the frozen banana you may need to let them thaw a bit and/or add a bit of non-dairy milk to get things going.

Once you've reached a nice, smooth texture, add the cherries, then pulse for a minute or so or until the cherries are evenly distributed, but still a bit chunky.

For the best texture you’ll want to enjoy your nice-cream immediately, but you can freeze leftovers and thaw again before serving. When serving, top your nice-cream with whole frozen cherries and unsweetened coconut flakes.

If you enjoyed the recipe I shared above be sure to check out my Plant-Based Breakthrough program, which is a 4 week online crash course in health, nutrition, and meal planning. For details on when the next program starts click here. You can also join my Plant-Based Breakthrough Community on Facebook where I share recipes, inspiration, and information on plant-based nutrition.