Cherry Garcia Banana Ice Cream

So it's really hot over here. I mean REALLY hot. Unusually hot. And I'm lovin' it :). I'm a coldy by nature, so any heat is always welcome. Especially because heat means more ice cream {...and raw cakes, ice cream bars, ice cold smoothies...}. This cherry garcia banana ice cream has made a recurring appearance over here in the last few weeks. And holy cow is it an awesome way to break up the heat!

Sadly the heat isn't too kind for photo taking -- like every frozen treat I try and photograph melts in seconds {hence the lack of nicecream recipes on my Instagram lately...}, but I thought this nice cream was worth sharing -- melty pictures or not -- because it's a real treat. Hard to beat the good 'ol cherries + chocolate combo! Plus the cherry garcia has always had a special place in my heart as a kid :) -- except this version is dairy-free and can easily be made refined sugar-free.

This nice cream is loaded with hefty chunks of delicious dark chocolate, crunchy cacao nibs, dark sweet cherries, and a good dose of a melted chocolate "magic shell" to bring it all together. Creamy... dreamy... melty... cold... refreshing... sweet... tart... crunchy... fruity... {pink!}... Yep, my kind of nicecream ♥

Oh, and I almost forgot about the secret ingredient! It's such a key player in this -- tahini! Makes this nice cream extra creamy, smooth, and, well it's tahini! It's found its way into nearly everything on my plate, so it was no surprise I threw it into this nice cream only to find out it took something good and turned it super good ♥

Just a note on the tahini though -- make sure to use a good quality tahini that's mild in flavor. I used a hulled tahini that was white, creamy, runny, and had a very good smooth taste. A lot of the ones in North America tend to have too thick of a consistency and a strong taste. Go for the good stuff if you're going to throw it in so that the flavor is not over-powering but complimentary. Otherwise, skip the tahini altogether -- it'll still be great without it.

Cherry Garcia Banana Ice Cream

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★★★★★ 5 from 3 reviews

• Author: Audrey @ Unconventional Baker
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Total Time: 5 minutes
• Yield: 2 servings
• Category: Ice Cream
• Method: No-Churn
• Cuisine: Dessert

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Description

Vegan ice cream loaded with hefty chunks of delicious dark chocolate, crunchy cacao nibs, dark sweet cherries, and a good dose of a melted chocolate "magic shell".

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Ingredients

Nicecream base:

• 1 large frozen banana {or two small ones}
• 1 cup frozen cherries
• 1 tbsp tahini {optional: see notes above}
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• ½ tbsp lemon juice
• ⅛ tsp raw ground vanilla bean
• big dash of salt

Add ins:

• ½ cup frozen cherries
• 50 gr dark chocolate of your choice {roughly ½ a bar}, chopped into chunks
• 2 tbsp cacao nibs {optional, add in a nice crunch}

Chocolate sauce:

• 50 gr chopped dark chocolate, melted
• 1 tbsp oil of your choice {melted non-dairy butter, melted coconut oil, etc.}
• optional: 1 tablespoon maple syrup for added sweetness, if your chocolate is not sweet enough
• dash of salt
• *Alternatively you can use a ¼ of this magic shell recipe for the sauce.

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Instructions

1. Place all base ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and at ice cream consistency {I used my Vitamix for this. A food processor could work too. Add a splash of water or non-dairy milk if using a weaker blender to help things blend through if needed}.
2. Throw in add-ins and blend by pulsing briefly just to mix the add-ins in. You don't want to blend them in, so be careful not to over-blend...
3. Enjoy the nice cream topped with the chocolate sauce straight away in soft-serve form, or freeze for about 30 mins to bring it to a firmer {and scoopable} consistency. Enjoy!