As soon as temperatures rise and humiditdy starts to kick in, I crave ice cold refreshing drinks or desserts. I was in NYC over the long holiday weekend and had a
serious craving for froyo--specifically the one at 40 Carrots (inside Bloomingdales). The fact that I asked my sister to take me there for the sole purpose of feeding my craving and not care to shop around should be a huge testament that I think their froyo is really, really good.
About a week ago, we had a glimpse of summer in the DMV area and the first thing that came to mind was making this banana "ice-cream." Truth be told, I also felt slightly guilty after working out to indulge in ice-cream so I opted for the next best thing...and well, it's bathing suit season. Enough said.
Did I mention that an ice-cream maker is not needed for this quick and easy recipe? Major bonus points for that. If you're like me and love banana flavored anything, I promise you'll love this take on ice-cream. The almonds give it that wonderful added layer of crunch which you'll find to be simply satisfying to round out the texture.
Guilt free for reals. Have a great weekend. Xo.
Ingredients (Adapted from It's All Good: by Gwyneth Paltrow) Yields: 4 servings
4 ripe bananas, peeled and sliced into thin rounds
1/4 cup roasted almonds, finely chopped
2 tablespoons plus 2 tsp maple syrup, divided
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Procedure
1. Place banana slices in a single layer on a plate or tray lined with
parchment or wax paper; freeze at least 3 hours.
2. In a bowl, combine
almonds, 2 tsp syrup and salt. In a food processor, pulse frozen banana
slices, milk, vanilla and remaining 2 tbsp syrup, scraping down the
sides as necessary, until mixture is the texture of soft-serve ice
cream.
3. Spoon into bowls; sprinkle with almond mixture.
