Cherry Nice Cream Recipe

What would you say to a dairy-free, legitimately healthy, and absolutely delicious ice cream that you can make at home? Yes, right? Good, that's the correct answer. And don't worry if you have tried your hand at homemade ice cream before, as this one requires none of that laborious hand cranking or ice and rock salt blending.

"This is very easy! Literally just blend everything up," says chef and recipe developer Catherine Brookes of Blue Sky Eating. In fact, there's really only one mistake you could make here, she adds: "Just make sure that all of the fruit is frozen before blending. It's okay if you need to thaw the fruit a little to allow it to blend smoothly, but don't let it get really runny like a smoothie. Otherwise, it will form more ice crystals once back in the freezer, which can make the texture less smooth."

In other words, just be patient and really let the fruit freeze before you make the ice cream. Also, you'll need to be patient on the back end, letting it freeze again once it's done. But don't worry too much because while there is a lot of waiting around, the actual hands-on work won't take you much time at all. So let's get to it!

All you need to make a batch of this delicious, nutritious ice cream is three medium-sized, ripe bananas (peeled, chopped, and frozen for at least six hours), 14 ounces of frozen cherries (pitted, of course), a quarter cup of almond milk, and optionally but quite recommended, two tablespoons of almond butter.

It's a perfect way to make use of bananas that are ripening past the point in which you may want to eat them as-is, and for the record, no need to be strict about the almond milk. You can use oat, soy, or rice milk as well. "Dairy milk is fine too," Brookes says, explaining it's okay to use "basically whatever you have in your fridge that suits your dietary requirements."

Aside from measuring out your ingredients, peeling and chopping the banana, and of course letting the two kinds of fruit freeze, there is basically just one step to this entire recipe. Simply add all of the ingredients to a high-powered blender (or a large food processor) and blitz until the mixture is even and smooth.

If the fruit isn't blending easily, allow it to defrost a little, then blitz again. And that's it — you will be left with a smooth, beautifully deep red ice cream (that's really a fruit cream, frankly) that can be enjoyed and served to kids and adults alike.

That's it — your work is done! You can now choose to serve the cherry nice cream immediately for more of a soft-serve ice cream experience, or you can freeze it until it is completely firm, which will take about two hours. If you are planning to freeze it, just make sure to get it chilling ASAP so those ice crystals don't form due to the melted water content in there.

And no rush to eat it all at all. Brookes says: "This will keep well in the freezer for up to three months. If you're storing it in a container without a lid, cover the top with foil or cling film."

Looking for some serving ideas? "It would be great with any kind of fruit cobbler or crumble. Or maybe on top of a warm chocolate brownie, or [as-is] with extra fresh cherries, chocolate chips, or melted chocolate," says the chef.