No ice-cream machine, sugar, milk or cream? An urge to eat something healthy between all those lovely cakes? Read on… We’re going to try the famous frozen banana ice-cream from those popular healthy blogs and cookbooks. Yup, you’re in for a healthy treat!!! Now don’t go running to your sausages and mash yet (like me!) – you don’t have to be super healthy to enjoy this delicious Berry (nice) banana ice-cream pie. And you know I’m not really an ice-cream person but this is an exciting ice-cream PIE! A no-bake recipe with blueberries, raspberries, bananas and a lovely date and cashew nut base flavoured with roasted black sesame seeds. Yummy goodness!
Healthy berry (nice) banana ice-cream pie
This recipe is inspired by a book I recently acquired, Deliciously Ella, adapting her combined banana ice-cream and ‘cheesecake’ recipes, and adding my ideas. Like the black sesame seeds that have haunted my thoughts since I met them in a delicious choux puff cream. In a London Japanese patisserie. Heavenly.
Healthy berry nice banana ice-cream pie
RECIPE
Equipment
You’ll need your food processor or someone else’s. And an 18 to 20 cm cake ring or springform cake tin with removable bottom. Plus two little rings or moulds to make two mini test-cakes! To practise a neat mousse cake technique get a roll of acetate strip (6cm wide) and some sellotape! Or a plastic sheet. You also need cardboard and foil. Yeah, it’s like Blue Peter here. 🙂
Ingredients
Ice-cream layer (play around with quantities to have more berries/less bananas)
- 4 medium-sized ripe bananas cut into thin slices (about 380g)
- 250g/1 and a half cups blueberries and raspberries (in equal quantities or as you prefer)
- 2 tablespoons (or more) maple syrup or honey, to taste
- 2 tablespoons almond milk (optional)
- Flavour options: freshly ground black pepper, ground cinammon, vanilla extract, salt, cardamon or anise – experiment!
Base
- 200g/1 and a quarter cups pitted dates (about 25 Mejdool dates)
- 200g/1 and a half cups salted cashew nuts or almonds as in the original recipe. Check packets for gluten-free nuts.
- 1 tablespoon ground roasted black sesame seeds (found in a Japanese shop then ground in a spice or bamix grinder)
- pinch of salt, to taste
Preparation
Slice the bananas thinly, lay out on a baking tray and place in the freezer.
Wash, dry then lay out the berries on a baking tray or dish and put in the freezer.
Leave the fruit in the freezer at least 3 hours.
Make cardboard and foil round bases. Draw around your cake ring to make bases the same size as your pie, then continue as shown in the photos (from top-left, clockwise).
Place your cake tins/rings on your bases.
With a springform ring turn it upside-down (unlike the photo) so the ridge is above.
If you have the acetate strip, line your cake ring or tin. Or use plastic. Stick together with sellotape on the outside (the side touching the cake tin/ring).
Base
Process the cashew nuts, dates and sesame seeds in your food processor for around 5 minutes till you have a paste that sticks together. Taste and flavour as desired, with salt for example.
Sprinkle evenly on your foil bases then flatten with the back of your fingers (not too hard as it can become quite solid and harder to cut).
Store in the freezer till the ice-cream layer is ready.
THREE HOURS OR MORE LATER
Ice-cream
Process the frozen fruit, sweetener, almond milk (if using) and flavouring in your food processor for 5 to 10 minutes. Scrape down with a spatula and stir manually if there’s a mixture pile-up or clog. Eventually it’ll go creamy!!! Woohoo!
Taste and add extra flavourings as desired.
Assembly
Pour the ice-cream immediately onto your base(s). Spread evenly with the back of a metal spoon. Place in the freezer at least 3 hours before eating.
Unmoulding
If your ring doesn’t come off easily, push the base up with your right hand so it comes up through the ring (the ring ends up on dangling on your right forearm).
If this doesn’t work place the ring over steam from a kettle (careful, don’t get burnt) all the way around, or use a blowtorch or hot towel. The heat should melt anything that’s frozen and stuck on the inside of the ring.
Freeze again so it’s well set, tear off the sellotape from the seam (or cut) then tear off the acetate as quickly and neatly as possible. Tada! Mousse cake technique!
Cover with fruit.
Experimenting
This recipe can be a base for you to play with, adding all kinds of frozen fruit to the mix and perhaps some lemon juice. Roasted black sesame seeds could be added to the ice-cream and anise or cardamon pair well with banana. Lots of possibilities! You can also serve with a scoop of ice-cream, like black sesame seed and vanilla – recipe coming soon!
Eating and storing your healthy ice-cream pie(s)
Store in the freezer in an airtight container for up to a month or so, though I’d advise eating it within a week or two. Once out of the freezer wait 5 or 10 minutes before eating.
This pie’s delicious. It’s fresh, fruity, creamy and moreish with a lovely chewy sesame base and your body will actually thank you! Mine was very grateful for this healthy treat which suddenly gave me renewed energy… honestly!
I’m taking it to the lovely Fiesta Friday party so everyone can dance and be up all weekend, including Angie and her friendly co-hosts Loretta @ Safari Of The Mind and Caroline @ Caroline’s Cooking. Come along, it’s virtual pot-luck! Meanwhile, please help yourself to some healthy berry nice banana ice-cream pie! 🙂
Healthy berry (nice) banana ice-cream pie
Are you all virtually bouncy and energetic now? Second helpings?
A little more ice-cream pie?
Hope you’ve enjoyed our little trip to the Land of Healthy Ice-cream Desserts. Have a lovely refreshing and cool weekend sweet reader and see you soon! 🙂 x
P.S. This takes about 25 minutes to make (3 hours waiting time), but for a super-quick 15-minute version forget the acetate strip or foil bases and just fill a dish!
Ha ha Lili, I see you’ve made something healthy? It still looks sinful and naughty, but nice :)). You are the bomb!! Look at all those instructions, all the attention to detail, what a wonderful dessert this would be, if only I were living in Barcelona…… but alas, I’ll have to just stare at the screen and imagine all the flavors going on in that beautiful slice of ice cream/cheesecake pie. Clever gal you!
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Thank you Loretta for the compliments and glad you like the pie! Yes, I have loads of healthy recipes but my aim is to make them look naughty! Drop in anytime you’re in Barcelona if you’d like some! 🙂 But I’m sure you’d enjoy making this pie – make your usual banana ice-cream then it’s an extra 5 minutes to make the base. I added the bits about the foil bases and acetate in case readers want to practise for mousse cakes, but if you just put it all in a dish this is a 15-minute recipe! Oh and thank you for cohosting Fiesta Friday this week! 🙂
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Looks absolutely fresh and delicious! 🙂
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Thanks Linda! Yes, it’s lovely! 🙂
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This looks so pretty and I think I will definitely have to try it. I have been meaning to play around with banana ice cream and the berries sound delicious and make such a great color. The base sounds great too. If only I could have a slice now! Thanks for sharing with Fiesta Friday.
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Thank you Caroline! Glad you like it and that you’re going to make it – banana ice-cream really is so easy and nice. And I was also thinking how great it is to get such a colour naturally. I wish I could give you a real slice too! Thank you for cohosting Fiesta Friday this week and have a lovely weekend! Let me know how it goes when you make the pie… 🙂
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I might be able to this one. Just got my hands on a proper food processor,temporarily, the sky is the limit. *throws confetti * 😊
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Yay!!! love the confetti 🙂 fireworks too.. Have fun with your food processor and the cake Ally! So pleased. Let me know how it goes if you do make it… more fireworks.. 🙂
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What a lovely dessert! And love that you have given elaborate instructions too. Really looks gorgeous!
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Thank you Indu! So glad you like the pie and recipe! 🙂
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This looks beautiful!! Healthy & refreshing too- love it! I’ve never lined my pan with acetate- or anything else… what a perfect edge!!
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Thank you Josette! Totally agree with your description! The acetate is really optional and not difficult – I think the hardest thing about it is just finding it in the first place, but I’m sure Amazon have it somewhere. In Deliciously Ella’s recipe it seems she just puts her ice-cream cheesecake in a cake tin and it comes out very straight-edged too… worth investigating! 🙂
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I am a neat freak so I really have an appreciation for your perfect presentation!! 😉
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That’s a lovely compliment – thank you! It makes me feel I must be improving. And you must definitely get some acetate then – you’ll love it!! 🙂
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Why is it that everything you make gets me drooling? 😃😃 Luckily this is healthy. I’m trying to eat healthy this Summer, ahem… The recipe reads really well, Lili! I think I’ll give this a try pronto seeing that I have most of the ingredients ready, including black sesame seeds left over from making Halloween bats!
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Great to hear you’re interested in this healthy pie Angie! And motivating too – I must keep looking for healthy options. Hope you enjoy making and eating it! Let me know how it goes. Also, I’m quite curious about your halloween bats … must check that out! 🙂 Thank you for always hosting Fiesta Friday for us! 🙂
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This wins the prize, wonderful and amazing! I have pinned it for the future and I am so sorry I missed it last week.
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Thank you for your lovely comments Liz! There’s so much going on at Fiesta Friday it’s easy to miss stuff, but I’m happy you like this pie and are thinking of making it. Hope you enjoy it loads! 🙂
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