I’ve not made many frozen desserts in the past, partly because I don’t have an ice cream maker, but every now and again curiosity gets the better of me. This is one such time.  This ice cream also perfectly fits the theme of my sugar free Whole Foods Challenge

If anyone does try this out with an ice cream maker please let me know how you get on and how creamy the ice cream is?   Without an ice cream maker this little concoction has some ice crystals and is more like a sorbet, but in actual fact I think this texture suits the dessert really well as it is a very refreshing after dinner experience and would make the perfect accompaniment to a an apple pie or pear crumble (it could replace the sauce on top of the hot pear curmble).

The strength of the ginger dominates the banana which is what I was looking for, of course the banana undertones are there in the background but I felt this flavour combo struck a great refreshing but mellow balance. I used soy yogurt in my recipe, and have not tried other substitutions, but you may find that full fat coconut milk gives a creamy texture. 

I toped my icecre am with a simple dark chocolate drizzle made from melted ca cao liquor, melted coconut oil and a little liquid sweetener. It freezes upopn contact with the ice cream for a lovely 'crack' as your spoon dives in. You could also dust with lemon zest, nuts or crystalised ginger if you desired.

Recipe: Gingerbread ice cream

Makes one small tub

Ingredients:

2 bananas (approx 200g peeled weight)
equal weight in vegan yoghurt (or coconut milk)
1/4 tsp pure stevia
1 tbs ground ginger
1 tbs fresh ginger (use more or less to taste)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Method:

Blend all ingredients together until very smooth. Pour into a freezer container and freeze stirring twice during the following 2 hours as it freezes.