strawberry-banana-ice-cream-with-fresh-mint

Ingredients

1 (13.5 ounce) can coconut milk
1 (10 ounce) package frozen strawberries OR
1 pound fresh organic strawberries, hulled
1 ripe banana
¼ cup agave nectar or local honey
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon vanilla beans or 1 spoonful of vanilla bean sugar
fresh mint to garnish
pinch of Hand Harvested Fleur de Sel, optional

This is a very easy dairy and egg free ice cream you can make at home with your kids. You do not need to use your cooktop to make a base with this recipe. In fact, it is so simple to make, your kids can make it without your help.

The Cuisinart Ice Cream and Yogurt Maker creams 1 1/2 quarts of ice cream in about 20 minutes or less depending on the recipe. All you need to do is freeze the canister the night before and you are set. We used the Vitamix to blend all the ingredients and poured the mixture in the cuisinart. Exactly 20 minutes later it was the consistency of a soft serve ice cream.

Then I scooped it into a glass Pyrex dish and placed it in the freezer to serve for dessert. My son could not wait to try it so he started dipping his fingers into the canister to taste the small amount of ice cream left on the sides. He made a mess but loved every bite.

My daughter described this dessert as “hip, rocking and awesome. ” Hip because of the egg and dairy free alternative. I love the flavor of fresh coconut but was concerned the coconut milk would be very overpowering and my husband would not eat it. With all the vanilla and banana, you will not know there is any coconut in the ice cream.

Elana’s Pantry Recipe did not call for bananas but I prefer to add them for the texture and potassium. You can use another fruit or just use strawberries. Next time I will mince some fresh mint in to the mixture instead of using it as a garnish.

You can also use an old fashion ice cream maker where you have to add rock salt and plenty of ice to keep the ice cream cold while it churns. You get a lot more ice cream (5 quarts to be exact) using this machine but it takes longer and it is loud. Triple the recipe if you use this Rivel ice cream maker.

Directions

1) Add 1 (13.5 ounce) can coconut milk, 1 (10 ounce) package frozen strawberries or 1 pound of fresh strawberries, 1 ripe banana, ¼ cup agave nectar or local honey, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon scraped vanilla bean, (I used 1 spoonful of vanilla bean sugar) and a pinch of Hand Harvested Fleur de Sel. Blend in a Vitamix.

2) Pour the cream mixture into your ice cream maker and process according to the instructions. The Cuisinart Ice Cream and Yogurt Maker takes 20 minutes.

3) Serve as a soft serve ice cream or scrape ice cream into a glass, freezer safe bowl and place in freezer for 3 to 4 hours to harden some more. Press a piece of plastic wrap on top to ensure ice crystals do not form on top. Enjoy!