On a long hot summers day theres nothing that beats an ice-block or ice-cream to take the edge off the heat. If your kids are anything like mine, they love a cooling treat but all that sugar and food colouring makes them little terrors, so we try to avoid too many indulgences if we can.

I started making this as an alternative to ice-cream for a dessert for the kids but its quickly become a regular feature in our freezer that we all enjoy. I don’t mind serving it up regularly because it consists only of fruit and a little optional milk or yoghurt. And the kids love it – in fact my eldest got so excited when I was trying to take the photographs for this recipe, that this happened…

Eaten immediately or kept in the freezer for when a sweet fix is called for, this real fruit frozen dessert is just as popular with the grown-ups as the little ones.

There are two ways to make this healthy treat – with pre-frozen fruit for an instant, frozen dessert that has a wonderful gelato-like consistency, or with fresh fruit which you then freeze for a firmer result. Both versions are fast to prepare, refreshing and nutritious.

Both versions also keep well in the freezer, so I find they make fantastic homemade popsicles for the kids (and the big kids). Popsicle moulds are everywhere these days – ours is very plain and cost $3.00 at a local discount store, but you can get them in all shapes and sizes and from basically anywhere that sells kitchen equipment.

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Real fruit instant ice cream

Cook time:  3 mins

Total time:  3 mins

Peel bananas and break them into 2 or 3 pieces then pop them in a snap-lock bag and freeze overnight to make this ice cream. They will keep in the freezer for a good couple of weeks but eventually start to discolour.

Ingredients

• 3 frozen bananas
• 1 punnet of fresh strawberries, or 1 cup frozen strawberries or blueberries
• ⅓ cup milk or natural unsweetened yoghurt (optional)

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients into a blender and blend on a high speed for 2-3 minutes until a smooth puree has formed.
2. Take the lid off the blender and give the mixture a quick stir to make sure there are no lumps.
3. Serve immediately, or pour into popsicle moulds or a freezer proof container and freeze.

Notes

To make the version using fresh fruit, simply add the same quantities of fresh fruit and the yoghurt or milk to the blender and puree, then pour into your chosen mould and freeze for at least 4 hours, or overnight. This will produce a much firmer dessert.

The texture of the end result really depends on whether you use fresh or frozen fruit and how much milk or yoghurt you add. Have a play, you really can't go wrong - if you find you have added too much liquid and its too soft, just call it a thick shake or smoothie!

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