When I was younger I lapped up American food culture - anything remotely resemblant of a burger, s'more, or brownie and I was all over it! It got to the stage where I was drawing fast food on scrap paper during class, and even doing my middle school speech on it! I feel as if this trend still remains today in the food that I make, although the emphasis on health and ethical soundness is much more dominant.
This milkshake, or thickshake as I like to call it, is especially amazing (both taste-wise and nutritionally) as it contains a whizzed up wedge of my chocolate fudge brownie, which contains loads of protein thanks to the addition of black beans and chickpeas. Sound strange? It is, but I assure you that when thrown in a blender, the result is the creamiest, most decadent drink you could possible make using such peculiar (and exceptionally nutrient-dense) ingredients.
I have fed my thickshakes and icecreams to some people (cough, my brother, cough) who are relentlessly critical of its banana undertones. Unfortunately I don't know how to rid it of this taste, but every so often you get a banana of the perfect ripeness that tastes like pure, sweet fruit sugar. It's difficult to avoid the bitter greenness, or the fermented ripeness, but when you do it's bliss! Oh, and chocolate sauce most definitely helps.
INGREDIENTS
CHOCOLATE THICKSHAKE
1 ripe banana, previously chopped and frozen
1 slice of homemade chocolate fudge brownie (click here for the recipe!)
2-3 tablespoons of raw cacao powder
2 tablespoons of almond butter
1 teaspoon of ground vanilla bean powder
1 cup of almond or oat milk
SIMPLE VANILLA ICECREAM
1 ripe banana, previously chopped and frozen
1 teaspoon of ground vanilla bean powder
2 teaspoons of maple syrup (optional)
TOPPINGS
Loving Earth Mylk chocolate, melted
Chunks of homemade chocolate fudge brownie
Crushed walnuts (optional)
METHOD
- Begin by making the chocolate thickshake - place the frozen banana chunks, chocolate fudge brownie, raw cacao powder, almond butter, and ground vanilla bean powder in the bowl of a good food processor and blitz until super smooth and well incorporated (this usually takes a good minute or two).
- While the food processor is still running, pour in your plant milk of choice. Keep whizzing until frothy and smooth, then pour into a serve glass (or jar, in my case) with a few ice cubes to keep it cold if you so wish.
- Now is a good time to quickly melt the chocolate for the topping - I am very lazy and like to microwave mine on a low heat, but if you want to treat the chocolate with the utmost respect, melt it in a glass bowl perched over simmering water.
- Now, give your food processor a quick rinse and throw in the frozen banana chunks, vanilla bean powder, and maple syrup for the vanilla bean icecream. Blend until fluffy and silky smooth, scraping the sides down when necessary, then scoop on top of the chocolate thickshake. Drizzle over the melted chocolate, squish them brownie chunks in, and perhaps even scatter a few walnut pieces over if you've got them on hand. Serve immediately, and with lots of napkins!