Is there anything more beautiful than dried rose petals? Is there anything softer or more enamouring than a chunk of good, proper turkish delight? Is there anything more alluring than a bowl of softly whipped chocolate ice-cream? The answers are no, no, and no. This breakfast (or dessert) screams elegance, while secretly being the simplest of concoctions. All it takes is a good whizz of your food processor and some light-handed drizzling and you've got yourself a naughty yet nice treat! Make sure you read my blog post about making the perfect banana ice-cream before you get to work if you've not had any prior banana ice-cream experience - there need not be any sloppy soups or rock-hard chunks of frozen fruit in sight.
If I were to have some kind of brunch, this would almost definitely be on the menu, served up straight from the food processor with a soft-serve bar stationed in the middle of the table. Put raw cacao nibs, hazelnut butter, rose petals, powdered pink turkish delight, and chunks of dark chocolate in small bowls and let your guests serve themselves. Serve alongside some fresh and decadent hot chocolate with a drop or two of rose essential oil, and you have yourself an instant, no-fuss, summer morning feast!
This recipe makes enough to serve one person, but it's very simple to make additional portions - just make sure you have frozen enough bananas before you get to work!
INGREDIENTS
INSTANT CACAO ICECREAM
2 ripe bananas, previously chopped and frozen
2 tablespoons of raw cacao powder
A pinch of sea salt
A few drops of food-grade rose essential oil (optional)
CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT SAUCE
2 tablespoons of hazelnut butter
2 teaspoons of maple syrup
2 teaspoons of raw cacao powder
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste
TOPPINGS
70-90% dark chocolate chunks, roughly chopped
Dried rose petals
Chunks of fresh rose turkish delight (optional)
METHOD
Make your chocolate hazelnut sauce first by simply stirring together the hazelnut butter, maple syrup, raw cacao powder, and vanilla bean paste in a small bowl. You may need to warm the nut butter slightly to get it to the right consistency, which you can either do in the microwave or over a pot of simmer water.
In the bowl of a food processor place your frozen banana chunks. Pulse until they begin to break up into smaller pieces, then leave running for a while. You may need to scrape the sides down every now and then. After a while, you will have a fluffy and smooth mixture with soft-serve consistency.
When you reach this stage, quickly add in your raw cacao powder, sea salt, and rose essential oil if using, and pulse until well combined. You should have a creamy, chocolatey soft-serve. Scoop into your serving bowl, using a spatula to get out every last bit.
Assembly time! Drizzle your chocolate hazelnut sauce over your fresh ice-cream, then press in chunks of dark chocolate, and finally scatter with dried rose petals and chunks of rose turkish delight. Consume immediately.