Strawberry and banana 'nice' cream

The sun is back and this is a lovely quick way to make homemade ‘ice-cream’. It’s actually a vegan alternative that’s like half sorbet and half ice cream. It’s basically frozen puréed fruit, but it tastes like you’ve made WAY more effort. My kids love it and as a bonus it’s actually really healthy because there’s no added sugar - or anything for that matter! However you might notice that I’ve drizzled some honey on one of the photos as it tastes lovely if you fancy something a bit sweeter.

Read on for the shortest ingredients list ever!!

Ingredients

Makes 1 large tub, serves approx 6-8

• 450g frozen strawberries

• 450g frozen banana

Method

• Put all the fruit into a large food processor.

• Blitz for 30 seconds and then scrape down the sides. Repeat until smooth (or the texture you prefer - can be rougher with small bits of fruit). You’ll need to repeat a few times to incorporate all the fruit.

• Scrape into a large tub and freeze for 2-3 hours until firm.

• You might need to take out of the freezer about 30 minutes before serving, depending on how firm you want it to be.

Fudgey chocolate brownies

In my opinion there is only one kind of brownie: fudgey with chewy sides and a crispy top. So that was my criteria when I set about testing different recipes recently. I did the last few tweaks to this one yesterday and you’ll be happy to know that I think it ticks all the above boxes! It’s also a very simple recipe that will only take you about 10 minutes to whip up, so if you fancy doing a bit of baking with the kids then give this recipe a go. My daughter absolutely loved making these and I think next time could probably do most of it by herself.

Through trial, error and research I’ve discovered that melting the butter leads to a more fudgey brownie, rather than following the traditional cake making method of creaming with the sugar. I’ve also reduced the coco powder and upped the melted chocolate, so they’re not too dark and dense.

Next up….. salted caramel and orange (separately!) as my kids LOVE both of these flavours.

Ingredients

Makes a 25 x 35cm tray / 24 portions

• 250g unsalted butter

• 250g dark chocolate, semi sweet

• 350g caster sugar

• 4 large eggs, lightly whisked

• 40g coco powder, sifted

• 100g flour, sifted

• 1 tsp baking powder

• ½ teaspoon sea salt or ¼ tsp table salt

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180°c. Line a 25 x 35cm tray with baking parchment.

• Weigh the butter and chocolate in a heat proof bowl and place over a pan of boiling water (about 3cm deep). Make sure the bowl isn't touching the water, or you might scorch the chocolate. Remove from the heat when the butter and chocolate are almost melted, stir to combine.

• Pour the sugar into the melted chocolate, stir and then mix in the eggs.

• Crumble the sea salt between your fingers and mix into the flour with the coco and baking powder.

• Fold the dry ingredients into the wet and pour the mix into the baking tray and gently smooth the top with a spatula.

• Place in the oven for 20 minutes on the top shelf.

• A test skewer should come out with a bit of mixture on still, unlike a cake. It’s indicating gooey fudge!

 Tip

• Scrunch up your baking parchment before lining so it’s easier to push into the tray.

• Let the brownies cool completely before removing from the tray by lifting up in the parchment. Divide into portions with a sharp knife.