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  • Prep-time: / Ready In:
  • Makes 1 quart

Cocoa powder, cinnamon, and ancho chile powder give a basic banana nice cream the rich, decadent flavor of spiced Mexican hot chocolate. If you don’t have ancho chile powder, substitute ¼ to ½ teaspoon finely ground black pepper.

Ingredients

  • ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 4 large frozen bananas, broken into pieces (4 cups)
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl combine cocoa powder, ancho chile powder, and cinnamon. Whisk in ⅓ cup boiling water; let cool to room temperature.
  2. In a high-speed blender or food processor pulse banana pieces on low to medium-low until crumbly, stopping and scraping down sides once or twice. Add cocoa mixture and vanilla; blend continuously 30 seconds to 1 minute or until smooth and creamy, adding 1 to 2 Tbsp. cold water if needed.
  3. Serve immediately or transfer to a 1-qt. container and store in the freezer up to 1 week.

Comments (26)

(4.47 from 15 votes)
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Cind5 months ago
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OMG this is amazing

Cindy5 months ago
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OMG…this is amazing!

Linda8 months ago
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Yummy!

Kathy9 months ago
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Hi, do you know if you use raw cacao powder instead of cocoa powder?
Thanks

Summer10 months ago
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I cut the bananas in slices before freezing them, and when while using the food processor, the frozen bananas broke the blade (11 cups Cuisinart, 6 years old) 🙁

The final product was ok, it lacked a bit of sweetness and was banana forward. It’s edible. I now placed in popsicles molds and it’s in the freezer.
I won’t make it again.

VeggieTater10 months ago
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Not a big banana fan so I use mostly frozen baked and chopped sweet potatoes… that I let sit and defrost a bit while waiting for step 1 to cool. I also add a few dates for sweetness to the soaked mix in step 1. The final result isn’t quite as silky as plain banana and has a little more “texture”, but I find it satisfying! (I’ve even added black beans when I’ve had a open can, to boost nutrient and fiber intake.)

Katherine Kanna Modisette12 months ago
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Really good and easy. I didn’t add the Chile and used a splash of unsweetened almond milk and a bit of artificial sweetener, it turned out delicious.

Barbara1 year ago
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Liked it! Would double the ancho chili powder, couldn’t taste the spice.

Kat1 year ago
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A perfectly healthy indulgence; yumm!

Lisa King1 year ago
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My husband liked it!

Pat2 years ago
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I made this last night and it’s a winner. I used really banana-bread-ready bananas the the initial consistency was more like a smoothie. Were the bananas too ripe? In the freezer (what’s left) and of course solid now.

Sharon11 months ago
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Those bananas should be fine but they need to be in frozen chunks or the nice cream is too thin.

Pat2 years ago
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I made this last night and it’s a winner. I used really banana-bread-ripe frozen bananas and got more of a smoothie consistency. I added another frozen banana which didn’t help too much. Were my bananas too ripe? In the freezer overnight it’s now solid of course.

Laurie2 years ago
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Great flavor, though mine had a stronger banana flavor than chocolate. Nonetheless, yummy! A great relief for my newly-denied ice cream taste buds.
I also tried adding nuts. Delicious!

Lauri11 months ago
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Question for Penny about white sweet potatoes. Did you sub out all the bananas in favor of the white sweet potatoes or part? Thanks

Penny11 months ago
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I use white sweet potatoes so the chocolate outshines the base flavor. If I’m craving chocolate, I’m not craving banana! Haha

Alex2 years ago
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Delicious and so simple to make. I love the variation on chocolate nice cream which I’ve made many times. You don’t taste the banana! It’s spicy chocolatey goodness.

Melissa2 years ago
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Please, please put nutritional information with your recipes, including what is a serving!

Paul2 years ago
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The nutritional information for this will be dominated by the four bananas. If you divide the recipe into four servings, then the nutritional values be what they are for 1 banana. The cocoa power will maybe add about 10 calories per serving considering 4 servings, but you can probably have almost that variation depending upon the size of your bananas (small vs. medium vs large)

Kavita2 years ago
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Can you idea cayenne instead of ancho chili (noting it might be spicer)?

Melissa2 years ago
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Ummmm. YEAH, it will be a LOT spicier and won’t have the same smoky flavor that the ancho chili does.

Dorothy Oconnor2 years ago
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Definitely a keeper! I topped each scoop off with a salt blend of salt/cinnamon (purchased locally) and it was delicious. Can’t wait to try adding espresso powder and/or chocolate nibs.

Cindi M.2 years ago
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The ancho chile powder was an interesting twist for those who like to experiment with flavors. I’ll probably try it without next time, but it was tasty and came together easily.

Donna Van2 years ago
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I use 1/4 tsp. black pepper, instead of ancho chili powder, and this makes an excellent chocolate nice cream. It’s as good as any standard chocolate ice cream I used to eat before becoming a whole food, plant based eater. I love it!

Kathe2 years ago
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Try it with a teaspoon of expresso powdered coffee! Talk about punching up the chocolate flavor!

Lowell Rhodes2 years ago
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Honestly this is a no stars recipe, sorry I just dont like banana nice cream I guess or at least this one. I’ll keep looking

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