Ice-Cream and Giggles

Oh my goodness. You know how great Neapolitan Ice-Cream is? Well, now imagine it in a cookie sandwich. So scrumptious! I used Oreo's as the sandwich, the lazy way out as I couldn't be bothered to make cookies, but the chocolate biscuit went so well especially with the strawberry part of the ice-cream...note to self: make strawberry ice-cream sandwiches with Oreos! I made this with one of my leftover Neapolitan Ice-Cream cups, and simply sliced it and used cookie cutters to get the cross-section of the ice-cream to put in between the cookies. Too easy!

Makes 4 sandwiches, approx 5 minutes to make (if you already have an ice-cream cup prepared).

You will need:

1 Neapolitan Ice-Cream Cup
4 oreos with the filling removed (or biscuit of choice, just keep in mind you will need 8 biscuits for the 4 sandwiches).

1. Slice your ice-cream cup into 4. Using a cookie cutter which is similar in size to the Oreo, cut out circles of Neapolitan Ice-Cream.


2. Place your circle in between two Oreo's. Done!

Neapolitan Ice-Cream is one of those quintessential desserts: though simple in design, merely layers of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry, it is really effective at combining the best flavours of ice-cream together, so that you can either enjoy each separately, or all of them together. I decided to recreate a healthy, but no less delicious, version of this traditional ice-cream and to serve it in cute little mini cups, so they are kind of like cupcakes, but made of ice-cream! Moreover, this only uses three ingredients: banana, strawberries, and cocoa. This means no added sugar with all the benefits of eating bananas (e.g. high in potassium, rich in pectin which aids digestion and makes you more alert), strawberries (e.g. boosts memory, eases inflammation and anti aging properties), and cocoa (e.g. high in magnesium and antioxidants). So really, what may look like a delicious treat, is actually a healthy dessert in disguise!

Serves 4, approx. 15 minutes preparation and 2-3 hours freezing time.

You will need:

4 frozen bananas
4 strawberries
4 tsp cocoa/cacao

+ 4 cupcake patties/cups

1. Chocolate (bottom) layer: mix 1 frozen banana with 2 tsp cocoa in a food processor until smooth. Using a piping bag, pour the chocolate layer into the bottom of four cupcake patties/cups. You might need a spoon to help smooth it out.


2. Vanilla (middle) layer: pulse 1 frozen banana in a food processor until smooth. Place in a piping bag and pour on top of the chocolate layer of all four cupcake patties.


3. Strawberry (top) layer: combine 4 strawberries or more with 1 frozen banana until smooth. Place in a piping bag, and pour on top of the vanilla layer, using a spoon again to help smooth out the ice-cream.


4. Place in the freezer for an hour. You might want to use cling wrap on top of each ice-cream cup to reduce the ice-particles forming on top of the ice-cream.
5. For the top "icing" layer: combine 1 frozen banana with 2 tsp cocoa until smooth. Using a piping bag with a decorated nozzle, in a swirling motion (outside in) decorate the top.


6. Place in the freezer for another 1-2 hours.
7.When ready to serve, remove the ice-cream cups so you can see the beautiful layers!