I love chocolate! My husband loves ice cream! I wanted to create a healthy ice cream bar recipe for my husband, son and I. I was inspired to create this recipe after a trip to an ice cream shop. My parents, husband, son and I stopped into an ice cream shop in our downtown for chocolate dipped frozen bananas one day. After this sweet treat, I began making them at home for my family. My creative side pushed me to expand outside of simply a chocolate dipped frozen banana to an ice cream bar.
I decided to create a flavored ice cream bar. I knew caramel pairs well with bananas and could also overpower the banana flavor. I wanted the “ice cream” bar to be dairy-free so I decided to create a date caramel. The three ingredient caramel was so easy to whip up.
Ingredients
- 4 ripe bananas (medium size)
- Date Caramel:
- 10 neglet dates
- 4 teaspoons almond butter
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Chocolate Magic Shell:
- 16 ounces 70% dark chocolate, chopped*
- 4 tablespoons coconut oil
Instructions
Peel each banana and wrap in plastic wrap. Place the bananas in the freezer and freeze until firm, about 8 hours.
For the date caramel, place the dates in a shallow bowl. Cover with hot boiling water. Allow to sit for 10 minutes.
Transfer the dates from the water to a food processor. Add the almond butter and vanilla.
Process until a paste forms. You may have to stop the food processor a few time to scrape down the sides of the container.
Remove the bananas from the freezer and break into pieces. Place the banana pieces in the food processor with the date caramel. Process until a thick ice cream mixture forms, about 2 to 3 minutes. You may have to stop the food processor to scrape down the sides of the container a few times. Immediately spoon the mixture to popsicle molds. Push popsicle sticks halfway through the middle of each mold. Place in the freezer and freeze overnight.
For the magic shell, combine the chocolate and coconut oil in a bowl. Microwave in increments of a minute until the chocolate melts. Stir until smooth. Pour into a tall glass.
Run cold water on the outside of the popsicle molds to easily release the "ice cream" bars. Remove one bar at a time and dip in the magic shell. Place on a wax paper lined baking sheet. Repeat with the additional bars.
Freeze for 1 to 2 hours or until hardened.
Enjoy!
Makes 8 (2-ounce 1/4 cup) popsicles.
Makes about 6 (2.6-ounce 1/3 cup) popsicles.
Notes
*I recommend Theo brand 70% dark chocolate. You can find this chocolate in the candy section of your grocery store.
4 Comments
Catherine M.
April 26, 2019 at 1:53 pmI am so looking forward to trying this! I can’t eat gluten or dairy,so this recipe is perfect for me. Plus, I love the flavor of dark chocolate covered bananas. Thank you, Whitney!
Whitney
May 9, 2019 at 2:24 pmI hope you enjoy it! I just tried to make a coconut version. I am still working on the recipe.
Alicia Murray
April 28, 2019 at 6:43 pmLooks delish!
Banoffee Pie – Whitney Miller
May 14, 2019 at 12:43 pm[…] as date syrup for cooking. I used dates in this recipe to create a date caramel. See my recipe for “Caramel Ice Cream” Bars where I create a date caramel to flavor nice cream bars. In my banoffee pie, I needed a loose […]