Neapolitan Banana Ice Cream

School is out for summer, and a long stretch of entertaining my daughter is upon me. The one thing I know she's going to want daily is ice-cream. Of course, it's hot, the ice-cream van and its repetitive tune drives up and down the road. Strategically placed at every park and all I can think of is SUGAR.

So when the guys at Princess asked me to come up with some simple recipes for parents using their awesome blender, ice-cream was top of my list. The difference with this ice-cream is that it is dairy and refined sugar free, quick to make and the flavour combinations are endless.

But I just want to get back to the blender, because I have had a lot of blenders in my life. Just ask my husband, apparently I always need a new one. My past blenders have been on the same price point as this Princess one (£49.99), but this is on a different level. When the box arrived I was taken aback by how professional it looked for the price point.  But the different functions are what impressed me the most.

As a busy mom, anything that can save me time is a huge bonus. This blender can stir, whisk, chop, grind, blend and mix. The first thing I did when I opened it was throw some ice in, I wanted to see how good it was. My past blenders have never been able to crush ice, this blender did it in a few seconds.

I was amazed at the efficiency, the fact that you can adjust the speed setting, the power of the motor. It really has become my favourite tool in the kitchen since getting it a few weeks ago. I've used it to create pastes, sauces, smoothies, ice cream and hummus.

With this recipe I focused on the three simple ice cream flavours of Neapolitan; chocolate, strawberry and vanilla. They really are simple and not just for children. My husband loved it and ate a whole bowl, with simple vanilla being his favourite. I love the chocolate, as it feels indulgent but it really isn't. Of course, saving all that sugar surely means sprinkles are allowed right?

Serves: 4 scoopsPrep time: 10 minsFreeze time: 4 hoursHands on time: 15 minsTotal time: 4 hours, 25 mins

Ingredients

• 3 bananas, chopped in to thin slices
• For Vanilla: add 1 tsp vanilla bean extract
• For chocolate: add 1 & a half tbsp cocoa powder (I use raw but you can use any if you wish)
• For strawberry: add 8 strawberries and a squeeze of honey or maple syrup (around 1 tbsp)

Directions

1. Slice your bananas in to thin slices, lay them flat on a freezable tray or in a freezer bag. Pop them in the freezer for four hours, once frozen you can either keep them flat or shake them and pack them however. They shouldn't stick together, but if they do just give the bag a small tap on a hard surface.
2. Add frozen banana slices to blender with chosen flavour ingredients and blend it bursts, turning the machine off and scraping down the sides. This gives the blender a small rest and means the motor does not get overwhelmed. With the Princess blender, I blended on the speed setting (level 5) in 30 second bursts.
3. You can either serve straight away, or pop the mixture back in to a freezable container and serve when ready. If leaving for a while, sit the container on a surface for a few minutes before serving.