Banana ice cream ‘cheesecake’
Nadiya's brilliant no-bake ‘cheesecake’ is actually vegan. It uses frozen banana ice cream instead of cream cheese for the filling, with an oaty hazelnut base and tart blueberry topping.
Ingredients
For the base
- 160²µ/5¾´Ç³ú porridge oats
- 160²µ/5¾´Ç³ú roasted whole hazelnuts
- 60ml/2fl oz coconut oil, plus extra for greasing
- 185²µ/6½´Ç³ú golden syrup
- pinch salt
For the filling
- 7 frozen bananas, about 580g/1lb 4½oz, chopped into pieces
- 2 tbsp golden syrup
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
For the compote
- 250g/9oz fresh or frozen blueberries
- ½ lemon, zest and juice
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú caster sugar
Method
Grease and line the base and sides of a 20cm/8in round loose-bottom tin, 7.5cm/3in deep.
To make the base, toast the oats and hazelnuts in a large frying pan on a medium heat for about 5 minutes until they just start to turn golden-brown, stirring all the time. Pop them straight into a food processor and blend to a fine crumb. Add the coconut oil, golden syrup and salt and blend again until it all clumps together.
Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and, using the back of a spoon, press into the base and 2.5cm/1in up the side. Put the base in the fridge while you make the filling.
To make the filling, put the frozen bananas into a food processor with the golden syrup, cinnamon and cocoa. Leave for 5 minutes to allow the bananas to defrost just very slightly so that they process more easily, then blend until you have what looks like a soft-scoop ice cream. Quickly spoon the mixture on top of the prepared base and pop into the freezer until you are ready to eat.
When you are ready to eat, make the compote by adding the blueberries, lemon zest and juice and sugar to a pan and stirring over a medium heat until the blueberries have just softened. This should only take a few minutes. You can make the compote well in advance and, if you do, keep it chilled in the fridge until serving.
Take the cheesecake out of the freezer, slide it out of the cake tin and place on a serving dish. Add the warm compote on top and leave for just a few minutes before slicing and enjoying.
