Strawberry Nice Cream & Chocolate Quinoa Bircher

Strawberry Nice Cream & Chocolate Quinoa Bircher
4.5 from 2 ratings
"If you’re not familiar with frozen banana ice cream yet, it’s about time you were! Simply blend frozen bananas until smooth and in no time you have a lush, creamy and healthy ice cream from nature, called ‘nice cream’. The addition of frozen strawberries and coconut milk makes this nice cream extra fluffy and flavoursome. Here we pair it with a thick chocolate quinoa Bircher that will leave you fuller for longer. Practise your layering skills and you will impress any guest with this dessert. You can, of course, serve either the nice cream or the Bircher on their own if you don’t have time to prepare both." - David Freniel and Luise VindahlRecipe excerpted from the cookbook Green Kitchen Smoothies: Healthy and Colorful Smoothies For Every Day by David Freniel and Luise Vindahl. Purchase your own copy here.
Servings
1
servings
Ingredients
  • 100 gram (3½ oz/ ½ cup) uncooked white quinoa, rinsed (or 1¼ cups cooked)
  • 250 milliliter (8½ fl oz/1 cup) filtered water
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 tablespoon cacao powder
  • 120 gram (4 oz/½ cup) coconut yoghurt or greek yoghurt
  • 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup (use 2 tablespoons if you are serving the bircher on its own)
  • 200 g (7 oz/1¾ cups) frozen strawberries (organic if possible)
  • 1 frozen banana
  • 60 ml (2 fl oz/ ¼ cup) full-fat coconut milk
  • fresh strawberries, thinly sliced and whole (organic if possible), to serve
  • dark chocolate, finely chopped and grated, to serve
Directions
  1. Put the uncooked quinoa in a saucepan along with the water and salt. Cover and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 15–20 minutes or until all of the water is absorbed. Pour into a bowl and leave to cool completely. Add the rest of the Bircher ingredients, mix until well combined and set aside in the fridge while you prepare the strawberry nice cream.
  2. Put all of the strawberry nice cream ingredients in a blender and blend on a high speed until completely smooth, thick and creamy like soft-serve ice cream. Depending on the strength of your blender, you may need to wait 5–10 minutes for the ingredients to thaw slightly (alternatively, use an immersion blender).
  3. To assemble, spoon one third of the nice cream into the base of two medium-sized glass jars or a large one (as featured in the photo). For a beautiful artistic look, make messy uneven layers. Cover with half of the Bircher and press some of the sliced strawberries against the sides of each glass jar. Repeat with the rest of the nice cream, Bircher and strawberries, finishing with a thick layer of the nice cream. To create a marbled effect, simply run the back of a teaspoon up and down along the inside of the glass. Be careful not to mix too much or the layers will blend into one. Finish with a few whole strawberries, as well as a sprinkling of dark chocolate shavings and pieces, and serve straight away before it comes running down the glass jar!