BON APPETIT: Ice-cream made easy( Strawberry/Banana & Roasted Almonds)

When you have 3 icecream fanatics at home and yours truly is the only one who is not crazy about the creamy delights, then you get all the what's wrong with you stares ! At any point of time there is always a box of Baskin Robbins in the freezer ready to be devoured and while my hubby constantly sneaks in to the kitchen to scoop out a generous spoon or two, he wonders how I refrain from succumbing to the frozen wonders :-O
Now, how do I put it gently & succinctly ??
----- I am more licking down the nutella, peanut butter & condensed milk straight from the jars/tins type of gal and for me the pleasure of these sinful indulgences weigh more than the scoop of icecream. Nevertheless, I do enjoy the frozen dessert and occasionally indulge in it big time !

Oops! There I go letting cat out of the bag and you all know the secret (??) of my healthy (!?) figure :P ;))
It's been a while, my refrigerator saw some ice-cream action what with kids falling sick and when hubby dearest was itching to tickle his taste-buds,the strawberries & bananas beckoned me and I went ahead and made 2 separate batches of ice-creams ; While bananas made a happy pair with roasted almonds, strawberries gelled well with the creamy mix for another batch.

I don't have an ice-cream churner at home ,nor do I get double-cream/heavy whipping cream easily in the stores, but fresh cream,cream cheese & condensed milk are a few ingredients that graces my refrigerator most of the times, and all these things go in to making a wonderfully creamy treat

Strawberries, the wonderfully luscious berries is something that goes kaput, the moment I get a bunch. The fact that are fat-free,low in calories as well as are a good source of folic acid & fiber ensures that we wolf them straight away !

Verdict :-

The rush of the strawberry hit and the nutty ripe bananas got a whopping thumbs-up. As the weather swings from pleasantly cool to mildly chilly , the tingly ice-creams was a happy devouring experience.

For the Strawberry ice-cream :-

Strawberries - 250 grams
Condensed Milk - 400 grams (I used Nestle Milkmaid)
Amul Fresh Cream - 300 ml (or use double cream/heavy whipping cream)
Cream Cheese - 2 generous spoons (I used Brittania) ,optional - gives a richer creamier taste
Little Less than a pinch of salt
Half a lemon

For the Banana & Roasted Almonds ice-cream

Bananas - 6 to 7 small sized ripe bananas
Almonds - a fisful (Roasted till smoky & charred and roughly chopped)
Condensed Milk - 400 grams (I used Nestle Milkmaid)
Amul Fresh Cream - 300 ml (or use double cream/heavy whipping cream)
Cream Cheese - 2 generous spoons (I used Brittania) , optional - gives a richer creamier taste
Little Less than a pinch of salt
Half a lemon

For Garnish :-

Chocolate Syrup /Butter Scotch Topping
Roasted & coarsely chopped/grated Nuts
Fresh cut fruits
Cherries or Glazed Cherries
Any choice Toppings

Useful Pointers while making ice-cream

1.	The mix will expand when freezed, so put it in a plastic tub the right size with enough space in the top.
2.	Cover it with a cling film and the lid of the box/tub has to be shut air-tight
3.	You can add choco-chips or marshmallows too before scraping it to the tub.
4.	It is OK if the mix is tad sharper/sweeter than you wished for; as freezing tones down the flavor over time, the mix will adjust to the right taste

How :- (Same procedure for both the ice-creams)

Puree the strawberries in a food processor or blender and squeeze in the half lemon. Set it aside.

For the banana ice-cream, roast the almonds till a smoky hue and roughly chop the nuts , puree the bananas with a dash of lemon juice and mix with the nuts.

In a large bowl, mix the condensed milk, fresh cream, cream cheese and whisk it on a medium speed with an electric beater till they are frothy , swirly & gushy

Gently fold in the strawberry puree/banana puree & nuts and salt in to the cream mix and scrape them into a plastic box.

Freeze it for 4-6 hours and enjoyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy !