Date paste is a natural sweetener, rich and sweet, perfect for enhancing your desserts. It is super simple to prepare and can be used in ice creams, as a base in preparations or swirled for a sweet touch. Its creamy texture and delicate taste make it an ideal complement to vanilla, chocolate or even fruit ice creams.
Ingredients :
- 300 g pitted dates (preferably Medjool for their sweetness)
- 150 ml of hot water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional, to balance sweetness)
- 1 pinch of salt (to bring out the taste)
Preparation :
- Prepare the dates
If your dates are a little dry, soak them in hot water for about 10 minutes to soften them. This will make mixing easier and give a smoother texture to the dough. - Blending the dates
Drain the softened dates and put them in a blender. Add the hot water (adjusting the quantity to obtain the desired consistency), the lemon juice and the pinch of salt. Mix until you obtain a smooth and homogeneous paste. If it is too thick, add a little more hot water, spoon by spoon. - Adjust the texture
Continue mixing until you obtain a creamy paste. You can leave it slightly grainy for more texture or blend it until perfectly smooth, depending on your preference. - Store your date paste
Pour the date paste into an airtight jar and store it in the refrigerator. It keeps easily for several weeks.
My Personal Tip:
Date paste is great for creating homemade “Snickers”-style ice cream bars by spreading it on a base of chocolate or vanilla ice cream before covering everything with melted chocolate and leaving it to rest in the freezer. You can also use it as a natural binder in frozen crumble recipes or even incorporate it into banana ice cream for a dessert without added sugar, but ultra delicious. Its creamy texture makes it perfect for replacing sugar in fruit-based ice creams!
And there you have it, a homemade date paste that offers lots of creative and healthy possibilities for your Ninja Creami ice creams. It's up to you to explore all these ideas!
