Chocolate-Peanut Butter Fudge Sauce Over Banana "Nice" Cream: Simple Vegan Yum for Food 'n Flix: Just Desserts

Well this is a little embarrassing... I actually tried to be timely for once for a blog event. In this case it was girlichef's Food 'n Flix, hosted this round by Tina of Life in the Slow Lane at Squirrel Head Manor. Tina picked the romantic foodie comedy Just Desserts as the September selection. I deliberately ordered my movie from Netflix at the beginning of the month, watched it, and had a game plan of what I was going to make. (Sounds good so far right?) The problem is, I watched THE WRONG MOVIE!!! I don't know why, but I had it in my head that we were watching Simply Irresistible. Two word title? Female main characters? Fluffy foodie romance without a lot of chemistry between the leads? For whatever reason I mixed them up.


When I discovered my error last week, it was too late to get a copy of Just Desserts and I did see it many years ago and don't remember being enamored enough by it to go to great lengths to watch it again. The basic story is that a baker enters a contest in order to earn enough money to save his family's failing bakery and needs the help of a restaurant pastry chef to help him win. Of course that's where the romance comes in as the baker and pastry chef get over their initial dislike and start to fall for each other.

Despite my error, I still wanted to join in the Food 'n Flix fun. A logical choice would be to bake something decadent, but instead I went for simpler fare. I have been wanting to try the Choco PB Syrup recipe from The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions by Celine Steen and Joni Marie Newman, a great little book I picked up a while back. The 5-ingredient recipe uses cocoa powder, natural peanut butter, Sucanat (evaporated cane juice), water and vanilla.

Needing something to serve it on, I whipped up one of my favorite treats, Banana "Nice" Cream. You have probably seen it before on different blogs--chopped and frozen bananas (and I like to add a little vanilla) are whipped into a creamy soft-serve style ice cream in the food processor. It's the recipe I get the most repeat requests for at the cooking demos I do--no one can believe that the creamy ice cream-like treat is just frozen bananas.

So chocolate, peanut butter, bananas... whole, natural ingredients and a little bit of perfection in my book.

The Banana "Nice" Cream without the sauce--see how creamy!

The authors say, "This syrup just begs to be poured over nondairy ice cream or added to milk alternatives or whatever strikes your fancy. Another win for Sucanat! Another loss for tooth decay and weight management..."

Choco PB Syrup

From "The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions"

(Yields about 2 1/4 Cups)

1/2 cup (40 g) Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1/4 cup (64 g) creamy all natural salted peanut butter

2 cups (384 g) Sucanat

1 cup (235 ml) water

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Using a blender, combine all ingredients (except vanilla) until perfectly smooth. Transfer mixture to a medium saucepan, bring to a boil. Lower to medium heat and cook for about 3 minutes. Watch carefully and whisk occasionally, as mixture tends to rise! Remove pan from heat and stir in vanilla.

Let cool completely. The syrup will thicken a little as it cools. Transfer to an airtight glass bottle and store in fridge. Will keep for a couple of weeks.

Note: Fancy a hot fudge sauce-like consistency? Add an extra 2 tablespoons (10 g) Dutch-processed cocoa powder and 2 tablespoons (32 g) of the all-natural salted peanut butter.

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(Just in case you need it...)

Banana “Nice" Cream

(Makes about 2 servings)

2-3 frozen ripe bananas (peel bananas, cut into small chunks and freeze in Ziploc bag)
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

Place banana chunks (and vanilla if using), in a food processor and process for about 3-5 minutes, stopping the processor occasionally and scraping down the sides. The bananas will eventually begin to get lighter and smoother and will take on the texture of ice cream. Scoop into a bowl and enjoy.

Notes/Results: I wanted for the fudge sauce-like consistency mentioned in the recipe note and so I added the extra cocoa powder and peanut butter. This is one thick, rich, delicious fudge sauce (it gets considerably thicker after time spent in the fridge). The chocolate definitely comes through as the star player, with the peanut butter being more subtle. It was fabulous on the banana "nice" cream, and also delicious blended up with some almond milk and a little coffee in the blender and served over ice for a coffee shop-style treat. Sure it's still sugar and has calories, but compare the ingredient list to bottled fudge sauce and this is a great alternative. I imagine that if you can't find Sucanat (look in the natural food store sweetener section), any minimally processed sugar will work. I will make this again.

Check out the Food 'n Flix round up at Tina's soon to see what other recipes Just Desserts inspired. The October movie pick is Ratatouille hosted at The Seventh Level of Boredom, and guess what? November's pick is Simply Irresistible. ;-) I'll be very early for that one!