Recipe by Dr. Sarah Lantz
I know, right? Ice-cream floats. Awesome! It’s definitely a throwback from childhood; a swirling glass fantasy of sweet, creamy ice-cream and fizzy soda just like they would have had in Enid Blyton’s The Magic Faraway Tree.
The floats we offer here have that same childhood appeal; fizzy, swirly, creamy, dreamy, but they’re also rich with fermented probiotics. And you can make endless flavour variations of this beverage/dessert (bevsert?) because kombucha and ice-cream come in about a million varieties.
Make your own ice-cream and kombucha or buy decent brands (preferably certified organic!) at the store to enjoy these floats on a whim. These floats are the perfect easy dessert to serve to a party. They’re just fun!
The basic formula involves a cup of kombucha (pick the flavour you like best) paired with a large scoop or more of ice-cream (coconut milk, kefir, almond, frozen yoghurt, frozen banana ‘nice-cream’).
All you need to do is scoop your choice of ice-cream into a jar or tall glass, and pour a generous amount of your favourite kombucha slowly over the top. Enjoy with a straw, a spoon and a beautiful sunset (preferably in a hammock). To flavour things up even more, you could add a tablespoon of honey or maple syrup, sliced or squashed berries, fruits, chocolate shavings, bee pollen, cinnamon or jam. For an adult version, try your favourite liquor or craft beer.
Below are two of our favourite floats, but we’re not fussy. Any combo of kombucha and ice-cream will do the trick.
Chocolate Coffee Kombucha Banana Nice-Cream Float
This recipe is our version of an iced mocha. It provides a double-whammy of decadence with coffee kombucha and a magic chocolate sauce topping that sets to a hard shell the instant it hits ice cream – a choc top delight!
Ingredients
For the float:
- 1 cup of your favourite coffee kombucha (or a simple, straight-up kombucha works well too)
- 2 or 3 frozen bananas
- Cinnamon
For the chocolate magic shell topping
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- ¼ cup coconut butter
- ½ cup cacao powder
- ¼ cup raw honey or maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of sea salt
Method
- Blend frozen bananas until they are a thick, smooth creamy texture. Refrigerate for about an hour until it sets a little more.
- While the nice-cream is setting, you can get on with making the magic shell topping.
- First, shave down the coconut butter with a knife or grater.
- Gently heat the coconut oil, coconut butter, cacao powder and sweetener together in a small saucepan over a very low heat. Stir until ingredients are melted.
- Add vanilla and salt and mix. Taste.
- Now you can assemble your float. Scoop the banana nice-cream into a tall glass and pour over the kombucha. Top off with another scoop of ice-cream. Then pour the warm magic shell sauce over your float. It will harden over the nice-cream. You can store the sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator and simply reheat over low to reuse. This recipe makes approximately 1 ¼ cups of magic shell sauce.
Ginger Pina Colada Kombucha Float
For those occasions when you’re feeling festive, the classic Pina Colada flavours of coconut and pineapple is tough to beat. We think the subtle spiciness of a little ginger zing pairs perfectly with this float.
Ingredients
- ½ cup pineapple juice (fresh is best)
- 1 cup ginger-infused kombucha
- 2 scoops coconut-based vanilla ice-cream
- Coconut flakes
Method
- Fill a chilled glass with one scoop of coconut ice-cream.
- Pour the pineapple juice over the ice-cream until the glass is half full. Add another scoop of ice-cream. Slowly top with kombucha, filling the glass to the rim.
- Top with coconut shavings. Enjoy with a spoon and a straw or sip straight from the glass.
Recipe by:
Dr Sarah Lantz (PhD)
Buchi Brew Co. & Sacred Women’s Way
Image: Gutsy Ferments
