After a very lukewarm and cloudy few months, the last couple of weeks have finally started to feel like summer! Goodness knows how long it’ll last (already the clouds seem to be returning…), so it’s great to be able to take advantage of it while it does. This ice cream recipe fits the bill perfectly – it’s ready in minutes and requires no ice cream maker or specialist equipment. It also happens to be vegan, and has no added sugar! I promise it doesn’t taste it though – the coconut cream lends it a deliciously smooth richness, while the natural sweetness of the raspberries speaks for itself. If your raspberries are a little tart, or you have a particularly sweet tooth, you can add a little agave nectar or maple syrup to the mix, but try it without first.

I’ve found it’s worth keeping the ingredients to hand just on the off-chance, as you can never tell what the weather will do next. As this recipe doesn’t contain anything to stop it freezing solid, it’s best eaten straightaway: if stored in the freezer it will become very hard and develop ice crystals. These won’t affect the flavour – they’ll just give a more crumbly, less smooth texture, and you may need to give it time to defrost slightly (or briefly microwave it) before scooping!

Ingredients (makes 600ml):
– 350g raspberries, frozen
– 250ml carton coconut cream, refrigerated
– 1 tbsp agave nectar or maple syrup (optional)

1. Put the raspberries and coconut cream into a food processor and blitz until smooth and creamy. Taste, then if necessary whizz in the agave nectar.

2. Scoop into bowls or cones to serve. I topped mine with chopped pistachios, dark chocolate and raspberry sauce, but you can use anything you like – chopped pecans, freeze dried raspberry pieces, cacao nibs fresh berries or honeycomb would all work brilliantly.

Tip: If your food processor gets hot while blitzing and softens up the ice cream, don’t worry. Transfer it to a container and chill in the freezer for 30 minutes, until firm enough to scoop.