Honey, Thyme & Tahini Ice Cream with Grilled Peaches (Made in the Magimix Power 5XL)

Can you make ice cream without an ice cream machine?

You can, and this one is ready with nothing more than a good blender, a freezer and a few things you probably already have in the pantry. Thick Greek yoghurt, a spoonful of tahini, honey warmed with fresh thyme and a little lemon zest. Blend, freeze, blitz again, and you've got a tangy, creamy scoop that sits beautifully on a warm, caramelised peach.

Peaches are just coming into their own as we head into summer, and this is the dessert I want on the table on a warm evening. It's simple, it feels special, and it's made from real, nourishing food.

I made it in the new Magimix Blender Power 5XL, which has quickly become the busiest appliance on my bench.

Here's why, and here's the recipe.

Why the Magimix Power 5XL earns its spot on my bench

A blender-made ice cream lives or dies on that second blitz. Frozen yoghurt is firm, and a weaker blender just spins its blades in a little air pocket. The Magimix Blender Power 5XL has a 1500W motor that pulls the frozen pieces down and turns them into something smooth and scoopable in moments.

A few things I love about it in my kitchen:

• A Desserts programme. It's one of five automatic programmes (Desserts, Ice, Soups, Smoothies and Auto Clean), so frozen treats like this are what it's built for.
• A glass jug. The 2.8 litre borosilicate glass jug handles hot and cold, so I can go from a warm soup at lunch to a frozen dessert at dinner.
• Silky texture. Magimix's double-vortex blending keeps everything moving, which means no lumps of tahini or streaks of honey.
• It's Quiet Mark certified, which my family appreciates at 7am smoothie time.
• Easy to clean. There's an Auto Clean programme, and the removable parts go in the dishwasher.
• Built to last. The motor comes with a 30-year warranty.

It also blitzes nut butters, dips, smoothies and soups, so it earns its bench space every single day, not just on dessert night.

Why this is a gut-friendly dessert

This isn't a dessert you need to feel funny about. Every ingredient brings something good to the bowl.

• Greek yoghurt. Choose one with live cultures and you're adding friendly bacteria to your dessert. These support your microbiome, the trillions of bacteria living in your gut.
• Ground sesame seeds give you healthy fats, a little plant protein and fibre, plus a nutty depth that makes the ice cream taste rich.
• Grilling them brings out their natural sweetness, so you need very little added honey. They also bring fibre, which your gut bacteria love to feed on.
• A crunchy scatter of fibre and healthy fats, and they look gorgeous too.
• Thyme and lemon. Fresh herbs and citrus add big flavour, so a small amount of honey goes a long way.

Here's why that matters: the more variety of plants you eat each week, the more variety of good bacteria you feed. Herbs, seeds, nuts and fruit all count, and this dessert has five of them.

Honey, Thyme & Tahini Ice Cream with Grilled Peaches

Serves 4

Creamy tahini, floral honey and fragrant thyme, blended until silky in the Magimix, then frozen and blitzed again for a smooth, scoopable finish. Served over warm, caramelised yellow peaches with crushed pistachios.

Ingredients

Honey, thyme & tahini ice cream

• 500 g full-fat Greek yoghurt (with live cultures)
• 2 tbsp smooth tahini
• 2 tbsp honey, plus extra to taste
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 2–3 sprigs fresh thyme
• Pinch of sea salt

Grilled peaches

• 4 ripe but firm yellow peaches
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp honey
• Fresh thyme leaves
• Pinch of flaky sea salt

To finish

• 30–40 g pistachios, roughly crushed
• Fresh thyme leaves
• Optional drizzle of honey

Method

1. Infuse the honey. Gently warm the honey with the thyme leaves over low heat for 1–2 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 5–10 minutes. Allow to cool, then remove any woody thyme stems.
2. Blend in the Magimix. Add the Greek yoghurt, tahini, infused honey, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla and sea salt to the Magimix jug. Blend until completely smooth, creamy and evenly combined. Taste, and adjust the honey or lemon to balance the sweetness and tang.
3. Freeze, then blitz. Pour the mixture into a shallow freezer-safe container and freeze until firm, about 3–4 hours. Break the frozen mixture into smaller pieces, return them to the Magimix and blitz until smooth and scoopable (the Desserts programme is perfect here), working in batches if needed. If it's too firm to blend, let it soften for a few minutes first. Serve straight away for the softest texture, or pop it back in the freezer briefly to firm up.
4. Grill the peaches. Halve the peaches and remove the stones. Brush the cut sides lightly with olive oil. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat and grill cut-side down for 3–5 minutes until caramelised and marked. Turn and cook for another 1–3 minutes, until tender but still holding their shape. Finish with a little honey, fresh thyme and flaky sea salt.
5. Place a warm grilled peach half on each plate. Add a generous scoop of ice cream and scatter with crushed pistachios. Finish with a few thyme leaves and, if you like, the lightest drizzle of honey.

Texture note: This is a Greek yoghurt-based ice cream rather than a traditional milk and cream one. It's tangier and can freeze more firmly, so that final blitz in the blender is the secret to a smooth, scoopable texture.

Tips and easy swaps

• No peaches? Try grilled nectarines, apricots or figs, or roasted plums later in the season.
• Make it dairy-free. Swap the Greek yoghurt for a thick coconut yoghurt. It'll be a little softer and sweeter, so start with less honey.
• Make it ahead. Freeze the base up to a week ahead, then do the final blitz just before serving.
• Swap the nuts. Toasted almonds or walnuts work well if you don't have pistachios.

If you make this, I'd love to see it. Tag me on Instagram and let me know how your peaches turned out.

Lee x