When I was growing up, we spent several summers traveling the southwestern U.S. It was on one of those trips that I had my first taste of fried ice cream. The combination of a cinnamon-spiked shell, a cold ice cream center, and honey drizzled on top was too good to be true.
With our farmer's market starting to fill with Missouri peaches, I wanted to do something simple and easy with my latest haul. Just like this peach crumble, I've been on a kick roasting fruit this summer.
Combining honey-roasted peaches with crunchy teff grains and cool, creamy ice cream seemed like a great match.
If you are not familiar with teff, it is a teeny-tiny naturally gluten-free grain that is touted as a nutritional powerhouse.
A good source of calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc—it can be used in grain form for porridge or stews, ground into flour, and used in baked goods.
My favorite applications to date have involved using teff flour in cookies and brownies, like these teff cookies with almond butter or these fudgy brownies. Also, Renee, over at Will Frolic for Food, has a deliciously easy recipe for spiced teff chocolate mousse.
Teff's nutty flavor mixes well with the cinnamon, vanilla, and honeyed peaches, plus adds a little satisfying crunch to the outside ice cream coating.
If you don't have teff on hand, or really want some of this delicious baked fruit, you can still easily enjoy the honey-roasted peaches with ice cream.


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Honey Roasted Peaches with Teff-Crusted Ice Cream (Gluten-Free, Refined Sugar-Free)
Ingredients
Honey Roasted Peaches:
- ½ tablespoon coconut oil or butter
- 3 ripe but firm peaches halved and pitted
- ¼ cup honey or agave syrup if vegan
Teff-Crusted Ice Cream:
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons teff grains not flour*
- 3 tablespoons coconut sugar**
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- ½ cup regular or non-dairy vanilla ice cream
Instructions
- Line a small to medium cookie sheet with parchment paper and place in the freezer.
- Starting with the peaches, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 2-quart baking dish with the tablespoon of coconut oil. Place peach halves cut side up in baking dish. Drizzle the honey over the peach halves as well as allowing it to drizzle into baking dish. Bake for about 30 minutes or until peaches are softened and slightly golden.
- While the peaches are roasting, place tablespoon of coconut oil in a small sauce over low heat. Add teff and coconut sugar, stirring as the coconut oil melts. Add cinnamon and salt. Stir until evenly mixed (it will look like wet sand). Remove from heat and pour onto a piece of parchment paper to cool. Once cool, transfer to small bowl.
- Remove cookie sheet from the freezer, Scoop ice cream using a tablespoon and roll in teff mixture. Transfer to cookie sheet. Continue with each scoop of ice cream and place cookie sheet back in freezer for 15 minutes or until ready to serve.
- When the peaches are ready, place each peach on a small plate or bowl. Reserve the honey sauce from the pan. If the honey sauce has hardened a bit, add a tablespoon or two of water and whisk.
- Take the feff-crusted ice cream from the freezer, placing each ball on top of a peach. You will have two extra. Spoon the honey sauce over the top of each serving. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition

Emily | Gather & Dine
I just found a bag of Teff flour in my pantry too (probably inspired to make one of your recipes, but never actually followed-through :( ) so I'm going to go through your teff baking recipes and find a way to use it! And now I'll have to go out and find teff grains too! This sounds and looks so wonderful- the perfect way to use those summer peaches.
Tessa
You are the sweetest. <3 It adds the perfect bit of crunch to those juicy roasted peaches! The nice thing about teff grains is that once they are in the pantry, they do come in handy for an easy breakfast porridge!
danielle | rooting the sun
So gorgeous, Tessa! I am smitten with the current peach season - there seems to be no shortage and no doing wrong with them. This is fantastic, the teff is such a great touch. Thank you for the inspiration. xo
Tessa
Thank you, Danielle! I am smitten with peach season too. Think I've had at least one every day for the last couple weeks! You are so right - there is no doing wrong with them! xoxo.
amanda paa
just reading this brought back memories of eating fried ice cream at my favorite mexican restaurant growing up, in a small town close by. i would have never, ever thought of making something similar using teff. you're so creative! i will definitely have to try this. i do love your teff cookies. :) xo
Tessa
Fried ice cream is such a memorable treat, isn't it? Just when you thought ice cream couldn't get any better, it does. I'm so glad you enjoy the teff cookies! They are my favorite. I like that this recipe gives me another reason to use the teff grains other than porridge! <3
Traci | Vanilla And Bean
I have a bag of Teff in my pantry unopened, I've had for at least 6 months. I had good intentions. I'd read about it, it's health benefits and delicious flavor but forgot about it hiding behind all the jars filled with bulk items. I'm so happy to read how you've used it here, Tessa! It's such a delicious way to enjoy Teff and I would have never thought about crusting ice cream with it! You've got the pinnacle of pastry here: warm, crunchy, creamy, cold ! And such a beautiful presentation! xo
Tessa
Haha, teff seems to hang around the pantry here too. A little goes a long way! Yes, yes - warm, crunchy, creamy, cold! That's it! :)
Thank you, Traci! Have a great weekend! xo.
Kelly @ Inspired Edibles
The light in these photos (it must be said first) is exquisite. That last shot is a jaw dropper ~ you must have found your spot :) we've moved around a lot and I continue to roam for the 'right' light. I dream of the day when I might be able to replace our groovy orange & blue art inspired walls with a neutral grey :o This recipe is such a novel way of adding interest and texture to your lovely dessert - I also like the use of cinnamon in combination with the teff; I can taste this one!
Tessa
Oh, thank you, Kelly! That means a lot. I totally understand finding the right light - it is a constant battle for me. We've been in our place for just about a year now and I feel like maybe I'm figuring it out. We have several brick walls that I am constantly shielding the photos from! Ha.
Yes, I love the cinnamon with the teff! Hard to keep it to eating only one rolled ice cream ball. ;) xoxo.
Sarah @ Snixy Kitchen
I've actually never used teff flour, but now I am so intrigued! I love the idea of rolling scoops of ice cream into the teff flour - genius!
Tessa
I have to say, rolling ice cream in the teff mixture was pretty fun! Haha, or maybe I'm just easily amused. ;) With this recipe you'll want teff grains instead of teff flour. Although, teff is so, so tiny it is hard to tell the difference! I had to make sure I grabbed the right bag when I was testing. <3
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen
This is sooo up my alley Tessa! And I've never tried teff, so now I'll get to try something new! Thanks for sharing and have a great weekend!
Tessa
Oh yay! I'm so glad. For such a tiny grain teff really has some good for you power. I hope you enjoy this, Mary Ann! xoxo
Abby @ Heart of a Baker
I can't even tell you how excited I am about this recipe! That crusted ice cream! Those peaches! I think this calls for a trip to the grocery store ASAP. I still have some of the teff flour leftover from when I made your brownies and I think this will be the perfect way to use it up :) Happy Friday! xoxo
Tessa
Aw, yay! Thank you, friend! I've been eating peaches all week and I can't get enough. So satisfying! This recipe does use the teff grain and not the flour, although I feel like you have to use a microscope to almost tell the difference! Ha. So tiny!
Happy Friday to you!!! <3 <3 <3