I think summer has gone by too quickly. Here we are, almost at the end of September and Ice Cream Sunday’s. Sadly, only 2 weeks left.
Nick likes banana ice cream, so I decided that would be this weeks flavor! However, I didn’t want plain banana ice cream, and I didn’t want to add chocolate to it. You know I love chocolate, but I thought I had already done enough ice cream recipes with chocolate in it- at least for one summer!
What came to mind was Bananas Foster. But without the rum. I know that some of you are booing me right now- no rum? But wait- even though I don’t like it, doesn’t mean that you can’t add it in! Either flambe the bananas with the alcohol, like in a real bananas foster, or add rum extract to the ice cream mixture*. See- problem solved!
Anyways! With or without the rum, this is a great tasting ice cream! The brown sugar sauce balances the taste of the bananas nicely. The ice cream would pair well with a piece of toasted (or grilled) pound cake!
Banana Brown Sugar Ice Cream
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 1/2 cups half and half
6 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
4 peeled bananas, ripe but not mushy
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
To make the ice cream base:
In a medium-sized saucepan, whisk together the heavy cream and half and half. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring continuously.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar, until the mixture is well combined and smooth.
Once the cream mixture comes to a simmer, pour 1/3 of it into the egg yolk mixture and whisk quickly to combine. Repeat this step 2 more times, until all the cream has been incorporated into the egg yolk mixture. Pour this combined mixture back into the saucepan. Over medium-low heat, stirring slowly and continuously, let the mixture come up to 175 degrees (using a candy thermometer). Once the ice cream base has come up to temperature, remove from the heat and strain through a sieve into a heat-safe bowl. Let cool to room temperature.
For the bananas:
In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add in the brown sugar and stir to combine. Slice the bananas in half width-wise, then in half length-wise. Lay the bananas, cut side down, in the brown sugar mixture (you may need to do this in 2 batches). Cook for 1 minute, then carefully flip over the bananas and cook for an additional minute. Remove only the bananas from the skillet and place in a heat safe container. Repeat with the remaining bananas (if needed). Once all the bananas have been cooked, remove the pan from the heat and let the sauce cool for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, pour the sauce into the container with the bananas and set aside to cool. Once the mixture is cool, place in a food processor and pulse until the bananas are in small pieces (but not totally pureed). Pour into the room temperature ice cream base and stir to combine. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
After 4 hours, give the mixture a quick stir, then process the ice cream according to your ice cream machine manufacturers instructions. Once the ice cream is ready, scoop (or pour- the ice cream should be a thick milkshake consistency) into a freezer-safe container. Cover and freeze for 4 hours. Serve and enjoy!
Notes:
1. If you want to add rum flavor to the ice cream, I suggested two ways to do so (above)*. Alcohol lowers the freezing temperature, so you have to be careful with how much you add. If you flambe the bananas, it will impart the alcohol flavor without affecting the freezing point as much, because you have burned off a good amount of the alcohol. The other way to achieve the rum flavor, is to add rum extract. I would do this at the time of adding the bananas to the ice cream mix.
2. I had to churn my ice cream in two batches. I have a 1.5 quart canister for my ice cream machine, so keep this in mind. If your machine holds more, you may be able to just run 1 batch (your canister may hold all the ice cream base, but you want to leave room for the mixture to expand).
Made with love, not calories!
Set the mixture aside until you are ready to add it to your ice cream.
