We don’t make enough banana ice cream. That’s the truth. It’s just so dang good. This week’s flavor is a deconstructed version of my favorite banana bread recipe and it really is banana bread incarnate in ice cream form. Maybe you don’t like banana flavored things, and for that I pray for you. Or maybe you just don’t like walnuts with your bananas, and while I believe you are completely wrong, I forgive you. Or you have nut allergies, and I am very sorry for you. For everyone else, enjoy.
The process begins with the bananas. Similar to making banana bread, bananas are best for this recipe when they are very ripe to overripe. However, for roasting purposes you’re better off with bananas that are not so ripe they are mush. The bananas are chopped, tossed in a bit of melted butter, dusted with brown sugar and roasted to caramelization heaven.
Once caramelized, the bananas are pureed with bit of milk. The puree is added to a brown sugar ice cream base with a hint of vanilla.
The walnuts are roasted briefly on a sheet pan with a bit of butter, salted well and added in the last few minutes of the churn. The honey is layered at the end. Make sure to use quality honey – it makes all the difference in the world. We have a lot of great honey in the midwest, and for this flavor we used Ames Farm.
The result is seriously one of my favorite flavors we’ve made in awhile. It’s full of rich roasted banana flavor, accented by a buttery, salty crunch from the walnuts and a bright sweet kick here and there from the honey swirl. Pick up a pint at our kitchen this weekend!
Roasted Banana with Honey and Salted Walnut Ice Cream
Ingredients:
2 Ripe Bananas
2 Tablespoons Butter, melted
1 Cup Walnuts
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2Cup Honey
2 Cups Heavy Cream
1 Cup Whole Milk
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar plus more for dusting bananas
2 Eggs
2 teaspoons salt
Instructions:
1. Prepare the walnuts: Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Toss 1 cup of walnuts with 1 tablespoon of melted butter and spread on sheet pan. Generously sprinkle 1teaspoon of salt over the walnuts and place in oven for 5 minutes. Remove, set aside and let cool. Once cool, place walnuts in freezer bag or container and freeze until ready to go in ice cream.
2. Prepare the banana ice cream: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Chop bananas into 1/2 inch chunks and toss with a the melted butter until coated. Place on sheet pan and dust with brown sugar. Place in oven and roast for approx 10-15 minutes or until bananas are starting to carmelize. Puree with the one cup of whole milk you will be using for the ice cream base and set aside.
Crack eggs into a mixing bowl and whisk fully. Add brown sugar and whisk until sugar and eggs are combined. Add cream, banana puree, vanilla and salt and whisk again until all are fully incorporated.
Place ice cream base in a pot over medium heat, stirring continuously. Continue to heat mixture until temperature reaches 165 degrees. Remove from heat. Cool the ice cream base to room temperature (an ice bath will do this in about 15-20 minutes) and then place in a container, cover, and chill in refrigerator overnight.
3. Churn ice cream base in ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. Add walnuts in last 5 minutes of the churning process. Place the ice cream into container and swirl in the honey. Freeze in a tightly covered container for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight if you can wait. Then, enjoy!
*Yields approximately 2.5 pints
If you’d rather not make it, you can be one of two lucky winners of this fabulous, scratch made craft ice cream in our weekly pint giveaway. Enter your name in the comments section here, or on our facebook page under the posted contest. Two winners will be drawn randomly on Friday 3/6/15 at 4pm. Winners must be able to pick up locally in Minneapolis. Prizes must be claimed by email within one week or we will redistribute. 🙂 Good luck!
