The other day I was invited for a barbeque at a friend’s house. I volunteered to bring a dessert. As I threw around some ideas, he mentioned that didn’t like the eggy flavor of gelato but did like bananas. Thus, an idea was born – banana ice cream. This was my first try at making ice cream. Bananas, dark chocolate and almonds – what a great flavor combination!! My friends were calling it “chunky monkey” but I dubbed it “bananarama”!!! Whatever you call it, if you like bananas, it’s worth a try! It’s easier to make than gelato because you don’t have to make a custard… just blend the ingredients and voila!!
Banana Ice Cream
Ingredients:
1 cup almonds
1 cup sugar
4 ripe bananas
1 quart heavy cream
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate (roughly chopped)
Procedure:
1) Place almonds on a parchment lined baking pan, sprinkle w/ cayenne pepper and sugar, then roast in preheated oven at 425 degrees for 10 minutes – let cool
2) Puree bananas in a food processor, add cream and sugar, pulse until well blended, then chill mixture in fridge for at least 4 hours
3) Churn mixture in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions, adding nuts and chocolate during last 10 minutes
4) Pour ice cream into a 2 quart plastic container and quickly stir to evenly distribute the nuts and chocolate
5) Place a piece of parchment paper cut to size on the surface of ice cream (this will reduce air exposure and prevent ice crystals from forming on the surface of the ice cream), seal container and freeze until firm
Yield: Approx. 1 ½ quarts