You Voted and I Got Into the Kitchen

I had a little vote going on the blog, and I was thrilled that you all voted.  It's still up on the right hand side if you want to check out the results.  Basically, I had a friend Kyle who requested Banana Dark Chocolate Ice Cream and you all chose the mix in.  As you can see, the votes were tied between carmel and nuts.  I was shocked by this.  I wanted to add sprinkles, but I am glad I went with you all.  Smart ones you are. It was so good.

I decided to make Roasted Banana Ice Cream out of David Lebovitz's book, The Perfect Scoop.  It's also on my Christmas list if you were wondering.  So of course, you will need bananas, ripe ones.  This was hard for me, letting them sit and become ripe.  I really, really dislike ripe bananas.  Green ones, a bit chalky, that is my favorite.  

And your choice, a little carmel sauce.  This was gooey, very gooey.

But seriously, what caramel is not gooey?

And you will need some dark chocolate.  This one is 73%.  I was a little nervous about this addition because dark chocolate can be bitter.  But it turned out great, and any other kind would have been a bit too much sweet.

Ok. Confession time.  1.) I do not have a photo of any ice cream for you because every last bite was eaten the night I served it.  All that was left was little measly bit, and it took a bit of hiding to keep this in tact.  I'm sorry.  2.) You might be wondering where the nuts are.  I cheated.  After I tasted this delicious ice cream I could not think of it having nuts in it.  So, I served it with my Brown Sugar Pound Cake.  See?  It's not all the way cheating, just placing the nuts elsewhere.  Don't be mad.  Vote again.  My creativity got the best of me.


Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.  You are great.  So anyway, enjoy the creation that you helped make.  It's delicious, and believe me this: the cake adds a whole other dimension.  




Roasted Banana Ice Cream with Dark Chocolate Chunks and Caramel Swirl
(Adapted from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop)


3 medium-sized ripe bananas, peeled
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

Preheat oven to 400. Slice the bananas into 1/2-inch pieces and toss them with the brown sugar and butter in a 2-quart baking dish.  Bake for 40 minutes, sitrring just once during baking, until the bannanas are browned and cooked through.

Scrape the bananas and the thick syrup in the baking dish into a blender or food processor.  Add the milk, granulated sugar,vanilla, lemon juice, and salt, and puree until smooth.

Chill the mixture throughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.  If the chilled mixture is too thick to pur into your machine, whisking it with thin it out.  During the last 5 minutes of mixing, add the dark chocolate chunks that have been cut to your ideal size.  


When freezing process is completed, transfer ice cream to air tight container.  Place ice cream in thirds, adding a layer of caramel between each layer of ice cream.