Wednesday 3 September 2008

Roast banana ice cream

I was walking around the market last week searching for one of my absolute favourite fruits, the greengage. Every year when autumn comes around I await their arrival, Scouring the shops and market looking for the first fruit of the season. They make what is possibly the very best of jams as well as excellent pies, tarts and crumbles. I like to eat them straight out of the paper bag.
Alas I had no luck this time, I couldn't find any. not one! So I bought a mountain of almost gone off bananas instead, as you do!
It was only once I was home that it dawned on me what a job it would be to use them all before they turned into banana sludge. So I got baking and two banana cakes later I had only used half of them!
Reaching banana overload I searched everywhere for a recipe that would use the last of my bananas and came across a recipe over at Butter, Sugar, Flour for roast banana ice cream. The original recipe is by David Lebovitz whose recipes are always great. The fact that I had all the ingredients to hand settled it.

To make Roast Banana Ice Cream you will need:
  • 3 bananas (the riper the better, as in the picture is good)
  • 75g brown sugar
  • 1.5 cups (375ml) Single/light cream
  • 2 tablespoons caster sugar (not pictured)
  • 1.5 teaspoons lemon juice
  • half teaspoon vanilla extract
  • quarter teaspoon salt
Method:
  1. First heat your oven to 200C/400f/Gas 6
  2. Chop the bananas and place in a baking dish mixed with the brown sugar
  3. Roast the bananas for 40 minutes turning halfway.
  4. Blend the still hot bananas with the syrup from the tray along with the caster sugar, lemon juice, salt, cream and vanilla. When blended chill thoroughly in the fridge.
  5. Churn in an ice cream machine until frozen (it will probably need a couple of hours in the freezer to firm up)
Roasting the bananas gave this ice cream an incredible intense banana-caramel flavour and a wonderful toffee colour. I served mine with toffee sauce but it would pair very well with chocolate desserts or with fruit.If you don't have an ice cream machine you can still make this recipe, instead of churning it you can freeze the mixture for about two hours then beat well with a fork and return to the freezer, repeat about once an hour until frozen.

9 comments:

Nic said...

Hi Sam, came across your blog and wanted to say you have some great recipes! This ice cream looks fabulous - I am a David Lebovitz fan too.

Just Cook It said...

Hi Sam, thanks for stopping by the blog and leaving such a nice message. This ice cream looks fantastic. I can imagine it is seriously packed with banana taste.

Good luck on the great greengage hunt.

Hopie said...

Wow, roast banana ice cream! That sounds amazing. I recently bought a whole flat of very cheap nectarines to use before they went bad and made a nice nectarine compote. I like getting creative depending on what I find at the market -- one discovers such great stuff.

Laura Paterson said...

What a delicious-sounding icecream!

Way to use up surplus stock!!! :D

Sam said...

Thanks for the comments everyone!
Hopie, nectarine compote is a really good idea, I had a load that i turned into an upside down cake.

Teresa Cordero Cordell said...

Sam, thank you so much for visiting my site. And it's nice to meet you. This is the first time I visit here and I am pretty sure I will return. I love ice cream and bananas. You put them together nicely. Great post.

Alicia Foodycat said...

That looks so good! But the M&S near me had greengages yesterday.

Abitofafoodie said...

What a fantastic-sounding ice cream. I would never have thought of roasting the bananas but can imagine just how good it would taste. And with that glorious sauce too, this is my idea of heaven.
Pleased to have discovered your blog, via Julia's...

Christine said...

Banana ice cream is good, but roasted banana ice cream is even better!