I’m diving into this whole real-milk ice cream thing head first. This is the third batch of ice cream I’ve made in two weeks, and I’ve already got a few more recipes lined up and waiting for the first available freezer space to fill. I think you could officially call me ice cream crazy. As in, we’re still on mandatory water restrictions and I gave up a SHOWER for this stuff. The dishes had to get done somehow and I’d much rather be stinky with freshly churned ice cream than sparkly clean without.
Back in the days of ole, ice-cream-loving-Lindsay ate a lot of ice cream (this was back before cupcake-loving-Lindsay took over). She ate just about any flavor, but she definitely had her favorites. One of those favorites just happened to be Breyers’ Banana Fudge Chunk. And now that real ice cream was slowly becoming a part of her life once again, it was time to put the ice cream maker to good use; it’s been sitting empty in the freezer for far too long. First on the docket was to recreate that delicious banana ice cream, complete with roughly chopped chunks of rich dark chocolate.
Don’t think it’s a coincidence that 2 of my last 3 posts have involved chocolate and banana in some form. I said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s a perfect combination. Only way it could be better was if you topped those Chocolate Banana Cupcakes with a scoop of this ice cream. Hmm… now that’s an idea…
On another note, for those of you in and around Nashville, be sure to check out Eat Out for Nashville. Over 40 area restaurants have signed on to participate so far; each agreeing to donate 50% of proceeds from sales on Monday, May 17th to flood relief. We’ll be eating out for the cause (not like you have to twist our arm or anything!) though as far as which of the 40 restaurants we’ll be attending? Haven’t decided yet. Too many delicious options!
Banana Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream
Makes 1 quart. Adapted from Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup ripe banana (about 1 medium banana)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
6 large egg yolks
4 oz. good quality semi sweet chocolate, roughly chopped
Directions:
Warm the milk, sugar, 1/2 cup of the cream, and salt in a medium saucepan. Purée banana in a blender or food processor (using some of the warm liquid if needed), then whisk into milk mixture. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the warm milk. Mixture should be warm and steaming but not boiling. Cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Pour the remaining 1 cup of cream into a medium size metal bowl, set on ice over a larger bowl. Set a mesh strainer on top of the bowls. Set aside.
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly spoon 1/3 of the warm milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly so that the egg yolks are tempered by the warm milk, but not cooked by it. Scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan and whisk to incorporate with the rest of the milk mixture.
Stir over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula, about 10 minutes. Pour the custard through the strainer, pressing out and solids, and stir it into the cream. Stir until cool.
Cover and chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator (at least 3-4 hours, overnight is better). Freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions until it is the consistency of soft serve. Quickly stir in chocolate chunks before transferring to a freezer-safe container. Freeze until firm.
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