Remember that banana pudding your grandmother use to make that was piled high with meringue and browned in the oven?
I remember my mother and grandmother making homemade banana pudding. I remember the smooth custard that they made from scratch. NO instant vanilla pudding and no whipped cream on top. Instead their banana pudding had that rich homemade custard, crunchy vanilla wafers on the verge of getting soft but still a little crunch left and oh, the meringue, piled high and browned in the oven.
Wow! Now you can have those same flavors in this ice cream. I know summer is over, but I’m slipping this ice cream recipe in because I know you will enjoy it. My daughter and I went to Charleston, SC over Labor Day weekend with my twin sister and her son. We had a great time and while there I saw this cookbook, The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook and remember SmittenKitchenmentioning this book in her blog. So, I ordered it from our library and while drueling over almost every recipe in the book I came across the recipe for Banana Pudding Ice cream. It’s delicious.
I topped this with a banana slices and vanilla wafers. I think chocolate would be a great addition.
These look like all the ingredients you would need to make banana pudding — NOT. We are making banana pudding ice cream.
The bananas and the brown sugar get cooked for a few minutes.
A few turns in the processor before it goes in with the custard mixture.
Churning away in my little Cruisnart Ice Cream maker. Boy, this thing beats the old fashioned type where you had to keep putting in the ice and salt.
Banana Pudding Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 1/4 c. tightly packed dark brown sugar
- 2 ripe bananas sliced in half crosswise and lengthwise
- 2 Tbsp. dark rum
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1/3 c. sugar
- 1 1/2 c. whole milk
- 2 c. heavy cream*
- 8- 2 " vanilla wafers roughly chopped into bite-sized pieces, plus more for garnishing
Instructions
- In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter until frothy. Add the bananas and stir, turning them in the sugar for about 1 1/2 minutes, until they are well coated and softening.
- Pour the rum over the contents of the skillet (it will hiss and pop but soon subside). Let it bubble for a minute or two to burn off the alcohol (which would inhibit freezing). Transfer the contents of the skillet to a food processor or blender.
- In a medium bowl, beat the egg yolks, lightly with a whisk, then add the sugar and beat until the mixture is a milky lemon-yellow color, about 1 1/2 minutes. In a medium saucepan, warm the milk over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until a candy thermometer reads 150°, 6 to 8 minutes (you may see steam rising from the pan, but the milk should not start to boil). Pour 1/2 cup of the hot milk into the banana mixture in the food processor and puree until smooth, about 1minute. Reserve and let cool.
- Add the remaining 1 cup hot milk slowly and in a thin stream into the egg and sugar mixture, whisking constantly as you pour. Pour the custard back into the saucepan or, preferably, the top of a double boiler, and cook slowly over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. When the custard reaches 170° on a candy thermometer (8 to 10 minutes; it should be thick enough to coat the back of the spoon), turn off the heat. Add the banana puree to the custard (don't be alarmed if the puree has solidified to a gel-like consistency as it cooled) and gently whisk to incorporate it completely, about 1 1/2 minutes. Let the custard cool to room temperature, and whisk in the cream. Transfer to a pitcher or other container and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight, until the custard is very cold but not frozen.
- Pour the custard into an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions, until the ice cream becomes stiff and holds its shape. It should be the consistency of a very thick milk shake; depending on how cold your custard is and the type of ice cream maker you have, this will take 15 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a container with a tight-fitting lid and scatter the cookie pieces over the top. Fold them into the ice cream until they're evenly incorporated. Pat a sheet of plastic wrap onto the surface and cover the container.
- Freeze the ice cream until it has hardened, at least 2 hours. Remove from the freezer 10 minutes before serving and remove the plastic wrap.
- Serve small scoops of ice cream in bowls, and garnish with a whole vanilla wafer.
- *Note-- I think I'm the only person alive who doesn't like rich and creamy ice cream. I think next time I make this I will substitute Half and Half for the heavy Cream or at least a cup in place of some of the heavy cream.
4 Comments
Andrea@WellnessNotes
October 9, 2009 at 12:35 pmI love the flavors in this ice cream!
Jessie
October 9, 2009 at 12:38 pmI love the sound of this! I also like that you used nilla wafers because I can imagine that it makes such a great topping on this ice cream
Vegetable Matter
October 9, 2009 at 4:30 pmI love the Lee Bros. cookbook, but for some reason I’ve never even looked at the desserts. This looks fantastic!
Huancaina (Peruvian Spicy Cheese Sauce) «
June 17, 2015 at 2:31 pm[…] FROM THE PAST: It’s ice cream season again and this Banana Pudding Ice Cream would be perfect with the Peruvian Chicken and this spicy cheese sauce/dip […]