Roasted Banana Ice Cream
Have you heard a heart beat before? Sometimes I like to sit and watch the vein pulse on my husband’s neck. It’s rhythmic. It’s comforting. It’s my favorite feeling.
My sister and I came home this weekend. She’s in school to become a Physician Assistant. She pulled out her stethoscope, and we started listening. To my heart. It beats slow and steady. To her heart. Slightly faster than mine. To my mom’s heart. It’s even faster with a gurgle. She has Mitral Valve Prolapse.
I’ve never heard a heart before before. Not like that. It’s an incredible sound. To hear the walls of a muscle contracting. A muscle that keeps your body working. Involuntarily. It’s also an emotional sound. As steady and predictable as it is—it makes me tremble. Because I know that it wont always be steady or predictable. But that beat. That sound. It’s a gift. Today, it’s a gift. What are you doing with that gift? I hope it’s something you love. Even if it’s making roasted banana ice cream. That’s probably what I’ll be doing. As insignificant as that sounds. Roasting bright yellow bananas and watching them turn brown. Adding turbinado in place of sugar for a slightly more complex flavor. Adding extra salt just because. I am happiest when I’m creating. What makes you beat?
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°. Place unpeeled, bright yellow bananas on a lined baking sheet. Bake until skins are completely black, about 20 minutes. Turn bananas halfway through. Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before handling. Peel and mash in a bowl. Set aside.
- In a bowl, whisk together egg yolks and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Set aside.
- In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, combine half and half, whole milk, heavy cream, sugars, and sea salt. Whisk to combine. Taste to make sure you have enough salt. I prefer this ice cream on the salty side.
- Over medium-high heat, heat milk mixture until sugar dissolves and begins to simmer. Slowly pour a half cup of simmering milk mixture into egg mixture, whisking constantly to temper eggs (a.k.a. cook the eggs without scrambling them). Add egg mixture to sauce pan, stirring constantly for 30 seconds. Add in mashed bananas. Cook for 5 minutes until slightly thickened. Remove from heat. Add vanilla extract.
- Using an immersion blender or a conventional blender, pulse mixture until smooth. Pour mixture in a large bowl over a fine mesh sieve to catch any egg clumps. Cover and place in fridge to cool, about 3 hours. To speed up the cooling process, place bowl in an ice bath in the fridge, or place in the freezer sans ice bath.
- Once mixture is cold, make ice cream according to your machine’s instructions.
PS—Check out my post over at Mint today.
Beautiful post! Thank you for the reminder to live each day doing what you love. Also, love the recipe and can’t wait to try!
Hi Melissa,
I wanted to drop you a note to tell you I like what you’ve said. Yes, every day is a gift. I’ve had some medical problems this year which seem to be ongoing. And, I continually (try!) to remind myself every day is a gift.
Thank you for your post,
Kelly Turnbull
I’m not sure what you’re going through, but I admire your strength and outlook. I always hope I’ll have the same in difficult times. Thanks for the note. Big hugs to you!
The recipe sounds delish. What’s more, I too loved what you wrote today. The heart is a machine that just keeps ticking away continually so it’s easy to forget that it actually exists. It’s profoundly wonderful to stop and listen to the beat of your own heart to be reminded of this great gift of life that we’ve been given.
Thanks Marie! I have to keep reminding myself of this. I think that’s why I wrote the post. I forget too quickly. xo
How lovely.. only you could create an ice cream that has the perfect feel for fall. It’s snowing out and I would love to sit down with a bowl of this! xx
Snowing?! I’m a tiny bit jealous! Thanks for your sweet note!
Loved reading this! You are such a talented story teller…and ice cream maker.
I am pinning this to make very soon.
Leah I could hug you! I always get told the opposite. xo my friend!
Beautiful post! Brought a tear to my eye. In a good way!
Thank you for sharing!
I love roasted bananas and I love ice cream! This is perfect!
Very neat use of the spoon in the shots – love the middle one.
This post was exactly what I needed to read tonight – you even made this emotionally-repressed english girl (nearly) cry
Thank you for the very timely reminder.
Lovely. Yes, we need to remember every day is a gift. And your ice cream looks amazing! Mmm.
roasted banana ice cream sounds wonderful!lovely photos of the ice cream..so hard to get a shot before they melt!
I want a scoop…or two!
That was a beautiful post.
We all take things too easily for commonplace, that things will always be as they are. But things can change in a heart-beat, poof! Love the post. And if I had a scoop or two of peanut butter in that banana ice cream I’d be in heaven. With my heartbeat.
Thank you for this perspective! I often need reminders to slow down and be thankful just for good health and being alive
Does roasting the bananas really give them the flavor that ripe (over-ripe) bananas have?
Your pictures are beautiful!
[...] Roasted Banana Ice Cream from the faux martha [...]
My husband and I love to make new ice cream flavors, can’t wait to give this one a try. Last Christmas we bought a bunch of red and green tupperware containers for cheap, then made a variety of ice cream flavors (egg nog, candy cane, reindeer, O Holy Night, and gingerbread) and gave them to people as hostess gifts, or for acquaintances that we wanted to share a small token of appreciation with. Maybe this flavor will have to make it in for gifting soon.
I want this. A big ol’ bowl of it,
Hi, I discovered this delicious looking recipe on pinterest. I’m thinking of making it tonight, but the bananas I have are kind of green. I was thinking that with the roasting process it might be ok to start with underripe bananas. What do you think?
Thanks for any advice!
Rachael
Hey Rachael! If they are somewhat green, I think you should be ok. If they are solid green, it may be worth waiting a day or two. However, roasting green bananas might work just the same. I’ve yet to try it. Hope you like the ice cream!
the Recipe Sounds Delicious, But Your Writing Is Even Better…..The Heartbeat Bit, Amazing