A couple of years ago, my sister in law Monica shared a quick and easy dessert idea with me. She sliced up a couple of bananas, sprinkled them with a little brown sugar and cinnamon and popped them under the broiler for just a minute so the sugar caramelized and turned into a syrup-ish kinda thing. While it's still hot, you dump it over a bowl of vanilla ice cream and it's the most yummy thing ever. I made it recently and when I got to the bottom of the bowl I had some melted vanilla ice cream that was all combined with the cinnamon-brown sugar goodness and some remnants of mushed caramelized banana. The flavors were so heavenly, and it was at that moment I knew I needed to turn it into an ice cream flavor of its own.My experiment didn't disappoint. I slow roasted bananas in brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter, and then mixed it in a super easy {no cook!} base. The banana flavor is mild, but it's the perfect amount of sweetness and the brown sugar and cinnamon round out the flavor palate. I know a lot of people have issues with cooked bananas- and if you're one of those people, don't fret. I puree the caramelized bananas into the ice cream, so all you get is the amazing flavor and extra creaminess!

Caramelized Banana Ice Cream
print recipe text only
4 ripe bananas, sliced into 1/2-1" segments
1/4 C brown sugar
1 T real butter, melted
1 t cinnamon
2 C heavy cream
1 C whole milk (vit D milk)
1/2 C white sugar
1/4 t salt
2 t vanilla
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Line a 9 x 13" baking dish with foil and place bananas in it. Sprinkle brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter over bananas and toss well with hands. Spread bananas out in a single layer.

Bake bananas (in your 400 degree preheated oven) for 15 minutes. Stir, and bake for 15 more. Remove from oven and cool on counter top. By this point you will have a scrumptious, thick syrup in there too.

Combine whole milk, white sugar, salt, and vanilla. Whisk until sugar is dissolved. When bananas are completely cooled, puree them in a blender or food processor with the milk mixture until completely smooth. Add cream and pulse just enough to combine (1 or 2 times) Chill entire mixture in the fridge until cold. The colder the better.
Churn in an ice cream maker and transfer to an air tight container in the freezer to set. Makes 1 1/2 quarts.

After I took the picture above, I started to wonder what I could add to it. Nuts? Coconut? Cookies? My husband told me not to mess with a good thing and I'm glad I took his advice. (Although one thing still on my list is to make it into ice cream sandwiches with these cookies) It's perfect just the way it is. But I could think of just one thing that would make it irrisistable.
Wait for it...

Ya, that's what I'm talking about.

Get the recipe for Kate's buttermilk caramel syrup here.
And then go make yourself a bowl of this:

The only other thing that can make home made ice cream any better than it already is are homemade waffle cones. I make mini ones and they're perfect for my mini monkeys.

Would you guys be interested in a tutorial on making homemade waffle cones? Even without a waffle cone maker? Cuz I just configured a great way to make them without any special equipment. Let me know if you want to learn and I'll create a tutorial on it.
So who's in the mood for ice cream now??!

PS- BE HERE MONDAY! Sorry to yell at you in caps, but on Monday we're kicking off an awesome theme week! We're so excited about it, and Monday's post will involve something that starts with G and ends with iveaway. So be here- we'll be posting every day next week!






   

















