Banana Maple Ice Cream Food

BANANA-MAPLE ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Combine 1 cup milk, sugar, and egg yolks in a small heavy saucepan; stir well with a whisk.
• Place over medium heat, stirring constantly.
• Cook for 8 minutes or until mixture reaches 180° and is slightly thickened (do not boil). Remove from heat.
• Pour custard into a cool bowl; place over ice water to cool completely.
• Combine 1/2 cup milk, dry milk, and vanilla.
• Stir in custard, banana, and syrup. Cover and chill.
• Pour mixture into the freezer can of an ice-cream freezer; freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.
• Spoon ice cream into a freezer-safe container; cover and freeze 1 hour or until firm.

EASY BANANA ICE CREAM (TIPS + 10 FLAVORS!)

Steps:

• Be sure to start with ripe and spotty bananas. Peel and slice into 1/2-inch slices for easier blending (large chunks tax the motor). Then add to a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze until firm (3-4 hours or overnight).
• Add sliced frozen bananas to a food processor fitted with an "S" blade. Then blend for 4-5 minutes or until completely smooth, fluffy, and blended. You'll need to stop occasionally to stir and scrape the sides. You'll be left with a soft serve texture. See "FREEZING" below for freezing tips.
• Add sliced frozen bananas to a high-speed blender, our most recommended model being the Vitamix 5200 for ultimate control and its powerful motor. (The Kitchenaid KSB8270FP Pro Line Series works well, too.) Turn the Vitamix dial to its lowest setting and ensure the switch is flipped to "Variable" NOT "High" to start with. It's too much to jump the motor from 0-100 that fast.
• Once it's started blending, quickly switch from "Variable" to "High" speed and use the tamper to press down and stir/agitate the bananas, which should turn into soft-serve texture banana ice cream quite quickly. If the motor seems to be struggling, stop and pause momentarily. Be sure to switch back to low speed / "Variable," then switch to "High" speed every time to protect the motor.
• Adding flavor to your nice cream is easy! For every flavor besides strawberry, berry, or Salted Caramel, simply add the recommended amounts of each ingredient to your ice cream at this time and blend until creamy and smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. If making strawberry or berry, we recommend adding them at the beginning with the unblended bananas for best texture.
• At this point you have soft-serve texture banana ice cream. To get more of a scoopable ice cream texture, simply spread into a Tupperware or parchment-lined loaf pan and freeze for 2-3 hours. Then scoop with an ice cream scoop! If too firm, let thaw 15-30 minutes to soften.
• Best when fresh. See freezing instructions above. Frozen banana ice cream should keep for up to 1 month if well covered, though we find it's best when used within the first week.

MAPLE SYRUP AND BANANA SAUCE

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat; stir the brown sugar, syrup, and cinnamon into the melted butter until the sugar dissolves, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the banana slices and stir to coat; simmer until hot, 1 to 2 minutes.

10-MINUTE BANANA AND MAPLE ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Peel the bananas, and place them in a plastic container in the freezer. Leave for several hours - they must be totally frozen. Put the frozen bananas into a food processor and pour in the milk. Blend on full power for 2-3 minutes (it may resist a little at first, but persevere), then scrape down the inside of the bowl and add a good slug of maple syrup. Continue blending for another 2 minutes, until the fibres in the bananas break down and form the most incredible ice cream. My advice is to place the bowl in the middle of the table and provide spoons for folk to dive in. Serve amongst friends on a Saturday night in front of the telly or at a kids' party. Tips: Use double cream instead of milk for a richer version. Instead of the maple syrup, use rum, raisins or cinnamon. Because there is no actual sugar in this ice cream, it will freeze solid if stored in the freezer, and it will become almost impossible to scoop. The good news, however, is that this is instant ice cream and you don't have to wait before you can eat it.

VANILLA-MAPLE ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Combine the heavy cream, milk, maple syrup and vanilla seeds and pod in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until steaming. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and salt in a medium bowl until smooth. Ladle about half of the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture while whisking. Then pour the egg mixture into the saucepan with the remaining milk mixture, whisking.
• Return the pan to medium-low heat and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of the spoon, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour through a fine-mesh sieve set over a heatproof bowl or large liquid measuring cup. Return the vanilla pod to the custard. Let cool, stirring occasionally, until the custard stops steaming. Refrigerate until very cold, at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Transfer the custard to an ice cream maker (remove the vanilla pod) and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to a container, cover and freeze at least 4 hours.