Brown bananas are a gooey, sweet gift from the gods that just keeps giving. If you don’t have brown bananas to hand, it’s just a waiting game, though some supermarkets sell them on discount, to prevent them from going to waste; all you need do is ask.
Salted brown banana caramel ice-cream
The combination of salted caramelised brown bananas, sharp lemon juice and full-fat cream is quite magical, and creates a moreish dessert that probably won’t last even a day. We ate this topped with a tart mulberry jam, which was great, but this ice-cream is pretty much perfect on its own. Next time, though, I think I’ll try it with blackberry jam, chopped pineapple and melted dark chocolate.
If possible, make the custard the day before and chill it properly before churning, because that way you’re more likely to end up with a smooth and more stable end result.
This is best eaten on the day it’s made, but if you do have any left over, it will happily keep in the freezer for at least three months, and probably longer. Take the frozen ice-cream out of the freezer at least 15 minutes before you want to eat it, so it thaws and is soft and creamy enough to scoop easily.
Makes 6 large scoops
20g salted butter
350g peeled and chopped brown banana flesh (from 3-4 over-ripe bananas)
100g unrefined cane sugar
Juice and finely grated zest of ¼ lemon
25g honey
1 tsp sea salt
2 medium eggs
250ml whole milk
220ml double cream
5ml vanilla extract
Melt the butter in a frying pan on a medium heat, then stir in the chopped brown bananas, 30g of the sugar and the lemon juice and zest. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, until the mixture starts to bubble and caramelise, and turn a dark golden brown, then take off the heat and put to one side.
In a heavy-based saucepan, whisk the rest of the sugar with the honey, sea salt, eggs, milk and cream. Set the pan on a medium heat and cook, stirring regularly so the mix doesn’t stick to the pan and catch. When the milk mixture starts to steam and you see a bubble or two appearing on the surface, take off the heat, whisk in the vanilla extract and beat until any lumps dissipate.
Stir in the caramelised brown bananas – if you prefer a less chunky ice-cream, blitz them first before adding to the custard – leave to cool, then refrigerate until cold, and ideally overnight. The next day, churn the mix in an ice-cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions; if you don’t have a machine, pour the chilled custard into a suitable container, seal and freeze for 30-45 minutes. Remove, stir well, then freeze again and repeat five or six times, until your ice-cream is thick enough to scoop.
