Bananas Foster

If you haven’t noticed, we’ve been on a major banana kick lately. It just works so fantastically well in ice cream – flavor, texture, all of it. So for this week’s flavor we go back to an old favorite dessert of both of ours – Bananas Foster. The cinnamon, the brown sugar, caramelized bananas, rum – it’s a tough combo to beat. Here’s our version in ice cream form.

 

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Rum

 

 

 

 

 

 

First – the syrup.  In traditional bananas foster the rum is typically used mostly for show at the end – to create a big flame up in the pan, garner some “oohs and aahs”, and put the finishing touches on caramelization.  But the flavors are really about the brown sugar and cinnamon.  So this syrup is just that – an invert syrup made with brown sugar, and cinnamon – and finished with a touch of rum.

 

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Cinnamon Syrup

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lest we forget the bananas.  They need to be very ripe – almost overripe.  Like we’ve done in all our previous banana flavors, the foundation of this ice cream is pretty much the same.  The bananas get roasted and caramelized in the oven to maximize the flavor and are then pureed into the cream.  The puree is added to an ice cream base that uses brown sugar instead of regular sugar and a touch of cinnamon as well.

 

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We’re pretty in love with this banana ice cream base.  Once we’ve given it a spin, the cinnamon rum syrup is swirled in at the end.

 

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The final scoop: a silky roasted brown sugar banana ice cream decorated with ribbons of cinnamon rum syrup.

 

 

Bananas Foster Ice Cream

 

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Syrup Ingredients: 

2 Cups Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
1 Cup Water
1 Tablespoon rum

Ice Cream Ingredients:

2 Ripe Bananas
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 Cups Heavy Cream
1 Cup Whole Milk
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar plus more for dusting bananas
2 Eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1 teaspoons salt
1/2 Cup Cinnamon Syrup (recipe above)

Instructions:

 

1. Prepare the syrup (make ahead of time and chill): Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and water in a heavy bottom pot and place on burner over medium/high heat.  Bring to slow boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Watch closely because it can boil over lightning fast. Remove from heat. Let cool to room temperature and then add the rum and stir until incorporated. Chill further in refrigerator until you’re ready to make ice cream.

2. Prepare the ice cream: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Chop the bananas into 1/2 inch chunks and toss with a the melted butter until coated.  Place on sheet pan and dust with brown sugar.  Place in oven and roast for approx 10-15 minutes or until bananas are starting to carmelize.  Puree with the one cup of whole milk you will be using for the ice cream base and set aside.

Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl and whisk fully. Add brown sugar and whisk until sugar and eggs are combined. Add cream, banana puree, cinnamon and salt and whisk again until all are fully incorporated.

Place ice cream base in a pot over medium heat, stirring continuously. Continue to heat mixture until temperature reaches 165 degrees. Remove from heat.  Cool the ice cream base to room temperature (an ice bath will do this in about 15-20 minutes) and then place in a container, cover, and chill in refrigerator overnight.

3.  Churn ice cream base in ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. Place the ice cream into container and swirl in the cinnamon syrup. Freeze in a tightly covered container for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight if you can wait.  Then, enjoy!

*Yields approximately 2.5 pints

If you’d rather not make it, you can be one of two lucky winners of this fabulous, scratch made craft ice cream in our weekly pint giveaway. Enter your name in the comments section here, or on our facebook page under the posted contest. Two winners will be drawn randomly on Friday 5/29/15 at 4pm. Winners must be able to pick up locally in Minneapolis. Prizes must be claimed by email within one week or we will redistribute. 🙂 Good luck!
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Chocolate Fudge with Hazelnut Creme

This week’s flavor is more about exercising and experimenting with techniques, and also a way to make more chocolate ice cream.  As we continually strive to create new combinations, we’re always looking for new ways to incorporate ingredients, change up old techniques and perfect others.  I used this week’s flavor as a means to do several of these things.  The first  was to create a better chocolate syrup/sauce/fudge that would stay somewhat fluid and gooey while frozen (it can be a real challenge). The second was to experiment with making a flavor infused, cream based syrup/sauce that would achieve the same properties. Both made this week to go into a classic chocolate ice cream.

 

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First, the chocolate syrup.  The ultimate goal is to achieve a thick chocolate syrup that does not freeze hard.  It can be tricky and frustrating.  The key is having a sugar concentrate, mixed with the right amount of fat.  We begin by boiling sugar and a bit of water, similar to how you would start a simple syrup.  Cocoa powder is added once the water has boiled off, as well as some cream.  The chocolate sauce is finished with salt.  It’s perfect for a topping or as an add-in.  Or to eat with a spoon 🙂

 

 

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The Hazelnut cream syrup originated from the idea of trying to make a syrup or caramel like sauce that we could flavor with any ingredient we wanted to – from fruits, to herbs, to nuts.  Cream is easy to infuse with all sorts of flavors, so it provides a nice palate.  The first step is infusing the cream.

 

 

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The hazelnuts are toasted and ground into a meal while still hot, and then cooled and strained.  What is left is hazelnut flavored heavy cream.  That is reserved for making the hazelnut cream syrup.

 

 

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hazelnut creme syrup

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rest of this process is very similar to the chocolate sauce.  Sugar and water brought to a boil, and then combined with cream just before caramelization happens.  What is left is a caramel-like hazelnut infused cream.  Also a great topping or add-in.

 

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For this week’s flavor combination, the ice cream is a straightforward chocolate ice cream with both syrups swirled in.  It’s a fantastic deep chocolate ice cream teetering with swirls of more chocolate and finishing with hazelnut goodness.

 

 

Chocolate Sauce (that won’t freeze hard):

Ingredients:

1C sugar
1/2C water
1/2C Cocoa powder
1C Heavy Cream
1/2tsp salt

Instructions:

Combine the sugar and water in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat, watching carefully. DO NOT STIR here or it will become grainy. Once boiling, the sugar/water mixture will begin to let off steam. Continue to cook for 2-3 minutes until the steam begins to disappear, then remove from heat and carefully whisk in 1/2C of cocoa powder until fully incorporated. Then, add gradually add cream and stir until fully incorporated into chocolate sauce. Add salt at finish. Refrigerate until ready to use.

 

 

Hazelnut Creme Syrup:

Ingredients:

1C sugar
1/2C water
1/2C Hazelnuts
1C Heavy Cream

Instructions:

Infuse the cream (Prepare 1-2 hours ahead of time):

Heat the cream in saucepan over medium-low heat to bring to approximately 115 degrees or so.  While cream is heating, toast hazelnuts hazelnuts for 3-4 minutes until skins become loose and come off easily.  Remove from heat and grind in a blender until they are a course meal.  Immediately add warm hazelnut meal to warmed cream and remove from heat.  Bring mixture to cool in refrigerator for an hour or so, then strain all hazelnut meal out of cream with fine mesh strainer.  Set hazelnut cream aside/refrigerate until ready to make syrup.

For the Syrup:

Combine the sugar and water in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat, watching carefully. DO NOT STIR or it will become grainy. Once boiling, the sugar/water mixture will begin to let off steam. Continue to cook for 2-3 minutes until the steam begins to disappear, then gradually add the hazelnut cream and stir until fully incorporated.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

 

Chocolate Fudge Hazelnut Creme Ice Cream:

 

Ingredients:

2 Cups of Heavy Cream
1 Cup of Milk (choose your percentage based on how fatty/creamy you’d like your ice cream to be – the higher percentage the creamier the ice cream)
2 large eggs
3/4 Cup sugar
1 Cup of Chocolate Syrup (Recipe above)
1 Cup of Hazelnut Creme Syrup (Recipe above)

 

Instructions:

1. Crack eggs into a mixing bowl and whisk fully.  Add sugar and whisk more until cream, sugar and eggs are combined.  Add cream, milk, and whisk again until all are fully incorporated.

2. Place ice cream base in a pot and heat over medium heat, whisking or stirring continuously. Once mixture reaches approximately 115 degrees, gradually whisk in cocoa.  Continue to heat mixture until temperature reaches 165 degrees. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature (an ice bath will do this in about 15-20 minutes) and then place in a container, cover and chill in refrigerator overnight.

3.  Churn ice cream base in ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions.  Place chocolate ice cream into container and swirl alternately with chocolate and hazelnut syrups. Freeze in a tightly covered container for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight if you can wait.  Then, enjoy!

*Yields approximately 2.5 pints

If you’d rather not make it, you can be one of two lucky winners of this fabulous, scratch made craft ice cream in our weekly pint giveaway. Enter your name in the comments section here, or on our facebook page under the posted contest. Two winners will be drawn randomly on Friday 2/20/15 at 4pm. Winners must be able to pick up locally in Minneapolis. Prizes must be claimed by email within one week or we will redistribute. 🙂 Good luck!

 

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