This is not exactly a post about saving brown bananas from becoming food waste although it looks like it.

I intentionally waited for these bananas to develop as many brown/black spots as possible, short of turning into a puddle on the kitchen counter before I use them for making ice cream.  The sweetness level shoots up as bananas rot, perfect for making desserts.  If you have seen Christina Tosi demo her banana cream pie recipe in one of the episodes of “The Mind of a Chef”, you will understand why I say “rot”.  I would have never thought such blackened banana is still edible.

I adapted from this recipe, altering the recipe savagely.  I did away with the white chocolate since I have a feeling that my 2 very ripened bananas are going to be really sweet.  I also halved the sugar amount and added 1 tablespoon of raw honey instead, partly to replace the corn syrup too.  Without cream cheese at home, I also omitted that but added 1/4 teaspoon of pink salt (recipe called for 1/8) to sort of replace the salt from the cheese.  After 20 minutes of churning the chilled cream and freezing it overnight, the end result is a creamy dessert that is unmistakenly banana in flavor.  Perfect for my banana lovers at home.

BROWN BANANA ICE CREAM

adapted from here

2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup heavy cream **
1/3 cup raw sugar
1 tablespoon raw honey
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas, chopped into chunks

** I used whipping cream instead of heavy cream

Scoop 2 tablespoons of milk and mix with cornstarch in a bowl to form a smooth slurry.  Set aside.

In a saucepan, add the remaining milk, salt, heavy cream, sugar, honey and vanilla extract and cook to a rolling boil.  Remove from heat, add the banana chunks and puree with an immersion hand blender.Let it boil for 4 minutes, then shift the pot away from heat, and add the cornstarch mixture.

Remove from heat, add the banana chunks and puree with an immersion hand blender. Bring the mixture back to boil again, and let it boil for exactly 4 minutes. then shift the pot away from heat, and add the cornstarch mixture.

Shift the pot away from heat, add the cornstarch mixture, and bring it to boil over medium heat, this time while stirring continuously with a heat proof spatula or hand whisk.  After boiling about 1 minute, the mxiture will thicken.  Remove from heat and let mixture cool to room temperature.  Cover the saucepan and chill it in the fridge for a few hours.

Pour the chilled mixture into the ice cream maker and churn for 20-25 minutes.  Transfer to a storage container and freeze until firm for at least 4 hours or overnight.

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