Banana Bread with Caramel Ice Cream

I love banana bread, and it's easy to make. It's perfect for when you have some bananas that are getting a little soft, and you need to use them up. The recipe is from 'The Good Housekeeping Cookbook'.

Start by softening the butter by pulling it out of the refrigerator and leaving it at room temperature for an hour. In a bowl, combine 2.5 cups (11 oz) flour with 2 tsp baking powder, 3/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp baking soda. In another bowl, mash 3 bananas and combine with 1/4 cup milk and 2 tsp vanilla extract.

In a stand mixer (or a large bowl with a hand mixer, or even with a whisk if you need to), beat 4 oz softened butter with 1 cup sugar until creamy. Beat in 2 eggs, then reduce the mixer speed and add about 1/4 of your dry mix. Once combined, mix in 1/3 of your wet mix, then keep going until the last 1/4 of your dry mix is in. Pour your batter into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 F for at least an hour, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack, and allow to cool completely. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and foil and keep at cool room temperature overnight. It tastes better the next day. Enjoy!

To make the caramel ice cream, start by setting up a medium metal bowl on ice, with a strainer in it. Next, measure 7 oz sugar and enough water to make it wet in a heavy pan. Heat on medium until the sugar caramelizes (I like it to get golden brown, but no darker) to the desired point. Carefully (it will boil furiously) and slowly, add 1 pint half and half, stirring. Allow to return almost to a simmer, stirring regularly. Do not allow it to boil. Meanwhile, whisk 5 egg yolks. Ladle some hot half and half into the yolks. Whisk quickly and pour back into the saucepan. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon. When this point is reached, immediately pour it through the strainer into the cold bowl. Once the mixture has cooled a little, chill in the refrigerator and then churn in an ice cream machine. Transfer to the freezer for a few hours. Enjoy with the banana bread.

Note 1 - If you like walnuts in your banana bread, stir in 4 oz of chopped (preferably also toasted) nuts just before pouring the batter into the loaf pan.

Note 2 - Metric Info: 11 oz = 310g; 1/4 cup = 60 ml; 4 oz = 110g; 1 cup = 240 ml; 350 F = 175 C; 7 oz = 200g; 1 US pint = 470 ml.

Butter Pecan Ice Cream

It was time to make ice cream again, so I asked my significant other for a suggestion. She decided on this one - butter pecan. This was the first ice cream I have made with stir-ins (not that they were difficult, but...).

Start by getting together 7 oz brown sugar. Split roughly in half so that you have 2 batches.

Take 2 oz (1/2 stick) butter and melt it in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Continue to heat over medium heat until it turns golden brown (do not allow it to get dark brown!). Turn down the heat a little and stir in 1 batch of brown sugar. Next, add 2 cups of half-and-half, stirring to make sure the sugar is dissolved. Continue to heat, but keep an eye on it, and do not allow it to boil.

Meanwhile, whisk the other batch of brown sugar with 5 egg yolks in a medium bowl. Set up another medium-large bowl on ice, with a strainer sitting on top of it. Once the half-and-half mixture is close to a boil (you can see tiny bubbles forming around the edges of the pan), ladle some of this mixture onto the yolks and whisk in. Tip the entire contents of the yolk bowl back into the saucepan, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon, continuing to heat the mixture, until it coats the back of your spoon (a line drawn in the mixture on the back of the spoon does not fill in). Once you reach this point, immediately pour the mixture through the strainer into the chilled bowl. Stir it a little to help it cool down. Transfer to the refrigerator to chill once it has cooled a little.

While your 'base' is cooling, toast 1/2 cup of pecans (I prefer to buy whole pecans, but you can use pieces - just check them sooner in the oven). Spread the nuts on a baking sheet and bake at 350 F for about 7 minutes, until lightly browned. Allow to cool completely, and cut into bite-sized pieces.

Once the 'base' is chilled, pour into an ice cream maker and churn. Once almost solid (or as close to this as your ice cream maker gets), transfer into a bowl. Stir in the nuts, trying to distribute them evenly through the ice cream. Transfer your ice cream back into a freezer-suitable container (I use plastic quart size yogurt containers) and freeze until hardened. Enjoy!

Note 1 - For those outside North America, half-and-half is half milk, half cream.

Note 2 - Be careful not to let your half-and-half mixture boil, even before adding the yolks. Mine did the first time, and it curdled, so I had to throw it out and start over.

Note 3 - Metric Info: 7 oz = 200g; 2 oz = 55g; 2 cups = 475 ml; 1/2 cup = 120 ml; 350 F = 175 C.

Lavender Honey Ice Cream

I have been really enjoying making cold food recently. Maybe it's the 90+ degree weather?! Anyway, this is not an original ice cream flavor, but the inspiration came to me at City Market in the tea section. I had already decided to do green tea ice cream, but I felt like making another flavor too, and, next to the loose teas was a tub of dried lavender flowers. And across the aisle was honey.

Start by bringing 1 tbsp dried lavender flowers and 2 cups half-and-half to just below a boil in a saucepan. Switch off the heat, cover and allow to steep for 30 minutes. Strain out the flowers and bring the half-and-half back to the boil. While it is heating, whisk 5 egg yolks with 2.5 oz sugar until light and creamy. Set up a metal bowl on ice (or in ice water) with a strainer in it. When the half-and-half is about to boil, pour a little onto your yolks. Mix quickly, and tip back into the saucepan. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture coats the back of the spoon (a line drawn with your finger does not fill back in). Immediately pour through the strainer into the cold metal bowl, and stir in 4 oz honey. Continue stirring to dissolve the honey and help the mixture cool. Once cooled, transfer the base to the fridge to chill.

Once your base is cold, remove from the fridge and churn in an ice cream machine (make sure to get all of the honey out of the bowl and into the machine). Freeze. Enjoy! This is my favorite ice cream that I have made so far.

Note 1 - For those outside North America, half-and-half is half milk, half cream.

Note 2 - Metric Info: 2 cups = 480 ml; 2.5 oz = 70g; 4 oz = 110g.

Coffee Ice Cream

I'm back! No, I didn't stop cooking; I just stopped blogging. So, now I have some catching up to do...

This is one I made a while back, around the beginning of the month. I was intending to incorporate cardamom into it, a kind of 'Turkish coffee' ice cream, but forgot (I was going to toast the cardamom lightly and add it with the beans), so here's how it went (recipe from 'Second Helpings of Roast Chicken' by Simon Hopkinson):

Take 3.5 oz whole coffee beans (use any kind you like - I used Starbucks Italian Roast), and put in a saucepan with 9 floz milk and 1.5 oz brown sugar. Stir to help dissolve the sugar and bring the milk to a boil, then switch off the heat, cover the pan and allow to sit somewhere warm for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hr.

Strain the beans out of the milk and scald it (bring to just below a boil). Meanwhile, whisk 5 egg yolks with 2 oz brown sugar vigorously until pale yellow. Once the milk is ready, set up a metal bowl over ice (or in ice water) and pour a little hot milk into the yolks. Stir with a wooden spoon and quickly pour the egg mixture into the hot milk in the saucepan. Keep the heat on and stir constantly until the mixture coats the back of the wooden spoon (you should be able to draw a line in it with your finger). At this point, remove immediately from the heat and pour into the cold metal bowl, stirring in 7 floz heavy cream. Once cooled a little, chill in the refrigerator, then churn in an ice cream maker.

Enjoy!

Note 1 - This was not the first time I made this ice cream. The first time, I used different beans and the milk curdled as it came to a boil. I had to wash the beans and use fresh milk. This time, it worked fine though.

Note 2 - Metric info: Use 275ml milk, 100g beans, 50g sugar with the milk, 65g sugar with the yolks, and 200ml cream.

Coconut Ice Cream

I don't know if it's been the same where you are, but here it has been hot. Unseasonably hot. We live in a third floor apartment, so it has been really hot. Time for some ice cream...

Empty 1 can (13-14 fl oz) coconut milk into a saucepan. Add 1/2 cup of milk, 1 cup of toasted unsweetened coconut flakes (toast your flakes by putting them on a baking sheet under the broiler, but keep an eye on them or they will burn!) and a few pieces of lime peel (remove with a vegetable peeler - be careful to avoid the white pith) and bring to a boil. Switch off the heat and cover the pan. Let it sit for 30 minutes (this is called steeping), then pour through a strainer into a bowl and then back into a clean pan (leaving the flakes and peel in the strainer).

Beat 4 egg yolks with 2/3 cup of sugar until they lighten in color. Meanwhile, bring the coconut milk mixture to a boil. Pour a little of the mixture onto the yolks and stir vigorously to combine. Then pour the yolk mixture into the pan with the remaining milk mixture. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon while heating. As soon as a line drawn in the back of the spoon with your finger stays (the custard does not run back into the line - this point will be reached quickly), pour the contents of the pan through a clean strainer into a chilled bowl (preferably on ice or in ice water). Stir the mixture in the bowl to help it cool down.

Chill your ice cream base in the refrigerator and churn in an ice cream maker. Freeze.

This recipe is based loosely on one in 'Ice Cream: The Perfect Weekend Treat' by Susanna Tee.

Note 1 - If you cannot find unsweetened coconut flakes you could substitute sweetened flakes or shredded coconut. If you use sweetened product, you may need to cut back slightly on the amount of sugar you use.

Note 2 - The original recipe suggested leaving the soaked flakes back in the ice cream. I didn't like their texture, so I left them out. You can decide if you want to keep them or throw them out. The original also suggested adding a little Malibu or white rum, which might be interesting...

Note 3 - A friend pointed out how much saturated fat there is in a can of coconut milk - 70 g (almost 2.5 oz). If this is a concern for you, consider using half coconut milk and half milk (about 9 fl oz of each), which would cut the fat content down a little...

Note 4 - Metric info: 1 can = about 400 ml; 1/2 cup = 120 ml; 1 cup = 240 ml; 2/3 cup = 160 ml.

Vanilla Ice Cream

Fresh home-grown mint leaf!

There's nothing quite like vanilla ice cream...

Start by whisking 5 oz sugar into 5 egg yolks in a bowl until everything is nicely blended and the color lightens a little. Set up another, metal bowl on ice (or even better, in an ice bath - ice cubes in water) with a fairly fine strainer set in it. Have a wooden spoon on hand.

Now bring 2 cups half and half to a boil in a pan. Watch it carefully, because if it boils over you will lose liquid. As soon as it boils, pour a little (maybe 1/2 cup) half and half onto your sugar-yolk mixture and whisk vigorously to mix. Do not switch off the heat. Now pour the whole mixture back into the remaining half and half and continue to heat on the stove, stirring constantly with the wooden spoon. Check the back of the spoon as frequently as you can. Draw a line in the liquid on the back of the spoon with your finger. When the line stays and no liquid runs back into it, you are ready (and this will take only a matter of a minute or two). Remove the pan from the stove immediately and pour the contents through the strainer into the cold metal bowl. Stir constantly until the liquid cools down. Stir in 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, chill in the fridge and churn in an ice cream machine, at which point you can serve it or freeze it. This has been a favorite in our house since I made it...

Variations

Using the basic recipe as a starting point, omitting the vanilla extract and adding other flavors, you can make other ice creams.

Mint ice cream - Add a big bunch of mint leaves to the cold half and half. Heat almost to a boil, then remove from the heat, cover and allow to sit for at least 30 minutes (preferably even longer) before straining out the mint and continuing with the recipe.

Cinnamon ice cream - Add a cinnamon stick to the cold half and half. Proceed as for the mint, above. If you like it to be a little stronger in flavor, add some ground cinnamon after cooking. Whisk briefly and strain before churning.

Vanilla bean ice cream - Add 1 split vanilla bean to your cold half and half (cut in half lengthwise, scrape the seeds out with a knife, and add seeds and bean). Bring almost to a boil, remove from heat, leave for 30 minutes, covered, then remove the bean halves (but leave the seeds in), then return to a boil and continue with the recipe. Make sure that you do not use a fine strainer at the end, as you want the seeds to stay in the mix.


Note 1 - This is one recipe where everything has to be on hand before you start. As soon as the half and half boils, you have to work quickly. The mixture must not overcook or the eggs will scramble. A tiny bit of scrambling is OK - the strainer will get rid of it - but if the whole mixture scrambles, then all is lost.

Note 2 - The heat on the stove should be at least medium, or the whole process will take a while.

Note 3 - (For readers outside N. America) Half and half = half milk, half cream.

Note 4 - Metric info: 7 oz = 200g; 2 cups = 470 ml.

Mixed Berry Frozen Yogurt

OK, so I realize it is the middle of winter, and not everyone wants to be eating frozen desserts, but I just got an ice cream maker, and I have never made frozen yogurt. I had some plain yogurt left from the Moroccan lamb stew, so I figured why not?
I used a recipe that is based on one that came with my Cuisinart ice cream maker. The day before, I placed the mixing bowl of the ice cream maker in the freezer, and put 12 oz of frozen berries (I used roughly half and half strawberries and blueberries) in the refrigerator to thaw. The following day, I pureed the berries in a blender, strained them through a couple sieves to remove the seeds and transferred the puree to a large bowl. I added 2 cups plain yogurt, a splash of vanilla extract, 1/2 cup of whole milk and 1/2 cup of sugar. I whisked well to dissolve the sugar and then poured the mix into the ice cream maker and churned until starting to solidify. I then froze it in a yogurt container (the quart container that the yogurt came in - I always save these).
I enjoyed the flavor of the finished product but found the texture to be a little hard. It has only been frozen for about 8 hours, so it may change, but I think there is too much water in it. Next time I will omit the milk and maybe increase the yogurt. More sugar would help with the consistency too, but I felt it was sweet enough. Maybe I could drain the yogurt?
Not too bad for a first attempt...