Make Ahead

Banana Bread Ice Cream

August 25, 2015
1
1 Ratings
Photo by Elme Jordaan
  • Makes 1 and 1/2 quarts
Author Notes

Rich and Creamy Banana Bread Ice Cream swirled with dulce de leche and crispy banana bread chunks! —Elme Jordaan

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Ingredients
  • Ice Cream Base
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 cup milk
  • 8 egg yolks
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • Pinch cloves
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 loaf of banana bread or (4 large slices)
  • 2 medium bananas (chilled)
  • Crispy Banana Bread Chunks
  • 1/2 remaining loaf of banana bread or (4 large slices)
  • 1/2 cup warm melted butter
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup dulce de leche
Directions
  1. Ice Cream Base
  2. Combine the milk and cream, add the banana bread and soak for an hour in the fridge.
  3. Slice and add the bananas to the cream mixture. Blend or emulsify the mixture until smooth (no solid trace of bread or bananas).
  4. Add cream mixture to a pot and bring to a low simmer. While the cream simmers; whisk egg yolks with sugar, spices and vanilla until smooth (2 min).
  5. Slowly add 1/2 a cup of the hot cream while whisking briskly. Continue to add 1/2 cups at a time slowly and patiently until more than half of the cream has been combined. Transfer the egg custard to the remaining cream in the pot and simmer until custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Always whisking! (strain the mixture if you feel necessary).
  6. Cover and chill the custard, preferably overnight, until completely cold. (2-4 hours will suffice) Churn in an ice cream machine according to manufactures' instructions.
  1. Crispy Banana Bread Chunks
  2. Cut banana bread into small chunks (1/2 inch cubes).
  3. Whisk together warm butter and brown sugar until the sugar is melted.
  4. Toss the bread chunks in the butter mixture and spread out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
  5. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 min, flipping the chunks every 5 minutes so they crisp up on all sides. Let cool until completely cold.
  6. Once ice cream is churned, swirl and layer with crispy banana bread chunks and dulce de leche into a freezer safe glass or plastice container. Enjoy all year round on a waffle cone or sandwiched between fresh gingerbread cookies!

See what other Food52ers are saying.

4 Reviews

kguser February 25, 2024
Followed the directions exactly for the banana chunks. The sugar burned almost immediately and ruined all the banana bread chunks. And worst of all, I can't even remake it because that was the last of my banana bread and butter. Don't waste your time and ingredients on this.
cameroka June 21, 2021
I made this yesterday, and wow! It was amazing. I had many roadblocks that were my own fault, but I persevered and it was truly worth making banana bread twice. It has a delightful flavor and the crunchy banana bread pieces!! One of my friend's said it was one of the "TOP FIVE ICE CREAMS OF THEIR LIFE"!!! It's definitely in my top 10 but I've also probably eaten more ice cream than her. Bravo, Emle, on this recipe!

NOTES:
I used King Arthur's Whole Grain Banana Bread: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/whole-grain-banana-bread-recipe (which is amazing by itself!) Make sure to roast the bananas in the oven as it pre-heats for an elevated banana flavor. I also roasted the bananas that went into the heavy cream mix as well.
Made dulce de leche by simmering sweetened condensed milk for 2.5 hours.
My banana bread chunks burnt a bit in the oven, so make sure to watch those. You also might not need a whole stick of butter for that, maybe 6 Tbsp. Also the chocolate chips melted and burnt in the oven as well, so consider not using them or have a more watchful eye than me?
My heavy cream mixture was very thick! Almost like a batter, so I added a bit more heavy cream(1/4c) and milk (splash). It also almost never came to a simmer, more like a glopglop, so I relied on a thermometer to 1st reach 150F, add to the eggs, and then put it back on to simmer to 165F.
Elme J. August 7, 2016
Thank you Spencer! Its one of my favorites too and quite the showstopper!
Spencer C. August 6, 2016
This is one of the best ice creams I've ever made or eaten. Perfectly sweet, perfect consistency, chunks of banana bread adds great texture. Will make again and again.