Fall

Serendipity Ice Cream: Banana Chocolate Chili

September 13, 2010
0
0 Ratings
  • Makes about 1 quart
Author Notes

Sometimes things just come together with a little serendipity. Like this ice cream. At the beginning of September TAZA Chocolate Mexicano was featured in the food52 shop. I am a big chocolate fan, so I thought to myself: I will have to find that someday. My parents returned from a trip to Seattle and Portland three days later with, coincidentally, some TAZA Guajillo Chili Chocolate Mexicano as a gift for me. A few days after that, Elana of elanaspantry posted her recipe for Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream and then a few days later there was a foodpickle question about overripe bananas. It is so humid here bananas ripen really quickly; I have been peeling and freezing ripe bananas in Ziploc bags for a while now. All of these elements percolated in my brain and this ice cream was the result. This reminds me of the chocolate dipped frozen bananas I enjoyed as a kid from a local ice cream shop - with a subtle spicy warmth at the end. —gingerroot

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Ingredients
  • 3 frozen ripe bananas
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup 1% milk
  • 2.7 ounces TAZA Guajillo Chili Chocolate Mexicano
  • 1/4 cup golden brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ancho chili powder
Directions
  1. Take frozen bananas out of freezer to thaw. With a large serrated knife, finely chop chocolate discs. Transfer chocolate to a bowl and set aside.
  2. Heat cream, milk and palm sugar in a saucepan over low heat. Stir and cook until brown sugar has dissolved. Remove mixture from heat, stir in chocolate until completely melted. Allow mixture to cool.
  3. Coarsely chop bananas (they should be thawed, but still firm). Add bananas and chocolate cream mixture to blender. Puree until combined. Stir in ancho chili powder.
  4. Pour mixture into base of ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer’s instructions. When finished, transfer to an airtight container and freeze longer for a firmer ice cream.
  5. ENJOY!

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Recipe by: gingerroot

My most vivid childhood memories have to do with family and food. As a kid, I had the good fortune of having a mom who always encouraged trying new things, and two grandmothers who invited me into their kitchens at a young age. I enjoy cooking for the joy it brings me - sharing food with loved ones - and as a stress release. I turn to it equally during good times and bad. Now that I have two young children, I try to be conscientious about what we cook and eat. Right about the time I joined food52, I planted my first raised bed garden and joined a CSA; between the two I try to cook as sustainably and organically as I can. Although I'm usually cooking alone, my children are my favorite kitchen companions and I love cooking with them. I hope when they are grown they will look back fondly at our time spent in the kitchen, as they teach their loved ones about food-love. Best of all, after years on the mainland for college and graduate school, I get to eat and cook and raise my children in my hometown of Honolulu, HI. When I'm not cooking, I am helping others grow their own organic food or teaching schoolchildren about art.

6 Reviews

Midge February 9, 2012
I used to love those frozen bananas! Your grown-up version sounds great.
lapadia September 13, 2010
Thanks for the info gingerroot; I know DeLaurenti's VERY well, am just a ferry ride away from Pike Place Market, I will have to plan an Autumn trip very soon!
Sagegreen September 13, 2010
This looks really wonderful! My second ice cream making attempt came out pretty well with figs, blueberries, and ale!
gingerroot September 13, 2010
Hi Sagegreen! Thanks. Mmm...fig, blueberry and ale ice cream sounds really interesting.
lapadia September 13, 2010
I love it! Where around the Seattle area did your parents get the TAZA chocolate?
gingerroot September 13, 2010
Thanks lapadia! My mom said it was a specialty market near Pike Place. She couldn't remember the name except that it started with a "D" - I just did a Google search and DeLaurenti came up.