Caramelized Banana-Blue Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup mashed ripe bananas 2 to 3 bananas
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Ice Cream Base
- ¾ cup dark chocolate chips or chunks
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup finely crumbled blue cheese such as Roquefort
Instructions
- In a medium pan over low heat, melt butter. Add bananas, brown sugar, and salt. Combine and stir until caramelized, about 6 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Prepare Ice Cream Base. After mixture has cooled to room temperature, add cooled caramelized banana mixture, and stir to combine.
- Place in refrigerator to chill, at least 8 hours.
- Combine chocolate and cream in a small saucepan. Fill a larger saucepan with 1 to 2 inches of water, and set the small saucepan inside it to create a double boiler. Heat over medium, stirring until chocolate is melted and fully combined with cream. Remove from heat, and set aside to cool.
- Pour chilled ice cream mixture into an ice cream maker and spin according to manufacturer’s instructions. Just before the ice cream comes to completion, slowly add cooled chocolate mixture into the machine. The chocolate should freeze and break into small chocolate flecks (stracciatella) as it comes in contact with the ice cream.
- When the ice cream is finished, gently stir in blue cheese crumbles before scooping into storage container(s).
- Store in the freezer for at least 2 hours (and preferably overnight) before serving. Alternatively, you may use a home camping-style or foam cooler to freeze ice cream. Place ice cream inside, and top with a block of dry ice followed by a sheet of cardboard. The dry ice mimics the action of a hardening cabinet, an essential part of the ice cream manufacturing process. When the ice cream is rock-hard, transfer it to your home freezer. It will actually rise to proper serving temperature in the freezer.
Chef Keith Schroeder
Chef Keith Schroeder is the CEO of High Road Craft Ice Cream & Sorbet in Atlanta, Georgia, where he invents new flavors of ice cream using things like Oreos, cinnamon, mango, and cheese.
Beth Marlowe
Beth Marlowe is a senior editor at the Washington Post Express. She has written for the Associated Press, Bloomberg, and Reuters.
Photographer Emily B. Hall
Emily B. Hall is a Texas-based photographer
Stylist Catie Adams
After college, Catie Adams worked as an interior designer and floral designer in the metro Atlanta area. Over the years, she broadened her design base to include all of her passions as she explored the culinary realm, working as a pastry chef and professional caterer. Catie also developed a talent for crafting and was a frequent vendor at local craft markets, selling her original creations. Now living in Chicago, Catie has integrated her skills, talents, and fashion insight in her work as a prop and food stylist. Some of her clients include Blabala Kids, Sears, K-Mart, Lowe’s, and Nike.
