Banana Maple Ice Cream Recipes

EASY BANANA ICE CREAM (TIPS + 10 FLAVORS!)

Steps:

• Be sure to start with ripe and spotty bananas. Peel and slice into 1/2-inch slices for easier blending (large chunks tax the motor). Then add to a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze until firm (3-4 hours or overnight).
• Add sliced frozen bananas to a food processor fitted with an "S" blade. Then blend for 4-5 minutes or until completely smooth, fluffy, and blended. You'll need to stop occasionally to stir and scrape the sides. You'll be left with a soft serve texture. See "FREEZING" below for freezing tips.
• Add sliced frozen bananas to a high-speed blender, our most recommended model being the Vitamix 5200 for ultimate control and its powerful motor. (The Kitchenaid KSB8270FP Pro Line Series works well, too.) Turn the Vitamix dial to its lowest setting and ensure the switch is flipped to "Variable" NOT "High" to start with. It's too much to jump the motor from 0-100 that fast.
• Once it's started blending, quickly switch from "Variable" to "High" speed and use the tamper to press down and stir/agitate the bananas, which should turn into soft-serve texture banana ice cream quite quickly. If the motor seems to be struggling, stop and pause momentarily. Be sure to switch back to low speed / "Variable," then switch to "High" speed every time to protect the motor.
• Adding flavor to your nice cream is easy! For every flavor besides strawberry, berry, or Salted Caramel, simply add the recommended amounts of each ingredient to your ice cream at this time and blend until creamy and smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. If making strawberry or berry, we recommend adding them at the beginning with the unblended bananas for best texture.
• At this point you have soft-serve texture banana ice cream. To get more of a scoopable ice cream texture, simply spread into a Tupperware or parchment-lined loaf pan and freeze for 2-3 hours. Then scoop with an ice cream scoop! If too firm, let thaw 15-30 minutes to soften.
• Best when fresh. See freezing instructions above. Frozen banana ice cream should keep for up to 1 month if well covered, though we find it's best when used within the first week.

MAPLE SYRUP AND BANANA SAUCE

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat; stir the brown sugar, syrup, and cinnamon into the melted butter until the sugar dissolves, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the banana slices and stir to coat; simmer until hot, 1 to 2 minutes.

MAPLE ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Whisk 1/2 cup maple syrup and egg yolks together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• Stir remaining maple syrup, half-and-half, cream, and salt together in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring often, until simmering. Reduce heat to medium.
• Add about 1/2 cup of the hot cream mixture to the egg mixture. Whisk constantly to prevent the eggs from cooking. Repeat with another 1/2 cup of the cream mixture. Pour egg mixture into the saucepan, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula. Cook, stirring constantly, until custard thickens and coats the back of the spatula, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat.
• Strain custard through a fine-mesh sieve set over a clean bowl. Whisk in vanilla extract. Set the bowl in an ice bath and stir the custard occasionally until cooled to room temperature, 15 to 30 minutes.
• Remove the bowl from the ice bath, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours, or overnight.
• Churn cold custard in an ice cream maker, according to manufacturer's instructions, until it reaches the consistency of soft serve. Serve right away or cover tightly with plastic wrap and freeze until firm.

BANANA WALNUT ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Heat 2 1/2 cups of the half-and-half in a large saucepan over medium heat until small bubbles begin to form around the edges. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Mix the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl until smooth. While stirring, slowly pour the half-and-half into the egg mixture. Transfer the mixture to the saucepan and heat again over medium heat until bubbles begin to form around the edges. Remove from heat and return to the bowl. Stir in the heavy whipping cream.
• Puree the bananas and 3/4 cup half-and-half in a blender until smooth. Add puree to bowl and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until cold, 3 to 4 hours.
• Pour mixture into cylinder of ice cream freezer. (Refrigerate any remaining mixture until ready to freeze.) Freeze according to the manufacturer's directions. Stir in the walnuts. Transfer to 1 quart containers and freeze overnight before serving.

BANANA-MAPLE ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Combine 1 cup milk, sugar, and egg yolks in a small heavy saucepan; stir well with a whisk.
• Place over medium heat, stirring constantly.
• Cook for 8 minutes or until mixture reaches 180° and is slightly thickened (do not boil). Remove from heat.
• Pour custard into a cool bowl; place over ice water to cool completely.
• Combine 1/2 cup milk, dry milk, and vanilla.
• Stir in custard, banana, and syrup. Cover and chill.
• Pour mixture into the freezer can of an ice-cream freezer; freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.
• Spoon ice cream into a freezer-safe container; cover and freeze 1 hour or until firm.

BANANA ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Place the frozen banana in a food processor and pulse a few times to start breaking it down.
• Once it's fairly well broken down, slowly start blending stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. It will seem a little dry and icy at first but continue blending until it forms a smooth, creamy, soft serve ice cream-like texture. Depending on your blender or food processor you may need a little splash of dairy-free milk but for best results, try to use just the banana.
• Scoop the ice cream into a bowl and enjoy right away or place back in the freezer for 30-60 minutes for firmer ice cream.

MAPLE WALNUT ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Pour cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer over the bowl. Whisk egg yolks together in a separate bowl.
• Heat milk, sugar, and corn syrup together in a saucepan over medium-low heat until milk begins to steam, about 5 minutes. Slowly pour about 1/2 cup heated milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Scrape egg yolk mixture into the saucepan with a heatproof spatula.
• Cook and stir milk mixture constantly with the spatula, scraping the bottom of the saucepan often, until mixture thickens and coats the spatula, about 10 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat; pour mixture through the mesh strainer into the cream.
• Stir 3/4 cup maple syrup, coarse salt, and vanilla into cream mixture, then place the bowl over a larger bowl of ice water; stir to cool to room temperature. Chill mixture in the refrigerator, about 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C). Spread walnuts onto a baking sheet.
• Toast walnuts in the preheated oven until they turn golden brown and become fragrant, about 15 minutes. Set nuts aside to cool to room temperature. Chop nuts coarsely.
• Heat the 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon maple syrup in a saucepan until it comes to a boil. Stir in walnuts, and return to a boil. Stir nuts for 10 seconds, remove from heat; set aside to cool completely. The nuts will be wet and sticky when cooled.
• Remove cream mixture from the refrigerator, pour into your ice cream maker, and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. During the last few minutes of churning, stir in wet walnuts.