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Blog

Filtering by Tag: custard

banana pudding ice cream

Andrea

There are a few foods that take me way, way back to my childhood. Orange danishes. Cheesecake. Anything combining peanut butter and banana. My momma's macaroni and cheese, her banana bread, and especially her banana pudding. Do you see a trend here? Banana popped up several times...I really, really, like banana. So you can imagine my excitement when my Charlottesville friend Stephanie, someone whom I think very well could have been separated from me at birth, brought homemade banana pudding ice cream to her dinner table one evening. And then again when Steph was spending an afternoon at my house, pointed to the pile of overripe bananas on my counter and said "Let's make ice cream! Right now." And now, when I sneak out to the kitchen mid-day, slip a spoon from a drawer, and sink it into the container of what's left for an afternoon pick-me-up. 

This flavor will forever remind me of my Momma. Banana pudding was one of my very favorite edibles while growing up, but sitting here today I can't remember ever making it for myself as an adult. Its the kind of recipe that mommas make, and until I am one, I don't know that I will. But this ice cream, it takes the best of what banana pudding is...the creamy texture, the crunch of vanilla wafers, the real bananas puréed smooth...and creates a simple, elegant, dinner-party-worthy dessert. One that leaves you mostly speechless, lost in thought, and thoroughly happy.

My life has been a little sweeter lately because of banana pudding ice cream mingled with memories of home and youth. Steph, I owe you. Big time.

I wish that I could take credit for this fabulous recipe, but I cannot.  This one I owe to my dear friend Stephanie, ice cream goddess and all-around awesome lady.

Banana Pudding Ice Cream

makes about 1 quart

Ingredients

  • 5 egg yolks
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • pinch salt
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 cups heavy cream, divided
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 4 very ripe bananas, mashed or puréed
  • 1/2 cup vanilla wafers, broken to small pieces but not crumbs

Method

  1. In a medium-size bowl whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and salt, and set aside.
  2. In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the milk and 1 cup of the cream just to a slow boil. Remove from heat and add to the egg mixture, whisking constantly.
  3. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and heat gently, stirring constantly, until a candy thermometer reads 170˚. Do not bring to a boil or it will most likely curdle. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
  4. Pour custard through a fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl. Add the remaining cup of cream and the vanilla, and stir to incorporate. Add the puréed banana and stir to combine.
  5. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. When the mixture is cool, cover the bowl completely with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
  6. The next day, pour the mixture into the frozen bowl of your ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions. About 3 minutes before the ice cream is done freezing, add the vanilla wafers. 

categories dessert, frozen
tags banana, banana pudding, custard, ice cream, vanilla wafers

ready and waiting

Andrea

Many weeks ago, around the time of our last snowfall, I made a batch of bright, happy lemon curd. It was a chilly evening, but the sky was a lovely shade of blue dappled with streaky silver clouds, and the setting sun shone through the windows of our house at just the right angle. On our table sat a bowl full of Meyer lemons, so vibrant in color that they were closer to the shade of a tangerine than the typical pale, lemony yellow. Snow was forecast for the coming days, but it didn’t seem possible when you looked across the room at those orange globes streaked with the sun’s last rays.

The lemon curd was an effort to preserve some of that sunshine, to bottle it up and stash it away on a shelf in our fridge, ready and waiting for the gloomiest of days. 36 hours later, the snow started to fall...and fall and fall. Plump, wet flakes spiraling quickly and quietly from an endlessly gray sky, eventually coating the ground with a heavy, 15-inch blanket of white. After a quick run to the store for groceries and some DVDs, Brian and I settled in for the storm. Out came the lemon curd, with all of its promise of warmer days, ready to spread over almond scones just pulled from the oven. It continued to make appearances over the next week, on all manner of baked goods and even swirled into a bit of Greek yogurt, topped with thawed blackberries leftover from last Summer’s harvest.

Recently, we've had a few rainy, gray days here in Charlottesville.  I haven't minded so much, really. The constant thrum of tiny drops hitting metal gutters has been quite soothing, and the misty air feels nice on skin dried from over-usage of our heater these last few months.  The temperature has been fairly warm with highs in the 50's, leaving me thankful that it's been rain falling from the sky rather than sleet or snow.  I can handle slipping on boots and a light waterproof jacket to dash outside to the car, rather than boots and coat and scarf and hat and gloves.  That gets a little old.

I did find myself craving sunshine yesterday afternoon though, and for some reason convinced myself that there must be some of this lemon curd still stashed away at the back of the refrigerator. After much rummaging and removing and rearranging I disappointedly concluded that, in fact, there was no remaining curd to be found. It was a silly thought, anyway, because any that was left would surely have been spoiled after weeks in a forgotten corner of the fridge. But still, I really, really wanted this curd.

And so I jumped onto Bella Eats to track down the recipe, going back through the last few weeks of posts to find the one where I’d shared it with you. And I realized, I never did! How silly of me, when Meyer lemons have been at their peak, when their deep golden flesh calls to you from across the produce department, begging you to take them home so that they can grace your fruit bowl with their beauty. Not that you need an excuse to purchase them, but if you’re looking for one, this is it.

Now go, hurry to the store, buy a bag of plump Meyer lemons before they disappear until next Winter, and make a pot of this lemon curd. We’ve got rainy Spring days ahead, and everybody can use a little sunshine in their fridge.

Lemon Curd

from Gourmet, December 2003 Ingredients
  • 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp finely grated fresh lemon zest
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into bits
  • 2 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 4 large egg yolks
Method
  1. Simmer lemon juice, zest, sugar, butter, cornstarch and salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderately high heat, whisking constantly for 1 minute.
  2. Lightly beat eggs in a small bowl, then add 1/4 cup of lemon mixture, whisking constantly.  Add yolk mixture to remaining lemon mixture on stovetop, then reduce heat to low and cook, whisking constantly, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk, about 2 minutes.
  3. Transfer to a bowl and cover surface with plastic wrap.  Chill.

The almond scones weren't quite right yet, so I'll share the recipe once I've tweaked it a bit more.  In the meantime, if you're craving scones, these citrus scones with cranberries and ginger are quite delicious this time of year...

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categories jams + spreads
tags Meyer lemons, custard, eggs, lemon curd