If you were raised by hippies OR you've watched 10 billion hours of Daniel Tiger on PBS, then you probably already know about Banana Swirl (also called Nice Cream). It's "ice cream" that's made with bananas instead of dairy. In its simplest form it's just frozen bananas, and it's about the healthiest dessert as you can have. My kids like it with a bit of cinnamon. Personally, I always found plain banana swirl to be cloying and by the second bite the banana flavor becomes too much. So, a few weeks ago I decided to figure out how to make banana swirl delicious for everyone.
I started building this recipe by thinking about another banana dessert that is pretty much the mirror image of banana swirl and so I watched Julia Child make Banana's flambé. After watching the video, I knew just what I needed to do to make the perfect banana ice cream.
Allow me to present, Bourbon Banana Swirl! It has bourbon, lemon, spices and salt to balance out the sweetness of the bananas and the delicious texture of smooth, creamy ice cream. While my kids liked plain banana swirl, they LOVE this version. It's absolutely perfect on its own or with a vegan caramel sauce. (As an extra bonus vegan caramel sauce uses coconut milk which means you don't have to do anything scary like cook sugar at high temperatures).
Note about Amount of Bourbon: I use less bourbon when serving this to a mixed age crowd and more bourbon when it's just for adults (vanilla extract is alcohol based, so just treat your bourbon like vanilla when serving to kids).
Note about Doubling this Recipe: If doubling, chop your bananas into 1 inch pieces because otherwise you may end up with some overly soft banana swirl mixed with chunks that still haven't been puréed.
Note about Special Equipment: I have only made banana swirl with a food processor. The internet tells me that it's also great with a blender, but I cannot verify. If someone makes it with a blender, would you please comment below?
Bourbon Banana Swirl
Serves 3-4. Time 10 minutes, plus time for bananas to freeze
Special Equipment: food processor or high powered blender.
Ingredients
4 medium ripe (not over ripe) bananas or about 1 pound peeled. Freeze for at least 6 hours or overnight
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cardamom (optional)
1-2 tablespoon honey
1-2 tablespoons bourbon
1 half a lemon, juiced
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
STEP ONE
Take bananas out of the freezer and allow to thaw for 10 minutes. Then slice bananas into 2 inch chunks and add to blender or food processor. Add in all your ingredients on top of the banana. Run your food processor for about 30 seconds until ice cream starts to come together. Then scrape down the bowl and pulse processor at least a few times until banana swirl is smooth. Banana swirl is done when it starts to ball up and there are no large banana chunks. You may still see a swirl of honey.
Serve right away or freeze for the future.
Vegan Bourbon Caramel Sauce
3/4 of brown sugar (if using light brown or white granulated add 1 teaspoon of molasses for more flavor and color)
1 cup minus 1 tablespoon full fat coconut milk not shaken (use all the cream from the top and some milk)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt or table salt
1-2 tablespoons bourbon
STEP ONE
add all the ingredients to a small pot. Bring to a boil and then turn down heat to simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently.
STEP TWO
Remove caramel sauce from heat. allow to cool for 10 minutes and then refrigerate until ready to use.
Jar will keep for a while covered in your fridge. Coconut fat will separate when you chill this completely, so simply stir or warm leftovers to get a smooth consistency.
Comments