With talks about healthy living and the need to care for our body systems more carefully, there comes a dire need to choose healthy and natural foods over delicious junk.
As a result of this, we need to bridge the gap between healthy foods and great taste.
Food inventors are way ahead of us in the game as they have devised several recipes that taste delicious and are still very healthy. Among the plethora of such dishes and drinks, we have the banana ice cream.
You’ve probably had ice cream repeatedly, but I am almost sure that a taste of an all-natural banana ice cream would get your taste buds all tingly with excitement.
At grocery stores, at eateries and literally, everywhere you must have passed by a batch of banana ice creams.
You probably tasted them but with all the additives food brands fill up our foods with these days, you probably did not get the chance to try the banana ice cream in its real and unadulterated form.
For this reason, you’ve got to get to the kitchen and make one so that you too would taste the true goodness of the banana ice cream.
The banana ice cream which is all-natural, low in carbohydrates and calories, is the perfect addition to your healthy food regimen.
Ingredients
Banana
This is the main and base ingredient of the banana ice cream. It is recommended that bananas used here usually have spots to indicate just how ripe they are.
Simply use bananas that are ripe, an overripe banana would also be excellent as it would help bring out the naturally sweet flavor in the ice cream
Cream
Heavy cream can be used to help improve the texture and bring out the creamy nature of the ice cream.
It is, however, important to note that you should not use an excess of the heavy cream as it would build up more than enough calories required in the banana ice cream.
Milk
The kind of milk used for the banana ice cream depends on your taste buds, whatever suits you is basically acceptable.
Some people use coconut milk while others use whole milk. Whichever type you desire, is all up to you.
Sugar
The banana ice cream requires ripe bananas; these are already sweet and so sugar is optional. If you must add it, a small amount would do.
Trust me, the last thing you want to do is to build excess carbohydrates in your banana ice cream, it would be no different from the normal ice cream.
Eggs
Eggs are great for the banana ice cream, there are not a certain type of eggs that must be used for the banana ice cream.
However, it is recommended that you use cage-free eggs (eggs from birds that could run free). This is because eggs from such birds are way healthier and even tastier. Also, you would find the flavor to be exceptionally pure.
Rum
This is a truly rare and uncommon ingredient used to produce banana ice cream.
A lot of people do not use it. The addition of alcohol is totally optional and with or without the alcohol, the taste would still be amazing.
Alcohol gives the ice cream a bit of edge, it helps to balance out all the ingredients.
Also, since alcohol does not freeze, a little addition of alcohol in the banana ice cream would prevent the ice cream from freezing too hard. It would keep it soft and creamy, just the way typical ice cream should be.
If you are not too comfortable with using rum or vodka, after taking out the ice cream from the refrigerator, leave it for at least ten minutes to soften before you serve.
Vanilla extract
What’s life without a little bit of vanilla essence. The vanilla essence is also optional.
But I can tell you for a fact that the taste of banana and vanilla essence is an excellent blend. One in which you would love to taste in ice cream.
For the vanilla extract, a miniature amount will do. The banana ice cream is aimed at being both healthy and delicious at the same time.
For this reason, you need to avoid mixing excess ingredients as these build up calories that eliminate the whole purpose of the ice cream in the first place.
If you desire to keep the calories as low as possible, here are a couple of ingredients you could use:
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Ground cinnamon
- Lime zest
- Vanilla extract
Recipe
- 1 large bunch of bananas
- 2 cups of heavy cream
- 5 egg yolks (cage-free eggs are recommended)
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon of rum or vodka
- 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
Preparation
For the method of preparation of the banana ice cream, there are two methods you could try.
Preparation Using A Blender
When using a blender for this preparation, it is mostly advised that you use a powerful one.
The reason for this is for the frozen bananas to be blended, if the blender is not very strong, it could cause damage to parts of the blender
Step 1: Peel the bananas and cut them into small or medium-sized chunks. The thing here is to gauge the power of your blender.
If it’s a really powerful one, you can probably afford to cut the bananas into medium and even large-sized chunks. If your blender is not high powered, it’s best to stick with small chunks.
Step 2: Place the already cut banana chunks into the freezer and leave for at least two hours. If you could leave it overnight, that would also be very good.
How to Freeze Bananas
- To attain the best results, use overripe or ripe bananas. Unripe bananas would not give you the sweetened taste you want to achieve.
- Cut the bananas into sizeable chunks of even sizes.
- Place the chunks on a piece of parchment paper. As you do this, ensure that you separate the chunks as much as you possibly can. The best way to do this is to arrange them in straight columns. This ensures that at any time, you can easily take the amount you need for a certain preparation. The purpose of this is to avoid a case where the chunks are frozen and stuck together. This can sometimes prove to be quite a hassle.
- Place flat in the refrigerator and after two hours of freezing, transfer to a reusable freezer bag and leave for as long as you want.
Step 3: Transfer the frozen banana chunks into the blender, add the cream, sugar, milk, salt, rum, vanilla extract, and egg yolks. Allow blending thoroughly
Step 4: After blending you would see a gooey mixture with a very thick and creamy consistency. If it as thick as you want it to be, serve immediately.
If you desire a bit more thickness, pour in a freezer-safe bowl and place it in a freezer for it to thicken more.
Using An Ice Cream Maker
Using an ice cream maker is just as simple as using a blender.
Step 1 – Cut bananas into chunks and place them in the freezer for at least two hours.
Step 2 – Pour the milk, salt, and sugar onto a frying pan on low heat until you see small bubbles, this is a sign that the sugar is dissolved completely.
Step 3 – In a separate bowl, pour in the egg yolk into the milk mixture and whisk properly.
Step 4 – Place the mixture back on the frying pan on low heat. Stir continuously till a light thick consistency is formed.
You can easily tell if it’s time to take the pan off the heat if the back of the wooden spoon or spatula is coated with the mixture.
Step 5 – Blend the frozen banana chunks thoroughly till a smooth consistency is formed.
Step 6 – Pour the blended banana chunks into the ice cream maker, following this, add the milk mixture. Leave for some minutes according to the manufacturer’s instruction
Step 7 – If the ice cream is as thick as you want it to be, serve immediately. If not, allow thickening in a refrigerator for a few hours.
For a truly vegetarian-friendly banana ice cream, you would have to make the one ingredient banana ice cream that comprises only one ingredient and you guessed it right, bananas.
The ideal method for making this is the blender method. It’s a very short and easy process.
One Ingredient Banana Ice-Cream
Recipe and Equipment
- 1 bunch of bananas
- Knife
- Blender
- Freezer safe bowl
- Chopping board
- Parchment paper
Procedure
- Peel the bananas and cut them into sizeable chunks
- Place on parchment paper and freeze for at least two hours
- Blend the banana chunks thoroughly
- Serve immediately or place in the refrigerator and allow to thicken even further.
The one ingredient banana ice cream is truly delicious but that isn’t all there is to this creamy goodness as banana ice cream comes in a wide range of flavors:
Banana Chocolate Ice Cream
Recipe
- 3 large bananas
- 1/2 tablespoon of cocoa powder
Procedure
Step 1: Peel the bananas and cut into sizeable chunks
Step 2: Place in the freezer for a minimum of two hours
Step 3: In a high-powered blender, blend a mixture of the banana chunks and the Cocoa powder
Step 4: Blend till a creamy consistency is formed
Step 5: Serve
Pumpkin Banana Ice Cream
Recipe
- 3 bananas
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3/4 cup pumpkin extract
- 2 teaspoon honey
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Procedure
Step 1: Peel bananas and cut into small and even pieces
Step 2: Place in the freezer for at least two hours
Step 3: Transfer to a high-powered blender, add every other ingredient
Step 4: Blend till it attains a creamy consistency
Step 5: Serve
Caramelized Banana Ice Cream
If you’re looking for a little something extra, the caramelized banana ice cream is the truth.
Recipe
- 4 large ripe bananas
- 1/3 Brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- 1/2 cup of Milk
- 1/2 teaspoon of Vanilla extract
- 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice
- 1/8 tablespoon of Salt
- 1/2 tablespoon of sugar
Procedure
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
Step 2: Cut the bananas and mix with brown sugar and butter till it turns a shade of golden brown
Step 3: Roast in the oven for 40 minutes
Step 4: Transfer the bananas to the blender and add the lemon juice, vanilla extract, salt and sugar
Step 5: Blend till a thick consistency is formed
Step 6: Serve.
The banana ice cream also goes well with a wide variety of toppings:
- Chocolate chip
- Wafer cookies
- Strawberry slices
- Chopped walnuts
- Diced mangoes
- Chocolate syrup
- Pretzels
- Granola.
VIDEO: How To Make Banana “Nice” Cream Without A Food Processor
This video explains how to make banana ice cream without a food processor.
Why Should You Prefer Banana Ice Cream?
If you are in doubt, here are a few reasons why banana ice cream should be your go-to treat:
Nutrients
Bananas are packed with nutrients and with each taste of the ice cream you get to enjoy so many health benefits.
It has potassium which helps prevent heart diseases, carbohydrates for energy and vitamins that help boost the immune system.
Depression
Amino tryptophan is contained in bananas and it is known to be a mood-boosting carbohydrate that helps prevent and stop depression.
Lowers Blood Pressure
The potassium contained in banana serves as excellent prevention and relief for blood pressure.
Furthermore, one of the most appealing benefits of banana ice cream is the fact that it is very easy to prepare, and it also has a variety of methods to use.
