A couple of years ago, my sister in law Monica shared a quick and easy dessert idea with me. She sliced up a couple of bananas, sprinkled them with a little brown sugar and cinnamon and popped them under the broiler for just a minute so the sugar caramelized and turned into a syrup-ish kinda thing. While it’s still hot, you dump it over a bowl of vanilla ice cream and it’s the most yummy thing ever. I made it recently and when I got to the bottom of the bowl I had some melted vanilla ice cream that was all combined with the cinnamon-brown sugar goodness and some remnants of mushed caramelized banana. The flavors were so heavenly, and it was at that moment I knew I needed to turn it into an ice cream flavor of its own.
My experiment didn’t disappoint. I slow roasted bananas in brown sugar and cinnamon and then mixed it in a super easy {no cook!} base. The banana flavor is mild, but it’s the perfect amount of sweetness and the brown sugar and cinnamon round out the flavor palate. I know a lot of people have issues with cooked bananas- and if you’re one of those people, don’t fret. I puree the caramelized bananas into the ice cream, so all you get is the amazing flavor and extra creaminess!
Caramelized Banana Ice Cream
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4 ripe bananas, sliced into 1/2-1″ segments
1/4 C brown sugar
1 t cinnamon
1 T real butter, melted
2 C heavy cream
1 C whole milk (vit D milk)
1/2 C white sugar
1/4 t salt
2 t vanilla
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Line a 9 x 13″ baking dish with foil and place bananas in it. Sprinkle brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter over bananas and toss well with hands. Spread bananas out in a single layer.
Bake bananas (in your 400 degree preheated oven) for 15 minutes. Stir, and bake for 15 more. Remove from oven and cool on counter top. By this point you will have a scrumptious, thick syrup in there too.
While bananas are cooking combine cream, whole milk, white sugar, salt, and vanilla. Whisk until sugar is dissolved. Set in fridge to chill.
When bananas are completely cooled, puree them in a food processor* until completely smooth. Using a whisk, stir them into the milk mixture until combined. Chill entire mixture.
Churn in an ice cream maker and transfer to an air tight container in the freezer to set up. Makes 1 1/2 quarts.
*If you don’t have a food processor, you can use your blender. If you choose to do so, leave the whole milk out of the original milk mixture and use the milk to puree with the bananas. Don’t put the cream mixture in the blender after, make sure to whisk them both together by hand.
Note: The roasted bananas in this recipe make the ice cream incredibly soft and smooth, but it may be softer than usual when coming straight out of your ice cream maker so it’s important to let the ice cream set in the freezer for a few hours before eating.
After I took the picture above, I started to wonder what I could add to it. Nuts? Coconut? Cookies? My husband told me not to mess with a good thing and I’m glad I took his advice. (Although one thing still on my list is to make it into ice cream sandwiches with these cookies) It’s perfect just the way it is. But I could think of just one thing that would make it irrisistable.
Wait for it…
Ya, that’s what I’m talking about.
Get the recipe for Kate’s buttermilk caramel syrup here.
And then go make yourself a bowl of this:
The only other thing that can make home made ice cream any better than it already is are homemade waffle cones. I make mini ones and they’re perfect for my mini monkeys.
Questions & Reviews
Please do a waffle cone tutorial!!
I would dig a waffle cone tutorial!
Awesome. I'm so loving my new ice cream maker and I LOVE all things banana. This ice cream sounds great!
yummmmm… Sadly I can't have dairy right now but that didn't stop me. I tried the caramelized bananas in a bowl of oatmeal over the weekend and they were delicious! When dairy is back in my life I can't wait to try the ice cream!
When I was dairy-free, I would just substitute coconut milk (the full fat canned kind) for the dairy in ice cream recipes. It’s pretty decadent and made me not miss the dairy so much.
yes please! who doesnt need a recipe for home made waffle cones!
Angela- it's probably not your ice cream maker, it's probably the recipe. Try this one for example, the bananas add a smooth, creamy texture that keep it soft. The cream cheese and custard in our blueberry cheesecake ice cream will do the same thing. Usually when it goes rock hard like that it's because it doesn't have a good balance of fat to keep it soft.
What kind of ice cream maker do you have that you can scoop it like that? THe only kind of home made ice cream that I have made that you can scoop has a can of sweetened condensed milk in it. It always goes rock hard with other kinds.
Please, yes! Waffle cones are great and if I can make them myself: even better! Are these the kind you can make and freeze or store for later?
I would really like a tutorial on homemade waffle cones. Yummy Ice Cream.
I love, love, love the pictures of the caramel sauce dripping on the ice cream. Makes me want some NOW!
WOW, YUM!!!!! I need to make this! I would also love to learn how to make homemade waffle cones! 🙂 thanks!
Can't wait to try this!And yes, of course we'd love to learn how to make waffle cones! 🙂
This sounds sinfully good!! I have to try this!
oh my! this looks incredible!
Sara! It's been awhile and I just checked your blog and holy professional!! I'm seriously impressed. Can't say I'm surprised, though 🙂
I love how the sauce is just drizzling out of the bowl! Gorgeous!!
I'm in the mood for ice cream now! This is drool-worthy, decadent, HEAVEN! How I would loooove to try this!
Why would you even ask? Of course we want a waffle cone tutorial, that's why we come here! Sounds like I'm going to have to dust off my ice cream maker now. :o)
Mmmmm… I need an ice cream machine soooooo bad. But, I'd still love to know how to make waffle cones for my store-bought stuff until I can afford one. So please share!!! Thanks…
I just found your blog and I'm loving it!!! I would totally love to see a tutorial on the waffle cones!! 🙂
Absolutely … love to see the waffle cone tutorial. Can't wait and, thanks for asking 🙂
You guys do such an amazing job on your blog, thanks for sharing!
Oh wow..this looks and sounds insanely good. I am definitely giving this a try. I am always trying to think of ways to use my bananas. Thanks for sharing this great recipe. If you have the time come check out the Ice Cream Social event I'm having over at my blog this weekend. There are some great recipes being shared. You can link up there if you'd like too.
What an amazing sounding ice cream especially with the caramel sauce! Great shots with the caramel sauce dripping all over it.
It sounds amazing – but that dripping caramel is what gets me!!
Would love to learn how to make waffle cones!
I made this yesterday along with the Buttermilk caramel sauce and served it over a banana pound cake. Absolutely DELICIOUS. Plus I love ice creams that don't involve a custard….I'm lazy that way. Thanks for posting this. It's definitely going into my favorite ice cream file!
I love bananas! We can't wait to try it and we'd love to know how to make waffle cones. Craig would like to know if there is a job opening for a Second-Opinion-Taste-Tester before you post your entries. haha.
Kathryn- You bet you could just blend it into store-bought ice cream. It wouldn't be quite as yummy as homemade stuff, but it would be really really good!
For all of you asking about the oven temp- it's the first step listed. Preheat to 400 🙂
BY the way, what temperature do the bananas roast at?
BY the way, what temperature do the bananas roast at?