Banana Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Forget banana bread, this ice cream is the perfect use for super ripe bananas on the counter! 😉

I know that the trend is to make healthy banana ice cream, but this one is the real deal. It has puréed bananas in the custard base instead of milk. I added vanilla extract and chocolate chips to make it even more special. This recipe was adapted from The New York Times, contributed by Melissa Clark. SO so SO creamy!!

Yield: About 1 1/2 pints

For the Fruit:

• 4 very ripe medium bananas
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• pinch of coarse salt
• ½ cup buttermilk

For the Base:

• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 6 large egg yolks
• ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ⅔ cup sugar
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

To Prepare the Fruit:

1. In a blender, purée bananas, sugar, lemon juice and salt until smooth. (I used a Vitamix.)

To Make the Base:

1. In a small pot, simmer heavy cream, sugar and salt until sugar completely dissolves, about 5 minutes. Remove pot from heat.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk yolks. Whisking constantly, slowly whisk about a third of the hot cream into the yolks, then whisk the yolk mixture back into the pot with the cream.
3. Return pot to medium-low heat and gently cook until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer).
4. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl.
5. Stir buttermilk and the fruit purée into base. Add the vanilla extract. Cool mixture to room temperature. (I place the bowl into an ice bath.)
6. Cover and chill at least 4 hours or overnight. (I place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the base before placing in it into the refrigerator.)
7. Churn the base in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. At the end of processing, add the chocolate chips; continue processing until evenly incorporated.
8. Serve directly from the machine for soft serve, or store in freezer until needed. If storing in the freezer, directly cover the surface of the ice cream with plastic wrap before covering with the lid in order to prevent icing.

One Year Ago:

• Salted Dulce de Leche Shortbread (Alfajores) Bars
• Biscoff Blondies

Two Years Ago:

• Biscoff Crunch & Swirl Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
• Fudge Pops!
• Chocolate & Butterscotch Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches
• Momofuku Milk Bar’s Cornflake – Chocolate Chip – Marshmallow Cookies