Fire and Ice… Cream that is! - Bananas Foster Split

I love Bananas Foster, but I hate it when the ice cream turns into soup about half way through my delicious dessert. So I have come up with, what I think, is a sound solution to the problem.
Serving Fried Ice Cream with the Bananas Foster; the crispy corn flake coating should insulate the ice cream from the hot rum syrup of the Bananas Foster; sort of the same idea as a Bakes Alaska...


Fried Ice Cream is something that can be made ahead and kept frozen until ready for frying. This really is a 2 night dessert, as you will need a whole evening of freezing, dredging, re-freezing, dredging and finally freezing over night before they are ready to fry up. I prefer to use Coconut oil for frying because it’s one of the few safe deep frying oils, peanut being one of the others.

Now, now.... Before everyone goes screaming for the hills thinkin I am insane… Hear me out… Cause Coconut oil has gotten a REALLY bad rap over the years…..

All Polyunsaturated oils (Canola, Soy, Corn, Safflower and Cottonseed) begin to polymerize (or become plastic like) when subject to temperatures above 200 degrees. This is due to their high Polyunsaturated fat content. Olive oil and Macadamia nut oil, while higher in Monounsaturated fats, have lower smoke points and are not good for deep frying. On the other hand, Coconut oil is composed primarily of Saturated fat making it fairly stable at higher temperatures… This is supposedly bad for you, however, after sifting through all the hype and big business propaganda started by the rapeseed (canola) and soy industry -- Coconut oil in particular is composed of medium chained saturated fatty acids. These shorter fat molecules are broken down by the liver and do not necessarily contribute to high blood cholesterol. A a matter of fact, they have been shown to create a healthier HDL/LDL ratio in the body. Caprylic, Capric (found in Goat Milk) and Lauric (an essential fatty acid for building and maintaining the immune system) are just a couple of these types of fatty acids making up coconut oil… These are the types of fats used in baby formula because they are easily digested.

OK, Science part is over. Now, let's get to makin' this Banana Split with attitude starting with the Fried Ice Cream.......

Fried Ice Cream

1 Pint Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
2 1/2 cup Crushed Cornflakes (Kellogg's but Not Tony the Tiger)
1 tsp Cinnamon
Optional 1/4 tsp Chili powder or Cayenne
1 egg
1 TB Sugar
1/2 tsp Vanilla
Coconut oil, or Peanut oil for frying

With an ice cream scoop, form 4 balls of ice cream.

I like to twist mine up in plastic wrap to hold a, more or less, round shape, but you can also simply place the scoops on a plastic lined baking sheet, and cover them with plastic wrap.

Freeze for at least 3 hours.
Roll your cornflakes to create crumbs.

You want them about this size, not fine crumbs like a cheese cake crust, but more of a medium.

In a bowl, combine the Cornflake crumbs with Cinnamon and cayenne/chili powder, if using, and toss together in a shallow dish.

Dip the ice cream balls in the crumb mixture until fairly well coated (but it doesn't have to be perfect, cause your gonna do this again to build up layers)

and return to the freezer for 1 hour on an aluminum foil lines baking sheet. (wax paper will work, but aluminum foil works better - it pulls the heat from the ice cream and chills faster)

In a bowl, beat the egg, sugar and vanilla.

Dip the coated ice cream balls into the egg,

then roll in the crumb mixture, coating completely.

Freeze for 1 more hour.

Repeat – Dip & Roll

but this time freeze them overnight, wrapped in a couple layers of plastic wrap to prevent burn.


Through the magick of Blog technology, we are going to take a quantum leap to the future and complete our deep fried Ice Cream. ;)

Queue Time Travel Music…. <<---------- Like the beginning of Dream Weaver by Gary Wright…..

The Next day …..

Heat the oil in a large pot or fryer to 400 degrees F.
One at a time, lower the ice cream balls into the oil

and fry until golden brown, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Remove from the oil

and place on paper towel to drain for 30 seconds,

then move to a dessert bowl and serve.
Repeat with the remaining ice cream.

If you are preparing an accompaniment, like I will be… Once fried. these can be stored in the freezer wrapped tightly in several layers of plastic wrap for up to 30 minutes while you complete any accoutrement.......

Bananas Foster

A simple dish that goes great over Deep Fried Ice Cream, Crepes, Waffles, etc... Flambé always looks impressive to your guests. Please be advised of 2 things:

• Please have a pan lid and a fire extinguisher or baking soda handy before attempting this recipe. I use to think it was not a big deal, and people were just overly cautious, that is until the “Saganaki Project” when I caught my stove top on fire and almost lost my eyebrows as well as the sleeve of my shirt.
• Most, but not all, of the alcohol burns off during the flambé, if you can’t indulge in alcohol, you may want to make some other dessert.

4 TB unsalted butter
1/4 Cup + 2 TB Dark Brown Sugar Packed
3/4 tsp Mace
1/2 tsp All-Spice
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
3 TB 99 bananas liqueur
4 Bananas (slightly green), sliced in half, then split lengthwise yielding 8 pieces
1/4 Cup Meyers Dark Rum

I peel my bananas from the bottom when I do this, I just think is works better.

Cut them in half and then slice in half, lengthwise. (if you try do slice the whole banana, it has a tendency to break)

Melt butter in a 10 to 12 inch heavy skillet over low heat.

Add Brown Sugar, Allspice, Cinnamon and Mace;

Stirring until the sugar dissolves.

Add 99 bananas and bring sauce to a simmer.

Place the banana slices in the skillet keeping them evenly spaced in the pan.

Cook for 1 minute on each side while spooning the sauce over bananas as they are cooking. (You are poaching the bananas in syrup.)

Bring sauce back to a simmer and add rum.


BEWARE: The sauce will flame on its own if it’s hot enough; this is especially true if you are working on a gas range.
If not, once it begins to steam, there will be alcohol vapor, use a stick lighter or fireplace match to ignite the sauce.

QUICK---TURN OFF THE LIGHTS!!

Continue cooking until flame dies out, approximately 1 to 2 minutes.
OK, shows over.... Turn the lights back on.
Remove bananas from pan to serving dishes.

If the sauce is too thin, cook for 1 to 2 minutes longer until slightly thickened, like pancake syrup.
Immediately spoon the sauce over the bananas.


And now, the Bananas Foster Split------

Add a scoop of the Fried Ice Cream.

Spoon more caramel sauce over the top.

Add some Gran Marnier whipped cream.

NO Maraschino cherries need apply, thank you; just hand me a spoon already!!!! AWESOME!!!


Mangia!!
~~

When Chimpanzees Dream - Bananas Brûlée

I am not really big on bananas. Part of it is due to the plethora of artificial banana flavored products on the market, including ice cream and Popsicles. Although I think the one that freaks me out the most is Banana nut coffee.

I tend to be a coffee purist anyway, taking mine with a simple addition of half and half to foster what I call a "Paper bag brown" color. But I can understand most flavors, such as Irish Cream (sans alcohol) and Chocolate (mocha from your coffee pot) and even Vanilla (which reminds me of a Latte for some reason). But when it comes to flavors like Cinnamon Bun, Creme Brûlée , and of course the afore mentioned Banana Nut, I would much rather have the actual Cinnamon roll, ramekin of Creme Brûlée or slice of Banana Nut bread NEXT to, not IN, my coffee. Yes, there are "empty calorie" concerns, however, personally, I think I would rather have the empty calories than the artificial chemical flavorings. Besides, If the Banana Nut bread is IN my coffee, where am I suppose to put the butter? It just becomes too confusing for me in the morning when I am trying to caffeinate myself into a state of coherence.

The previous tangent is actually related, trust me. For even though I am not big on bananas, as I said before, there are 3 banana-centric dishes that cause me to drool uncontrollably.

• Banana Nut Bread (it HAS to have nuts)
• Bananas Foster (Oh yeah!!)
• Bananas Brûlée

Yes, Bananas Brûlée. Surprisingly simple, yet OH SO delicious, especially with Chocolate or Coconut ice cream, Chocolate Silk Pie, or Coconut Creme Pie.

It's not so much a recipe as it is a method of preparation. You will need the following......

Green Bananas (They hold up better, the same is true of Bananas Foster)
Demerara sugar (You can use Washed Cane or "Sugar in the Raw" - Its the crystal size you need)

Yep, it's that simple as far as the ingredients are concerned. Now, you will need 1 important piece of equipment.

A Kitchen Torch

Yes, we get to play with fire!!! Yoo Hoo!!

Take your green banana and peel it.

Slice it in half length-wise. You can leave it this way for a banana split, or cut each length in half, creating 4 quarters.

Dip the cut side in Demerara sugar.

Ignite the torch (Insert Tim Allen Chimpanzee/Gorilla/Orangutan noises here)

Apply the flame to the sugared side of the banana, holding the torch at least 3 inches above the surface.

Pass the torch back and forth slowly until the sugar begins to "Melt" and brown into a hard caramel coating. Let cool for about 30 seconds before handling.

Apply Brûlée Bananas to your favorite dessert. (do not let them sit or the sugar will draw moisture and become soggy)

Tonight, I chose Chocolate Gelato with hazelnut chunks, not exactly Gianduia, which is very finely ground hazelnuts mixed with the chocolate, like Nutella, but delicious none the less.

(I wanted Coconut, but they were out)

I believe this is the ultimate purpose of evolution. No longer must I eat raw bananas, as my proficiency with tools and mastery of fire allows me to take the banana to a new level of deliciousness!

Make mine Brûlée. ;)

Mangia!!
~~