Banana Curry Ice Cream

Intriguing ice cream flavors sometimes just fall into my lap, or into my ears to be more exact.  I don’t always try an ice cream flavor somewhere else before making it myself.  I often hear about different flavors through twitter, watching food and travel shows, or from friends’ experiences at restaurants.  Once I hear about a fun flavor, the wheels begin to turn and soon enough I have conjured up ideas to make my own version.  I have heard several food lovers speak of Banana Curry Ice Cream.  Apparently a restaurant in San Francisco, called Manresa, makes a killer version of this ice cream, some arguing that the chef was the original creator of the flavor.  After reading rave reviews about the flavor combination I had to try it myself.

Wowza!  The throngs of banana curry ice cream fans are correct – banana and curry go perfectly together.  Of course I am not sure if my scoop tastes exactly like other scoops, but I feel like I have  created a winner.  Strong banana flavor up front followed by the subtle curry spice and sweetness.  The flavor of curry gets stronger with every bite.  Enjoy!

[By the way, the flowers in the pictures above are beautifully fragrant hyacinth that I found at the farmers market last weekend.  I could not resist taking a couple pictures.]

Banana Curry Ice Cream
Adapted from recipe for Roasted Banana Ice Cream by David Lebovitz
Makes 1 quart

3 medium-sized ripe bananas, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
1/3 cup (70 g) packed light brown sugar
1 Tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces
1 1/2 cups (375 ml) whole milk
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon course salt
1 teaspoon sweet curry powder (I used Penzey’s)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Prepare bananas and toss them with the brown sugar and butter in a small (2-quart) baking dish.  Bake for 40 minutes, stirring once during baking, until the bananas are browned and cooked through.

Scrape contents of the dish (bananas and the thick sugar syrup) into a blender or food processor.  Add the milk, sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, salt, and curry powder, and puree until smooth.

Chill mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator (4 hours).  Pour into your ice cream make and churn in your ice cream according to manufacturer’s instructions.  Transfer to a plastic container and freeze until firm, about 4 hours.