Banana bread was so 2020. Why was that exactly? My hunch is that many people were trying their hand at baking for the first time and the forgiving banana bread is a solid gateway to the world of baking. Many households also suddenly became aware of the faux pas of letting bananas go to waste. And true, the adorable banter between Samin Nosrat and Hrishi Hirway on their podcast, Home Cooking had us all craving this delight. (Note: in case you lost track, the promised bread was finally delivered in December of 2021).
If you made your share of banana bread in 2020, and maybe even moved on to smoothies or waffles in 2021, you’re ready for a new outlet for your extra brown bananas. This ice cream is just the thing. We use the worst of the worst (or the best of the best depending on how you look at it) over ripe bananas and extract all of their flavor into a mixture of milk, cream, sugar and eggs. After it churns, we stir in chocolate chips and pecans for a little twist on a favorite from a certain famous ice cream maker in Vermont. Chunky Monkey was taken, so I asked for input on the name and my dad delivered with Banana Pecana Chocolata. I think it sounds like the lyrics in “Lady Marmalade”. It’s fitting.
Banana Pecana Chocolata
Yield: about 1 quart
What You Need:
3 extra ripe bananas, peeled and sliced into 1-inch pieces
¼ - ½ vanilla bean (about ½ inch piece)*
2 cups half-and-half, light cream, whole milk or combination
1 tablespoon tapioca starch
½ cup sugar, divided
¼ cup dry milk powder
3 egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream
¾ cup pecan halves
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
*Note: You can use 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in place of the vanilla bean. Add it in Step 6.
What You Do:
In a medium pot, combine bananas with the half-and-half or milk. Carefully scrape out the insides of a vanilla bean and add scraped bits plus the pod to the pot. Over medium low heat, bring just to a simmer. It should be lightly steaming. Remove from the heat and steep for 30 minutes.
Strain into a clean bowl. Press as much liquid as possible from the banana pulp. discard solids.
In a small bowl, combine about 2 tablespoons of the banana milk with the tapioca starch. Set aside.
Pour about ¼ cup of the banana milk back into the pot. Add ¼ cup of the sugar and the dry milk powder. Whisk until smooth. Add the remaining banana milk back to the pot. Bring to a simmer over medium low heat.
In another bowl, beat the egg yolks with the remaining ¼ cup sugar with a handheld mixer or a whisk, until smooth and slightly pale yellow.
When the egg yolks are lightened and the milk mixture just begins to steam, temper the egg yolks: while whisking constantly or with the mixer running on medium speed, add about 2 tablespoons of the hot milk mixture to the egg yolks. Add another 2 tablespoons and beat thoroughly. Repeat until you’ve added about 1 cup of the milk mixture. Pour the contents of the bowl back into the pot along with the tapioca starch mixture you set aside. (Add the vanilla extract, if using).
Stir constantly over medium low heat until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Be patient, this could take about 6-10 minutes or longer. Stir constantly so that the custard does not solidify on the bottom of the pot. Strain through a mesh strainer into a clean container. Cool completely in an ice bath. Stir in the cream. Refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours.
Meanwhile make sure your ice cream churner bowl is freezing and toast the pecans: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spread pecans out on a baking sheet and toast for about 7-9 minutes or until just starting to brown.
The next day, freeze in an ice cream churner according to the manufacturer instructions. When the ice cream is nearly fully churned, (it should double in volume) or after about 20 minutes, add the chocolate chips and pecans with the churner still running. Stir until evenly distributed. Enjoy immediately or Transfer to a freezer safe container.