Banana Cream

You all are in for a major treat! The littlest sister (Natalie) made this frozen goodness last week and it was love at first bite! My arm never has to be twisted for dessert but if you are talking a healthy dessert? Well, I'll take an extra scoop please!

This "ice cream" is made with frozen bananas. BANANAS. That's it! Nat had a little blender conundrum, so she added a quick pour of half and half to help with the texture. When we tested the final product, we were all going crazy thinking about all of the fun add-ins that would make this Summer dessert even sweeter. Cinnamon, mini chocolate chips, peanut butter, blueberries...and so many other friendly things that could take this healthy dessert into not so healthy territory. I definitely wouldn't cheat on my beloved mint chocolate chip (preferably of the green variety) and say that Banana Cream is just as good, but when you're in need of something sweet, but don't want a sacrifice day's worth of healthy eating and a great workout, this frozen treat surely does the trick!

Banana Cream

A bunch of bananas, sliced

splash of milk, cream or half and half

Slice bananas and arrange on a cookie sheet. Place in freezer for a few hours. 

In a food processor or blender (we found that the processor works much better), process bananas until smooth and ice creamy. Add mix-ins if desired. Transfer to a freezer safe container and let harden for a few hours before devouring.

Salted Dulce de Leche Ice Cream with Dark Chocolate + Toasted Pecans

It is no secret that Mark and I are ice cream people- I'm beginning to think it's our love language. 

We have a sweet weakness and we allow ourselves to indulge in a giant helping about once a week. When I asked Mark what he wanted for his birthday dessert, I had a feeling (and was secretly wishing) that he would request a homemade batch of ice cream. His only specifications were the following ingredients; caramel, nuts and chocolate, otherwise known as Mark's holy trinity of all sweets. 

As soon as he gave me the official ice cream request, I knew exactly what I wanted to churn up in our trusty ice cream maker. Thanks to Katie, I was recently reminded that when boiled for a few hours, a can of sweetened condensed milk turns into dulce de leche ("candy of milk"), a smooth and creamy caramel sauce. Quick and easy? No. Worth the time and patience? Yes. I tweaked my vanilla ice cream recipe by omitting the sugar and vanilla, adding the Dulce de Leche for the flavor base accompanied by two simple mix-ins, per the Mister's request.

The end result was a salted caramel ice cream laced with rich dark chocolate chunks and toasty pecan pieces roasted to a nice happy place. The birthday boy was over the moon happy. Up until now, Nutella Gelato claimed the prize for best use of our ice cream maker thus far but as of May 5, Salted Dulce de Leche is officially wearing the crown. We won't be waiting for another birthday celebration to make this again. 

Salted Dulce de Leche Ice Cream with Roasted Pecans + Dark Chocolate

1.5 cups dulce de leche (recipe below)
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup good quality dark chocolate chunks
3/4 cup chopped toasted pecans
Sprinkle of sea salt 

In a heavy bottom saucepan, combine cream and milk and cook on medium-high heat. When it comes to a rolling boil, remove from heat, and whisk in dulce de leche until combined. Let this mixture come to room temperature. 

Churn ice cream mixture according to your ice cream maker's instructions. When the ice cream has become frozen and thick, mix in chocolate, nuts and salt. Ideally, let the ice cream harden a bit more in the freezer.

Serve with warm dulce de leche on top.  

Dulce de Leche-
2 cans (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk

Remove the labels from the cans and poke two small vent holes in the top. Place cans in a heavy bottom sauce pan and fill with water until the water comes up about 3/4 up the cans. Turn the heat on medium-low and simmer for two hours. Add more water as necessary. The longer this simmers, the thicker it gets. For the ice cream, I kept mine slightly runny but not too thick. Let the cans cool before opening. The dulce de leche should be a nice caramel/tan color.

Then have a moment of silence.

Peaches & Cream

Guess what? I brought the ice cream maker out to play this weekend. I mixed together sweet cream and fresh peaches which was all sorts of goodness. It made us smile all over our faces and each cold bite warmed our ice cream obsessed hearts. There's something sweetly soothing about that creamy, dreamy goodness that is churned up into a frozen treat and delivered to dance in our mouths by way of a spoon.

This ice cream is simple, Southern and downright good for the soul.

Peaches & Cream Ice Cream

(makes 1 quarts, recipe can be doubled)

1 cup heavy cream

1 pint whole milk

1 cup sugar

2 egg yolks

2 fresh peaches, diced

Combine cream, milk and sugar into a heavy bottomed sauce pan. Bring to a light boil over medium heat. Watch carefully making sure the mixture doesn't boil over. Remove pan from heat. Beat egg yolks in a mixing bowl and slowly wisk in 1 cup of the hot cream mixture. Gradually add the egg mixture back into the hot cream. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the cream coats the of a spoon, or reaches a temperature of 170 degrees. This will take approximately 6-8 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.

Pour ice cream mixture into the body of your ice cream maker. Churn for 20-25 minutes or until ice cream reaches desired texture. Mix peaches into the ice cream during the last 2-3 minutes of churning.

Just treat yourself. Please?