Roasted Banana Ice Cream

Johnny and I met online, have I mentioned that? We met on a message board for a site he ran at the time. He's a web developer by profession, but also has ideas and side projects he works on in his free time. You don't even want to know how many domains he owns for past, present, and future ideas. (Truth be told, I don't even know. I don't want to know.)

Back then, when we first started "talking," I was scooping ice cream nights at my dad's friend's store. Johnny immediately showed great excitement, saying ice cream was his favorite food!

Fast forward to now, with his whey allergy and the economy tanking. Remember I said whey is mainly used in processed foods to bulk them up? It's popping up in previously "safe" favorites of his, many ice cream flavors included. I'm talking FIRST. INGREDIENT. in the list is whey. Not a pretty picture. So, for his birthday, I got Johnny a Cuisinart ice cream maker, thinking I could make him his old favorites, minus the whey.

What happened next I did not anticipate. My former tech geek, lover of all computer gadgets and gizmos fell in love with the idea and promptly ordered himself an ice cream book in excitement of all the possibilities and a second freezer bowl so there's no delay in making batches.

I've created an Alton Brown. Don't believe me?! He bought a digital thermometer for the freezer to monitor that it's at 0° for the bowl inserts to freeze. I rest my case.

The first recipe he chose, and the reason for ordering Perfect Scoop, was roasted banana ice cream.

Bananas. Roasted. For 40 minutes.

I cannot put into words what this picture smells like. You just need to experience it firsthand. Descriptive words haven't been invented for the smells and euphoria this evokes. Trust me.


3 medium, ripe bananas cut into 1/2" pieces
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 Tbsp butter (salted, or unsalted) cut into small pieces

Toss everything to coat and put into a 400° oven for 40 minutes, turning once.

Once done, put into a blender with:

1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 tsp coarse salt

Blend until smooth and then chill in the refrigerator for a few hours before freezing in your ice cream machine. Makes 1 quart.

The Cuisinart only takes 20-25 minutes to freeze the ice cream. Then you transfer it to a freezer container and freeze for a firmer consistency.

Within a few hours we were enjoying creamy, sweet roasted banana ice cream! It was absolutely delicious, with a robust flavor unlike any other ice cream I've ever eaten!