Louisa's favourite (so far): Roasted Banana Ice Cream

I came back from hot Florence filled with  inspirations for cold delights such as extravagantly flavoured ice creams, sorbets and granitas. Black Sesame and Ginger Ice Cream are still on my to-try list. For a start I experimented with roasted bananas (ice cream) and cantaloupe (granita). My daughter Louisa, who has just arrived from England, instantly fell for the roasted banana ice cream because of its melting smoothness and the rich and sweet banana flavour. David Lebovitz has been absolutely right saying that roasting bananas in butter and brown sugar gives them a deep, rich butterscotch flavour, which enhances their abundant natural sweetness. 

Roasted Banana Ice Cream

(by David Lebovitz)

3 medium sized ripe bananas, peeled

70g (1/3 cup) Muscobado sugar

1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces

375ml (1 1/2 cups) whole milk

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 pinch of coarse salt

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Slice the bananas and toss them with the brown sugar and the butter in a baking dish. Bake for 40 minutes, stirring just once until the bananas are browned and cooked through.

Scrape the bananas and the thick syrup into a blender or food processor. Add the milk, granulated sugar, vanilla, lemon juice and salt, and purée until smooth.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the fridge, then freeze it in your ice cream maker.

Enjoy!!

My contribution to a Welcome-the-New-Argentinian-Colleague Dinner: Saffron Ice Cream with Vanilla-Poached Quinces

My friend Carina is working together with scientists from all over the world in the  Dresden Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics. The newest member of the group has just arrived from Argentina, is freezing, has no car, doesn't know anyone and has not made friends with his kitchen yet.

To put him out of his misery Carina organized a welcome dinner.
I hope he enjoys my dessert:

Saffron Ice Cream with Vanilla-Poached Quinces 
inspired by David Lebovitz' recipe from The Perfect Scoop

For the ice cream:

125 ml  (1/2 cup) whole milk or rice/soy milk
250ml  (1 cup) heavy cream or Oatly Cuisine
100g  (1/2 cup) sugar
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
3 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon kirsch

Warm the milk, the cream and sugar in a sauce pan. Remove from the heat and add the saffron. Pour into a small bowl and steep in the refrigerator for 4 hours.
Rewarm the saffron- infused mixture in a separate bowl whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm saffron mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Then scrape the mixture back into the sauce pan.
Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Stir until cool over an ice bath. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. Before freezing it in your ice cream maker add a teaspoon of kirsch. If you are a paella lover you may like to add a teaspoon kirsch to disguise the possibly upcoming reminiscence!

For the poached quinces:

3 quinces (1kg)
300g sugar
1 vanilla bean
1l water

Peel and quarter the quinces, remove the cores. Heat 300g (1 1/2 cups) sugar, 1l water, and 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise. While the syrup is heating cut the quinces into small slices.
Add the quinces to the syrup, cover with a round of parchment paper and cook at a gentle simmer for about 1 1/2 hours until the quince slices are rosy and tender. Let cool to room temperature.

Serve the quince slices with a scoop of saffron ice cream and with the delicious poaching syrup.

Just thought,  it would also make a nice dessert for the Christmas dinner...

Leche Merengada - with love from Spain

It's so delicious, I keep offering it to everyone, so that I can excuse having more of it myself. It's taste is traditional spanish, so every spoonful loads me up with wonderful memories. Leche Merengada is a cinnamon-and-lemon-flavoured frozen meringue. I recommend you try it with a shot of hot espresso poured over.

you need:
500ml whole milk (soy milk works the same for me)
100g  sugar
Pinch of salt
1 cinnamon stick or a small amount of ground cinnamon
1 lemon, unsprayed
2 large egg whites

Heat the milk in a saucepan, adding the cinnamon, the salt and 3/4 of the sugar. Zest the lemon directly into the mixture. Once the sugar has dissolved transfer the mixture to a bowl and chill thoroughly.

In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Whip in the remaining sugar and continue beating until the whites are stiff and glossy.

Remove the cinnamon sticks (if using) and fold the milk into the meringue. Now it's time for the ice cream machine! Leche Merengada takes a bit longer to freeze than a sorbet or traditional ice cream, but it's worth the wait.