Banana Pudding Ice Cream

E's favorite dessert in the history of ever is ice cream. Second, banana pudding.  If I let him, he would eat his weight daily in both.  So imagine his sheer delight when I had the mind to make this for him a few years ago.  This is a tried and true family favorite that never lasts longer than a couple of days. There are several variations I've made over the years: caramelizing the bananas, adding toasted nuts and even adding a bit of banana liqueur or dark rum. 

My basic ice cream recipe consists of whole milk, heavy whipping cream and eggs. Never half and half, never anything less than whole milk. I like the custardy consistency that eggs give to ice cream. This is typically the base of all of my ice cream recipes; I simply change the flavor profile.  However, there are several recipes that omit eggs all together and use a cornstarch slurry instead.  

Banana Pudding Ice Cream

Basic Ice Cream Recipe adapted from: http://www.cuisinerecipes.com/2014/06/19/sweet-cream-ice-cream/2/

What you need:

• 3 egg yolks
• 3⁄4 cup sugar, divided
• 1 1⁄2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon banana or vanilla extract, optional
• 1 cup diced banana
• 1 cup crushed vanilla wafer cookies

What to do:

• Whisk together egg yolks and ¼ cup sugar in a bowl until thick and pale yellow; set aside.
• Heat milk, cream, and remaining ½ cup sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until steam rises. Gradually add half the hot milk mixture to yolks, whisking constantly. 
• Add yolk mixture to remaining hot milk mixture in saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook mixture 8-10 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Off heat, stir in the extract if using.
• Strain ice cream base into a bowl and cool in an ice bath. Cover bowl; chill 4–12 hours. 
• Churn ice cream according to ice cream machine directions. 
• During the last five minutes of the churn, add in the bananas and crushed cookies.
• Store ice cream in a covered airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 week.