Bananas Foster over Brown Sugar Vanilla Ice Cream (SMS)

This week's Sweet Melissa Sundays (SMS) recipe was chosen by Karen of Karen's Cookies Cakes & More: Brown Sugar Vanilla Ice Cream with Hot Fudge Sauce or Butterscotch Sauce. I've always heard about how homemade vanilla ice cream is so much better than store-bought vanilla ice cream, so I was excited to try this recipe. Throw in the brown sugar component and it makes it sound all that more interesting.

This recipe is actually a custard ice cream, with the addition of eggs that makes it richer and creamier than regular ice cream. This was probably about the easiest custard recipe I've made so far because it doesn't require tempering the eggs by adding a hot milk/cream mixture slowly to an egg/sugar mixture. All you do is mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, set it over a double boiler, and the stir until it reaches 180F.


I actually had trouble getting my custard to reach 180F, and noticed that in Dorie's ice cream recipes (like the burnt sugar ice cream) she only recommends heating the mixture to 170-180F. So after I mine reached 170F, I went ahead and stopped cooking it and started chilling it. This didn't seem to affect the outcome at all. Although the recipe states that you need an ice cream maker, you actually don't - I made ice cream last year without an ice cream maker using this method.


This is a rich and creamy vanilla ice cream. The brown sugar does lend some extra depth to the flavor but is not overly noticeable. I think most people wouldn't even notice the brown sugar in it.

Instead of serving this with the hot fudge sauce or butterscotch sauce recipes in the book, I decided to make my favorite ice cream accompaniment - Bananas Foster! It was the perfect way to serve this brown sugar vanilla ice cream. Bananas Foster is so easy to make and so delicious (I've included the recipe below). Usually bananas foster is made by flambéeing bananas, but I usually skip the fire show and it seems to taste just as good. I also omit butter from the recipe to save a few calories (every bit counts right? ha!).


Thanks Karen, for choosing this recipe - I loved it! If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you visit the SMS Blogroll to see what everyone else thought about this creamy summertime treat.

* Recipe tips:
- Carnation makes a non-fat skim milk powder that you can usually find at your grocery store. If you can't find any skim milk powder, just omit it from the recipe.
- Don't have a candy thermometer? I recommend this digital thermometer which is great because it works a low temperatures for checking meat, but also reads high enough to double as a candy thermometer.
- Save those leftover egg whites for later so you can make something yummy like the Coconut-Roasted Pineapple Dacquoise! Freeze your egg whites, as discussed here.
- As long as your mixture gets above 170F, it should be safe for consumption.
- For more tips, click here.


Bananas Foster Ice Cream
from Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats

1/3-1/2 cup loosely packed brown sugar (depends on how much gooey brown sugar syrup you want!)
1 tbsp dark rum
1 ripe banana, cut into 1/4" slices


Add the brown sugar and rum to a saute pan and cook over medium heat. Once the sugar starts to dissolve in the rum, add the banana slices. Continue cooking for about one minute, then flip the banana slices over and cook for another minute until bananas are cooked through.

Let cool for a few minutes, then serve over your favorite vanilla ice cream.

Yield: 1-2 Servings