SpiceDish Saturday {March}: Banana Pudding Ice Cream

When SpiceDish sent this recipe she merely said "I loooove this one." If that doesn't speak for itself, I don't know what does. Sure, you gotta like bananas, but if you do, sounds like you'll go bananas for this one (ok, sorry, I'm a bit punny right now!) And without further ado...

There is a southern restaurant in my neighborhood called The Front Porch. Fried chicken, grits, pickled okra and banana pudding. Delicious, rightly rich banana pudding served in a small Ball jar. I'm sort of addicted to it. Ok not sort of. Completely. The other night, while gorging myself of a serving of the pudding I decided that it just had to be made into a frozen treat. I make my own vanilla wafers but go ahead and use the boxed ones. They are just as delicious.

Banana Pudding Ice Cream
1 cup whole milk
2 cups half and half
3 large egg yolks
3/4 cups of sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 bananas cut into slices and smashed
1 vanilla bean with seed scraped out
pinch of nutmeg
2 cups crushed vanilla wafers

Place the vanilla bean and seeds into a medium sauce pan. Warm the milk and half and half on medium heat don't let it boil. Beat the yolks with the sugar. Add the yolk mixture to ½ a cup of the cream mixture, then whisk the egg mixture and banana mush into the remaining cream.

Simmer the mixture until it thickens (to the point where it will coat the back of a spoon). Stir in the nutmeg and vanilla. Chill completely then freeze according to your ice-cream maker’s instructions. About five minutes before the ice cream is finished add the crushed wafers.

Thanks, SpiceDish!