Banoffee Ice cream

This easy-to-make ice cream is a great crowd pleaser at parties. Photo: Sriram Narayanan

The best time to write a food blog post is right after you are done savouring the sweet results of your efforts. Although I must add, it is surprisingly difficult to put any words on paper after having licked a bowl of the softest, homemade banoffee (banana+toffee) ice cream clean. Nevertheless, in the interests of writing about good food, I shall make one final sugar-rush riddled attempt. 

Banana and toffee (in this case, dulce de leche - a gooey, Argentinean milk toffee made by slowly simmering milk and sugar) is one of those classic combinations that work brilliantly in a range of desserts. A few years ago, I ate it for the first time in a banoffee pie, a sweet pastry tart layered with dulce de leche, thinly sliced bananas, and topped with whipped cream. 

Good dulce de leche is key to this flavour combination, and is easy to make. You need not sweat over a stovetop, stirring milk and sugar for hours. Pop in an unopened 400-gm can (or two!) of condensed milk into a large vessel of water on the stove. Let the water boil for two hours. A word of caution: Make sure you top up the vessel with more water to keep the can submerged. Do not let the can boil dry as this may cause it to overheat and explode. All this careful effort will be worth it in the end when you peel off the tin lid to the most delicious dulce de leche inside.

Dulce de leche has a smooth, spreadable texture and tastes like a strong, condensed version of the Indian basundi, which is made using a similar process.  Photo: Sai Raje

Yesterday, when I had a few overripe elaichi bananas at home, I thought of trying my hand at an ice cream version of the banoffee pie. I had already made a can of dulce de leche in the morning. After that, it was just a matter of whisking together all the ingredients, pouring the mix into a rectangular tin covered with cling film, and freezing it overnight. 

Apart from playing perfect partner to the bananas, the dulce de leche also gives homemade ice cream a really soft and creamy texture. So much so, that the ice cream does not require any churning to keep it from forming annoying icicles. You can pretty much bunge it in the freezer and forget about it until it is time to enjoy this treat. If you are on the lookout for a low-effort and delicious party dessert, you must definitely try this recipe out.  

Banoffee Ice cream

Ingredients

1000 ml skimmed milk cream (I used Amul Cream with 25 per cent fat)

400 gm dulce de leche

6-7 ripe elaichi bananas, mashed

1 cup caster sugar

Large pinch of sea salt

Method

Use a stand-in mixer or hand blender to whisk the cream, dulce de leche, banana mush, sugar and salt together. Pour this mixture into a rectangular tin, cover with cling film, and freeze overnight. Scoop or slice into bowls to serve.