I have a feeling that I am going to be making a lot of ice cream/sorbet/frozen yogurt this summer. For the past five weeks or so, it has regularly been over 100F in my neighborhood. Granted - that's not completely unusual for the summers out here, but it's still pretty hot. I don't mind the heat, though, and I certainly don't mind more opportunities to have some frozen treats.
For some reason, there are some people who are put off by the idea of "sorbet" but not by ice cream. It is for this reason that I have decided to call this creamy frozen dessert "ice cream" even though it is very similar to the Buttermilk Sorbet I made a little while ago. Basically, I added more buttermilk and a whole bunch of pureed bananas. Easy, right?
It turned out great. The bananas definitely made it more ice cream-like than the sorbet in terms of texture and I'm glad that I didn't add any extra sugar because not only were the bananas sweet, but the buttermilk flavor wasn't convered up. The resulting ice cream was very creamy, with an addictive, refreshing tang from the buttermilk and a good banana flavor.
Since this is a frozen treat, the bananas should not cause the ice cream to discolor at all, so don't worry about having to add anything to prevent that.
Banana Buttermilk Ice Cream
3 medium/2 large, ripe bananas (enough to make 1 cup puree)
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla extract
In a food processor, combine bananas and sugar and process until very smooth. As the motor runs, add in buttermilk and vanilla.
Pour mixture (which will taste great even at this point) into your ice cream maker and freeze as directed. Mine took about 15 minutes.
Transfer to a freezer-friendly container with a lid and freeze until firm (at least 30 minutes) before serving.
Serves 6.