Banana Cajeta Cashew Ice Cream

This banana cajeta cashew ice cream is packed full of flavor and perfect for summertime porch eating. Who doesn’t love homemade ice cream?

I have to admit that this is the first time I have made homemade ice cream. Scratch that. That was a lie. I have made homemade ice cream before but it was a long time ago and I did all by hand. Churn, churn, churn. I’m pretty sure my Dad bribed me with a 50 cent piece to do that job.
I have a feeling I was underpaid. This was technically the first time I used my handy dandy KitchenAid attachment I received for Christmas from Mr.NN’s wonderful parents. I don’t know why, at the end of summer, I felt compelled to finally make ice cream but I did. That is the only explanation I have. I did however pick this recipe for several reasons.

1. I had brown bananas

2. I had seen cajeta* before but never had a reason to buy it…now I did

3. I have about 5 pounds of cashews that need to be used

This ice cream recipe has the typical custard egg base and and even though it contains fruit it does not get overly icy. It stayed nice and creamy. When it was first made the cashews were still a little soft but hardened up once the ice cream froze solid. Although my ice cream did not get nice long swirls of cajeta it did have nice little blobs. I’m not sure what I did wrong but it just didn’t want to swirl. Any advice on this?

Enjoy!!!

*Cajeta is a goat’s-milk caramel popular in Mexico where it’s made into candies or drizzled over ice cream and other desserts. The word cajeta is Spanish for “small box,” named for the containers the caramel was traditionally packed in.

Banana Cajeta Cashew Ice Cream

This banana cajeta cashew ice cream is packed full of flavor and perfect for summertime porch eating. Who doesn't love homemade ice cream?

Ingredients:

For plain base:

2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar

For banana cajeta cashew ice cream:

2 ripe bananas - chilled
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup coarsely chopped roasted salted cashews - frozen
1/2 cup cajeta - slightly warmed
Plain Base, chilled

Source: Epicurious

Directions:

For plain base:
In a heavy-bottom saucepan, combine the milk and cream. Place over medium-low heat and cook, stirring occasionally so a skin doesn't form, until tiny bubbles start to form around the edges and the mixture reaches a temperature of 170°F.

Meanwhile, in a medium heat-proof bowl, whisk the egg yolks until smooth. Gradually whisk in the sugar until it is well incorporated and the mixture is thick and pale yellow. Temper the egg yolks by very slowly pouring in the hot milk mixture while whisking continuously. Return the custard to the saucepan and place over low heat. Cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon and it reaches a temperature of 185°F. Do not bring to a boil.

Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean bowl and let cool to room temperature, stirring every 5 minutes or so. To cool the custard quickly, make an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice and water and placing the bowl with the custard in it; stir the custard until cooled. Once completely cooled, cover and refrigerate until very cold, at least 4 hours or overnight.

For banana cajeta cashew ice cream:
Place the bananas, sugar, and lemon juice in a blender and add half of the base. Blend until smooth, then whisk into the remaining base. Pour the mixture into the container of an ice cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. Add the cashews 5 minutes before the churning is completed.

Just after churning, drizzle the cajeta over the top and quickly and lightly swirl in a zigzag pattern with a spoon or butter knife.