Bananas and Bourbon

The combination of bananas and bourbon is simply heavenly...if I made banana's foster, bourbon would be my liquor of choice instead of rum.  One of my favorite combos of bananas and bourbon is in my version of banana cream pie, which actually has a bourbon laced butterscotch pudding as a base for the bananas.  This got me to thinking, how about some ice cream with all the same flavors of my banana cream pie?  So I made the base coconut milk and toasted coconut with vanilla beans, so copy the flavors in the cream part of the pie, since I always top it with billowy vanilla laced whipped cream and toasted coconut flakes.  The butterscotch pudding part would become ribbons in this ice cream...but instead of custard ribbons, I went for roasted banana sweetened with honey and boozy with bourbon.  The ice cream turned out to be very refreshing...and the flavors were just as delicious as the banana cream pie!  The roasted bananas in the ribbons are increadibly good, almost caramel like!  If you are a banana cream pie lover, you simply must try this!  If you like you can top it off with a bit of toasted large flake coconut and banana chips for a crunchy contrast.

 Toasted Coconut Ice Cream with Banana Honey Bourbon Swirl


coconut oil spray
1 Tbsp coconut oil
4 bananas, peeled and halved lengthwise, then cut in half
3/4 cup honey
6 Tbsp honey bourbon
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp sea salt

2 3/4 cups organic full fat coconut milk

1/2 cup honey
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 cups toasted shredded unsweetened coconut

Heat the oven to 475 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick spray. Toss the bananas with about 1 Tbsp coconut oil, and spread out on sheet. Roast in the oven until starting to brown, about 15-20 min. Let cool slightly, then in a food processor, combine bananas, honey, bourbon, vanilla and sea salt and process until smooth. Remove from food processor and set aside in fridge to cool.

To make ice cream, combine coconut milk, honey, and vanilla extract in a food processor. Slit the vanilla bean lengthwise with a sharp knife. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and reserve the pod for another use (such as placing in a jar of sugar to give it a lovely flavor). Add seeds to to the food processor along with the salt and process to blend. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and process according to package directions (mine takes about an hour, and is still a little soupy like the consistency of a malt, but firms up in the freezer). When ice cream is done freezing, stir in toasted coconut, and pour half into a tupperware container. Then top with about half the banana mixture and swirl with a knife. Pour remaining coconut ice into the container, and top with remaining banana mixture swirling with a knife. Place in the freezer for at least a few hours, or preferrably overnight to ripen for best results. Makes about 4+ cups of delicious ice cream!