Ice Cream Week: Day Four

Since many of us are trying to be more conscientious about what we eat, I'm sharing a lower fat frozen treat with you today: Banana Sorbet.  The recipe is from The Ultimate Ice Cream Book by Bruce Weinstein--the only ice cream book I own, and probably the only I'll ever need.  It's jam-packed with recipes for ice cream, sorbets, granitas, and a few yogurt ice creams too!  I decided upon banana sorbet because I had two jars of banana baby food in my pantry, purchased because I needed the empty jars to store some bulk spices I picked up at The Fresh Market.  Since the recipe calls for cooking then pureeing bananas, I saw the perfect opportunity to cheat a bit and use up some of that baby food.  The end result was quite delicious--sweet, light, and perfectly banana-y.  Stay tuned for another ice cream recipe tomorrow; I'm closing out Ice Cream Week with my favorite recipe so far :)  Ice Cream Week II is definitely in the plans...

 

Banana Sorbet (makes about 1 quart)
From The Ultimate Ice Cream Book by Bruce Weinstein

⅔ cup sugar
½ cup water
2 Tbl. light corn syrup
1 cup milk
1 lb. peeled bananas, broken into thirds (about 4 large bananas)**
1 tsp. vanilla extract
¼ cup crème de banana liqueur or banana syrup (optional)

Combine the sugar, water, and corn syrup in a large saucepan.  Place over medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves.  Raise the heat and boil without stirring, for 3 minutes.  Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool slightly.

Add the milk and bananas to the sugar syrup.  Return to a simmer and cook uncovered until the bananas are very soft and fragrant.  This will take 5 to 10 minutes.  The milk may look foamy.

Let the banana mixture cool slightly, then puree the bananas and syrup in a blender or food processor.  If necessary, do this in 2 or 3 batches.  Stir in the vanilla and banana liqueur.  Cover and refrigerate until cold or overnight.

Stir the chilled banana puree, then freeze in 1 or 2 batches in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions.  When finished, the sorbet will be soft but ready to eat.  For firmer sorbet, transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze at least 2 hours.

**I cheated a bit here and used two 6 oz. jars of banana baby food and one large mashed banana, skipping the pureeing step.