Mini Ice Cream Cake with Banana Creme Anglaise and strawberries is the perfect dessert; it’s so easy to make it can be devoured at any occasion!
Bring me a box of tissues friends, because my Minnesota heart doesn’t want to let summer go. My head knows it’s going to be warm here in the NC for quite a bit longer, but I can’t seem to stop begging fall to slow down just a little bit.
And I’m begging it the best way I know how – with ice cream cake.
Not just any ice cream cake – ice cream cake with BANANA CREME ANGLAISE! This creme anglaise makes me want to shout from the mountains – it’s creamy, it’s rich, it’s oh so decadent, and it’s the perfect accompaniment to creamy, chocolatey ice cream cake.
For those of who might not know, I used to teach in Baltimore – which would require a whole other blog in itself to tell you all about- but that’s not why I’m mentioning it. It’s because that means I lived in Baltimore, and got to explore all of the food-tastic places.
One of these places was The Food Market, in a little neighborhood called Hampden. Once upon a time The Food Market had an ice cream cake dessert that I almost passed up, which would have probably been one of the worst mistakes in my life. It was THAT GOOD. I am not even ashamed to admit that I may have eaten 3 in the course of 2 days (with the help of a couple others!).
So here I am recreating it many years later.
And I’m hopefully doing so in the simplest way possible for you. The first and MOST IMPORTANT step – get quality ice cream. All you need is a pint of HIGH QUALITY ice cream. Got that? Chocolate ice cream, too, because that’s what’s best with the banana creme anglaise.
Step two – gently pry the ice cream out of its container and roll in Oreo crumbs. Yessss, I said Oreos. I know, I know, I’m tryin’ to be all about real food, but let’s not forget that life is all about balance. And my favorite way is to balance things out is with Oreos. I mean c’moooon, who doesn’t love Oreos?!?
Step three-ish – freeze, make some delish banana anglaise, pour over sliced cake, add some strawberries, and voila! Share if you want, don’t if you don’t want – it is “mini” for a reason 😉
Oh – the strawberries – you must add some strawberries on top. Not only because strawberries are amazing, but they have this magical way of bringing out the chocolate and banana flavors, while bringing it all together with a refreshing, and tiny bit tart, finish. PERFECTION, FRIENDS!
Do you want to know what else I learned from this recreating experience? I learned that when you cut ice cream cake slices and try to manipulate them in whatever way you envision them to be – they don’t like to go. And they don’t like to be photographed. They like to melt. But they’re tasty – oh so very tasty- so it’s ok if they’re not so cooperative while photographing. You understand, don’t you?
Thanksssss. Now I highly recommend going to try your new favorite dessert. Leave a comment and let me know what you think!
Mini Ice Cream Cake with Banana Crème Anglaise
Ingredients
ICE CREAM CAKE:
- 1 pint of high quality chocolate ice cream
- 12 Oreos, approximately 1 to 1.5 cups crumbs
BANANA CREME ANGLAISE:
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3/4 teaspoon banana extract
Instructions
ICE CREAM CAKE:
- Using a food processor, chop oreos until they resemble fine crumbs.
- Place oreo crumbs on a plate.
- Remove packaging of the ice cream pint, keeping the ice cream shape in tact.
- Roll ice cream in oreo crumbs until covered.
- Freeze until banana creme anglaise is ready or until you are ready to serve. Slice into 4-5 pieces; serve with banana creme anglaise and strawberries.
BANANA CREME ANGLAISE:
- Fill a large bowl with ice water and set aside for later.
- In a medium bowl, beat egg yolks with a whisk for 1-2 minutes until they are very smooth. Set aside. Add sugar and whisk for 2 more minutes, or until the sugar is fully incorporated and it is pale yellow.
- Heat the heavy cream in a double-boiler until it is just barely simmering (don't let it boil!). Heat the cream until it reaches 180°F.
- When cream reaches 180°F, VERY SLOWLY pour the hot cream into the egg and sugar mixture, whisking constantly.
- Return the cream and egg mixture to the double-boiler and heat slowly, continuously stirring until it reaches 185°F. The creme should be thicker, but still pourable.
- Set the top bowl of the double-boiler in the ice water bowl to cool. Stir in the banana extract. Every so often, stir the banana creme anglaise until it is fully cooled.
Notes
Disclaimer: The nutritional information provided for this recipe is only an estimate. The accuracy of the facts listed is not and cannot be guaranteed.