https://myrecipeshaven.com/dash-my-mug-banana-ice-cream-recipe/Dash My Mug Banana Ice Cream Recipe
you see those bananas?
the ones with the brown spots?
yeah those.
don’t throw them away.
i used to throw them away. all the time. felt bad every time.
then i bought that dash my mug thing.
you know the one. the ice cream maker that looks like a coffee mug. my wife said “you’re never gonna use that.” she was right for like six months. sat in the freezer behind some old chicken.
then one day. hot afternoon. kids asking for something cold. i had three bananas about to die.
i said let me try something.
first time? rubbish.
i mean it was bad. runny. watery. tasted like banana that got lost in the freezer. my daughter tasted it and walked away. didn’t even say anything. just walked away. that hurt more than her saying “this is bad.”
so i tried again the next day.
this time i froze the mug longer. much longer. like a full day. twenty four hours. not overnight because overnight for me is like eight hours and that’s not enough.
i put the mug in the back of the freezer. not the door. the door is too warm. you open it too much.
then i took two bananas. not three. because three was too much last time.
peeled them.
mashed them with a fork.
a fork. not a blender. not a food processor. a fork. because someone told me a blender adds too much air and air makes ice crystals. i don’t know if that’s true but i did it anyway.
mashed until no big chunks. took maybe two minutes. my arm didn’t fall off.
added half a cup of heavy cream.
two tablespoons of sugar.
half a teaspoon of vanilla.
stirred.
tasted.
needed more sugar. added another half tablespoon.
stirred again.
tasted again. better.
then i took the mug out of the freezer. it was cold. like frost on the outside cold. good.
put the paddle in. twisted the lid on until it clicked. if it doesn’t click you’re doing something wrong.
plugged it in. turned it on. paddle started spinning.
poured my banana mix in through the little hole on top.
then i waited.
at fifteen minutes i checked. still runny. i was worried.
at twenty minutes it started looking like soft serve. you could see it pulling away from the sides.
at twenty two minutes i stopped. couldn’t wait anymore.
opened it.
scooped some out.
tasted.
oh.
that’s it. that’s the one.
creamy. sweet. actually tasted like banana not fake banana candy.
i ate the whole thing standing at the counter. didn’t even sit down.
my daughter came back and asked for some. i gave her a spoon. she said “this is good daddy.” and sat down next to me.
that was a good day.
things that went wrong before i got it right
ok listen.
first. the mug has to be cold. really cold. not kinda cold. i tried eighteen hours once. got banana slush. not ice cream. slush. my son said “this is like a smoothie.” he wasn’t wrong. but i wanted ice cream.
so twenty four hours minimum. i do thirty six hours now because i forget sometimes. thirty six is fine. longer is better.
second. don’t overfill. the mug only holds one cup. maybe a little more. but if you put too much it spills out the top while it’s churning. banana mix all over your counter. all over the machine. all over your hands. annoying.
third. if you want chocolate chips or nuts? put them in at the end. like the last five minutes. i put them in at the beginning once and they just sat at the bottom. never mixed in. just a lump of chocolate chips at the bottom of my ice cream. which actually wasn’t that bad now that i think about it. but still. not what i wanted.
fourth. if your ice cream comes out too soft? don’t cry. put it in a container. freeze it for two hours. but when you take it out let it sit on the counter for five minutes. i’m serious. if you try to scoop it right away you’ll bend your spoon. i bent my grandmother’s spoon. she’s not even alive anymore and i could feel her judging me.
what bananas to use
not green. green bananas are hard. bitter. they taste like nothing. don’t do it.
not the ones that are black and mushy and leaking. you know the ones. the peel is wet. those bananas make watery ice cream. i tried once. never again.
you want the ones with brown spots but still firm. like when you squeeze them they give a little but don’t squish.
and mash them good. because if you leave chunks? those chunks freeze into little hard rocks. then you’re biting into a cold banana rock in the middle of your ice cream. not fun.
substitutions
no heavy cream? use coconut cream. the full fat one from a can. not the box. the can.
no vanilla? skip it. or use cinnamon. or just leave it.
want it sweeter? add more sugar before you churn. but taste it first. because once it’s frozen you can’t add anything.
don’t use milk. just don’t. i tried. got banana ice cubes. hard. icy. terrible.
how long everything takes
freezing the mug: one whole day. do it the night before.
mashing and mixing: five minutes. maybe seven if you’re slow.
churning: twenty to twenty five minutes. i stop at twenty two.
freezing to make it hard: two to four hours. plus five minutes sitting out.
leftovers
if you don’t eat it all. which is rare. but if you do. put it in a container with a lid.
it’s good for about a week.
but after three days the texture changes. still tastes fine. just not as smooth.
if you see ice crystals or it smells weird? throw it away. don’t taste it. just throw it.
something i figured out
after making this maybe twenty times.
bananas have pectin. same stuff as jam. if you mash with a fork you keep the pectin. if you use a blender you break it. blender equals ice crystals. fork equals smooth.
try it both ways. you’ll see.
also. banana flavor disappears when it’s too cold. if you freeze this rock hard you won’t taste much banana. let it sit for two minutes. the flavor comes back.
and don’t use bananas that are leaking. i said that already but i’m saying it again because it’s important.
last thing
look.
this recipe is not fancy.
but when it’s hot outside and you have bananas that are about to die and your kids are asking for something cold and you don’t want to turn on the oven?
it works.
my daughter asks for it now. she brings me bananas and says “daddy make the ice cream.”
that’s all i need.
