Banana and coconut ice cream

This recipe is so delicious and simple that you could have it as a milkshake instead (minus the coconut)!

ICE CREAM6 spotted bananas - the overrripeness gives lots of sweetness so you don't have to add too much sugar
600ml double cream
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
3 egg yolks
150g desiccated coconut

Beat the sugar and egg yolks together until fully combined.
In a small saucepan, gently heat the cream on medium heat.
When the cream starts to bubble, take it off the heat and pour into the egg/sugar mixture slowly, whisking at the same time. Never pour the egg mixture into the pan as the direct heat will cook the eggs, giving sweet scrambled eggs but not custard.
In a separate bowl, mash the bananas until you get a smooth purée.
Add the bananas to the custard, mix together, and strain through a sieve into your ice-cream maker.
Add the coconut and leave to churn.
If you don't have an ice cream maker, stir the coconut into the banana custard and leave in a tub to freeze. After an hour, stir it up so you get a smooth mixture, not one with ice in.

Notes
You could use chocolate or toffee instead of coconut, or tequila or pineapple instead of banana. Be careful with freezing alcohol... Alcohol has a much lower freezing point than water, and the higher the proof, the lower the temperature. So by diluting the alcohol or using a lower strength, alcohol should freeze.

An alternative way of making ice cream is the Victorian way of getting a huge bag of ice and some rock salt.
As soon as salt is added to ice, they react (doing something of which i'm not quite sure)
So pour the ice cream mixture into a sealed bag, and put this bag into the bag of ice. When you add the salt to the ice, close the bag up, and shake for anywhere from 5-15 minutes until the ice cream sets.

Banana and coconut cake

Ingredients
3 over ripe bananas
200g plain flour
50g dessicated coconut
2 eggs
125g dark brown sugar
75g unsalted butter, softened
50g double cream
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinammon
1 tsp mixed spice
4 tbsps milk

115g unsalted butter
115g icing sugar
150g dark chocolate
3 tbsps milk
How to
Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy and add the cream.
Beat the eggs slowly into the butter-sugar-cream mixture.
Mash the banana and add to the mixture, beating until you have a smooth consitency.
Fold in all the dry ingredients until just mixed.
Then, add the milk so that the mixture is a bit thinner.
In a lined cake tin, pour the mixture and bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes (or until cooked.
When the mixture is cooked, turn onto a wire rack to cool.

As soon as your cake is about room temperature (BUT NOT HOT), you can make the butter icing.

In a bain marie, melt the chocolate.
In another bowl, cream together the butter and icing sugar until pale and fluffy.
Add the vanilla extract to the chocolate and beat in the butter-sugar paste until it is all mixed.
Beat in the  3 tbsps of milk so you have a smoother consistency, and then spread over the cake.

Leave the cake in the fridge so that the icing can set and firm up.
Serve with a banana or coffee milkshake.


Notes
Beat the eggs in slowly because you don't want the mixture to curdle.
Do not overmix your cake mixture because then it will be dry when cooked.