What better way to welcome the first day of summer than with ice cream? My neighbour Grace came over a few days ago to make pizzelle, a traditional flat round italian cookie similar to a really thin waffley wafer. Not very sweet, light and crispy, I thought it would be perfect for waffle cones and ice cream sandwiches. We made about sixty of them, in all shapes and sizes, a little tricky at first, but they got better after each attempt.
Look at this ice cream, hard to believe there is no dairy. More about this at the end.
Pizzelle shaped into chocolate and vanilla mini waffle cones.
Start with beating 6 eggs in a bowl.
Have a sip of coffee.
Add sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth.
Add cooled melted butter, flour and baking powder. Mix well, it will be a very sticky batter.
Divide half your dough into another bowl (vanilla version) and set a side while you make a chocolate version.
Add cocoa, additional sugar, and a bit more baking powder for the chocolate version. Mix well. Heat up your electric pizzelle maker, this one came from a housewares shop in our italian neighbourhood.
Working with two teaspoons, put a small dollop into the centre and press down, it takes less than a minute to make one. I used construction paper and foil to make my form for the cones. The pizzelle is pliable when hot, so work fast if you want to shape them.
Nest them inside each other to help keep their shape as it cools.
Don’t worry if they don’t come out perfectly round. It still works. Store in airtight container or ziplocks.
BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE…and it gets even better…
I saw this on The Kitchn and had to try it. Imagine an ice cream that is made with just one ingredient, without a freezer-space-hogging ice cream maker, no tedious hand cranking, and whipped up in minutes without added cream or sugar? Luckily I had frozen bananas ready in my freezer for smoothies.
The frozen whipped banana has a smooth and creamy texture that melts like real soft-serve ice cream. Mmmm, can you imagine adding a splash of coconut milk?
Add 3 frozen bananas in your food processor, and brace yourself when you turn it on! It’ll sound like a jack hammer in your kitchen. Use the pulse setting and keep pulsing in short spurts till the chunks break down into smaller chunks.
Keep pulsing and scraping the sides down, until you get a crumbly granular texture. It will seem dry but resist the urge to add any cream. Keep it whirring, stopping frequently to push the bananas down. Just when you think this is disgusting, it will magically transform into a fluffy, creamy, soft-serve ice cream. Heavenly.
I know not everyone is going to make pizzelle, but you can also use cookies or chocolate wafers to make an ice cream sandwich.
The banana ice cream is best eaten immediately, but it can also be stored in a plastic container to firm up. Use really ripe bananas, or it will leave a very green banana feeling in your mouth. Note, you have to really like bananas to like this…if it’s too bananay, add some other frozen fruits like strawberries into the mix, or even some plain yogurt, cocoa, chocolate chips. It all works as long as your fruit is frozen.
BANANA “ICE CREAM”
Inspired from The Kitchn (Makes about a pint)
Ingredients:
- 3 large bananas, slice and freeze on a parchment lined cookie sheet
- Put frozen banana slices in food processor. Pulse in short spurts, it will be loud and scary.
- Keep pulsing, scraping down the sides. Resist the urge to add any liquid, just keep scraping and pulsing.
- When the large chunks break up and become granular in texture, just leave it on to keep puréeing.
- Instantly, like magic, it will turn into the consistency of soft ice cream. Best served immediately, but can also be stored in an airtight container. Let it soften up a bit when you take it out of the freezer for easier scooping.
PIZZELLE
Adapted recipe from Grace’s 30 year-old pizzelle box. Makes about 60 pizzelles.
Ingredients:
- 6 eggs
- 1½ cups sugar
- 1 cup melted butter (cooled)
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 3½ cups flour
- 4 teaspoon baking powder
Chocolate Pizzelle (ingredients added to half the dough made above):
- ½ cup cocoa
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- Beat eggs, add sugar gradually, beating till smooth.
- Add cooled melted butter, vanilla, flour and baking powder. Mix into a sticky dough.
- Preheat pizzelle maker, add a dollop of batter into the centre and press down.
- Wait a few seconds, and check for doneness.
- Leave to cool flat, or form immediately into bowls or cones while it’s still hot and pliable.
Makes about 60 and can be store in air tight an container for a week or two.
Deirdre Pickford - they look beautiful and very yummy too!! i love the opening shot and the stacked cones…siiigghhh!!!
france Simard - suberb! and a great idea!
Abi - Banana recipe is stroke of genius! Can’t wait to try it.