So it is ice cream season, and one day a few weeks ago, we went to Whole foods, and my kids saw the macaron ice cream sandwiches there, and wanted one for themselves. I saw that they were $4 per sandwich, and they were pretty tiny. I told them no, and promised them that I would make a funner macaron ice cream sandwich with a really cool flavor and sprinkles for them, and that they will be able to have 2 big ones for the same price! Ok they were bummed out for a bit, but then they forgot about it and all was back to normal again. Parenting tricks, divert the attention of the child to other things and make them forget about what they actually want 😉 So couple of weeks ago, they reminded me – that I was going to make them macaron ice cream sandwiches !! NOO they did not forget! Those cheeky monkeys!
So I was going to be making macarons that week, since it has been ages since I made some. I had banana macarons in mind, with a peanut butter frosting and a chocolate ganache dollop in the middle! I know it sounds so good right?! I decided to translate this to a Macaron Ice Cream Sandwich instead and keep my promise! That is how the Banana Macaron with a Chocolate-Coffee-Peanut Butter Ice cream in the middle originated! I honestly get so many fun ideas cause of my kids, and I have to thank them for keeping me on my toes, and keeping me thinking of fun options for them to enjoy!
If you know me by now, you should know I love a good crunch in an ice cream! So ofcourse I made a peanut brittle to go in the ice cream! A very simple brittle, with roasted peanuts, sugar and flaky sea salt! The Ice cream is made with peanut butter, chocolate ganache made with semi-sweet chocolate chips, and couple tablesoons of instant espresso powder to give the ice cream a slight oomph in flavor. I made a custard base with these ingredients, and kept it overnight in the fridge. I made the ice cream following the manufacturer’s instructions and then put it in a small jelly roll pan so that I can cut out perfect rounds from the pan when the ice cream is set, to put between the macaron shells.
The macaron shell is made with freeze dried bananas! Trader Joe’s has a few freeze dried fruits, which when ground in a coffee grinder, and sieved, forms a nice powder that can be used to make the macaron shells. I love to flavor the macaron shells, along with the buttercream to give the entire bite, a flavor profile. It makes it so much more interesting in my opinion. So I simply piped the macaron shells 3 inches in diameter and followed the same baking process for macarons. You can actually store the macarons for a couple of days until you are ready to pipe them with buttercream, or in my case ice cream :). I used a 3 inch biscuit cutter to pipe out perfect rounds of ice cream and sandwiched it, between 2 macaron shells. Then I dipped half of the sandwich in sprinkles and stuck it in the freezer for another hour to let it set!
The fun part was, I made some normal mac size(about 1 1/3 inch) and I cut out the same size of the ice cream to make mini ice cream sandwiches, which were sooo cute! I made a few and believe me, the kids ate it instantly without waiting for a second and I could not even take a shot! The minis turned out too cute! I will have to make macaron ice cream sandwiches yet again simply to make minis lol .
I had so much fun making these sandwiches! The kids made their own minis which was fun! I hope you get to try this recipe, while it is still warm outside! I know I will be making macaron ice cream sandwiches again! Actually, anytime I make macarons, I reserve the egg yolks so that I can make a custard base for the ice cream! I hate wasting any food, so this is a good way to use up the egg yolks!
Hope you all have something fun planned this weekend! Few more weeks left of summer and the kids go back to school and we all go back to a better routine.
Take care everyone!
XO
Amisha
Ingredients
- Banana Macarons:
- (Forms about 20-22 shells)
- 4 ounces confectioners sugar
- 4.6 ounces almond flour
- 4 large(4 ounces) egg whites, room temperature
- Pinch of cream of tartar
- 3.5 ounces granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- few drops of yellow color
- 3 tbsp banana powder(made from freeze dried Bananas from trader Joes)
- Chocolate-Espresso-Peanut Butter Ice Cream Base:
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup warmed peanut butter(so consistency is not hard)
- 1 tbsp instant espresso powder
- 3/4 semi sweet Ghirardelli chocolate chips
- 3 tablespoons Ghirardelli cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- Peanut Brittle:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup roasted peanuts
- 1 tsp flaky sea salt
Instructions
- For the macaron shells:
- Preheat oven to 310 degrees. Line baking sheets with the paper templates, and top with the parchment paper.
- In a bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, pulse the confectioner's sugar with the almond flour and banana powder, until a fine powder is formed. Transfer mixture to a mixing bowl. Using a drum sieve, sift mixture three times into a large bowl. Set aside.
- To make the meringue: In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until foamy. Gradually add granulated sugar. Once all the sugar is incorporated and the mixture is thick, scrap down the sides of the bowl, add the vanilla and the drops of yellow color and increase the speed to high, whipping until stiff, firm, glossy peaks form for atleast 5-7 minutes. You can remove and turn the whisk and the meringue should hold.
- To complete the macaronnage step: Sift the almond flour mixture, one-third at a time, over the egg white mixture, and fold using a large spatula until the mixture is smooth and shiny. Once all the almond flour mixture is incorporated check for the correct consistency, the batter should be firm, have a glossy shine and drip smoothly from the spatula. Make sure that the entire almond mixture is incorporated. This step is very important. If you overwhip the batter will be too runny so do not overwhip. It should flow like lava, slowly but form ribbons or a shape of 8 easily.
- Transfer the batter to a pastry bag filled with a 1 inch plain round tip, and pipe 3 inch rounds on parchment-lined baking sheets. Gentle tap the bottom of each sheet on work surface to release trapped air. Do this step atleast 5-7 times. If they have a tip, gently pat it down with your wet finger. Let stand at room temperature for 30-40 minutes atleast. Check for a slight crust to form on the macaron. The macarons should not stick to your finger when lightly touched.
- Bake one sheet at a time, rotating halfway through, until macarons are crisp and firm, about 15 minutes.
- Allow macarons to cool on the baking sheets for 30 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before filling.
- Peanut Brittle:
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a dry heavy saucepan cook sugar over moderate heat, stirring with a fork, until melted and cook, without stirring, swirling pan, just until a golden caramel. Add peanuts, stirring until coated well. Immediately pour mixture onto baking sheet, sprinkle flaky sea salt and cool completely, about 30 minutes. Chop the brittle into small pieces with a sharp knife.
- For the Ice cream:
- Recipe adapted from Cook's Illustrated
- Set a strainer over a medium bowl set in a larger bowl containing ice and 2 cups water. Heat the milk, cocoa powder, cream, 1/2 cup sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, , until steam appears and the milk is warm (about 175 degrees), about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk the yolks and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a medium bowl until combined and pale yellow, whisk it vigorously. Whisk half the warm milk mixture into the beaten yolks, 1/2 cup at a time, until combined.
- Whisk the milk-yolk mixture into the warm milk in the saucepan; add in the peanut butter and stir with a whisk to break it and blend it with the milk-yok mixture. Set the saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until steam appears, foam subsides, and the mixture is slightly thickened or an instant-read thermometer registers 180 to 185 degrees. (Do not boil the mixture, or the eggs will curdle.)
- Immediately strain the custard into the bowl set in the ice bath; cool the custard to room temperature, stirring it occasionally to help it cool. Once cooled, add in the vanilla extract and stir. Cover and refrigerate for atleast 6 hours or up to 24 hours.
- For the Chocolate Mixture:
- In a small double boiler, melt the chocolate chips and whole milk, until its a smooth mixture. Slowly add about 1/2 cup of the custard into the chocolate mixture and whisk. Add another 1/2 cup and whisk till smooth. Now gently add this mixture to the ice cream base custard and whisk until well incorporated.
- Once, the custard is ready, pour the custard into the ice cream machine and churn, following the manufacturer’s instructions, until the mixture resembles soft-serve ice cream for 20 minutes. Add in the peanut brittle at this point and let it churn for another 5 minutes. Transfer the ice cream to an small jelly roll pan, and let it set in the freezer for atleast 3-4 hours.
- Once set, you can use a 3 inch round biscuit cutter, and cut ice cream rounds. Put 2 macarons on each side. You can either sprinkle in chopped roasted peanuts, sprinkles, peanut brittle, you can be creative! Put the Macaron Ice cream Sandwiches immediately in the freezer to let it set for another hour before serving!
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