Banana Split Ice Cream Sandwiches
Inspired by hot dogs: soft and fluffy banana cake buns stuffed with ice cream
My love for food can sometimes make me a difficult dining date. When I love a food so much, I will go out of my way to try it, bringing a date along with me. Once we have received the item I will open up my phone, and begin taking scrupulous notes on the dish (in my defense I’ve seen others use spreadsheets). This is annoying (I know I should put my phone away while eating and enjoy the company)! But when a dish is truly great, it is so exciting to celebrate a chef’s genius (down to each little detail) together! This is how I am with ice cream sandwiches.
Ice cream sandwiches–in theory–are amazing. Two great components, ice cream and cookies, should make the other doubly great. However, this is not always the case. There is an art to ice-cream sandwiching: most cookies we bake at home, once they come into contact with ice cream, harden. A cold and hard cookie is often a sad cookie, as not only is its lovely soft texture compromised but it also loses its depth of flavor (chilled things have less aroma and thus taste flatter). Furthermore, you go to take a bite, and the ice cream comes out the other end and onto your hands and clothes – doubly sad. This version, I can assure you, has none of the above problems. And it’s delicious.
P.S. If you want more ice cream sandwiches without these problems, see here:
This year’s ice cream sandwich is inspired by two iconic summer treats: banana splits and hot dogs. I have always thought a banana split and a hot dog look alike, with long ovals sliced in half and stuffed. I had been toying with the idea of stuffing a whole banana split sundae in a freezer-soft bun for this month’s recipe, but I knew that wasn’t right. Then I realized that bananas are great for an ice cream sandwich as the natural sugars in overripe ones reduce the freezing point, keeping the crumb soft even when frozen. With that being said, a classic banana bread (the initial idea) is on the denser side, and this cake would have to be incredibly light and fluffy to stay soft even when frozen. So this banana ‘bun’ recipe stems from castella cake, the lightest, fluffiest, and moistest cake I could think of.
The banana castella cake batter gets baked into bun shapes (ending up just a bit lighter and smaller than a standard hot dog bun), and then stuffed with three tiny scoops of ice cream. These buns are also baked in a liner, ensuring that no ice cream drips on you or your clothes.
Most importantly, however, the texture and flavor. The banana cake is so fluffy, so soft, so spongy (not crumbly), and even when frozen, it doesn’t firm up too much. It’s actually totally edible straight from the freezer, but if you let it sit out for 5 minutes, it is like eating it fresh (maybe even a bit moister/better if you ask me)! As for the banana, the flavor is there, but it doesn’t overpower the ice cream – any ice cream flavor you pair it with will be balanced. That’s the word I would use to sum up this dessert: balanced. With textures in support of one another and flavors in harmony, this is an excellent ice cream sandwich.
P.S. I’ve topped this cake off with whipped cream and a smear of frosting, and can confirm it’s also a delicious snack cake recipe!
Makes 10 ice cream sandwiches (note that these sandwiches are pretty light as far as ice cream sandwiches go)
