Further adventures in ice cream! Strawberry-Banana Cheesecake

I don't normally eat ice cream out of a martini glass, but there you go.

So the second part of my ice cream tomfoolery was this delightful pink concoction.  I didn't really expect that I would taste anything other than strawberry, but in fact I tasted the banana.  I'm not sure I got the cheesecakie flavor, though.  Nevertheless it was quite refreshing!  So here are the ingredients:

2½ c. hulled whole strawberries, coarsely chopped

¾ c. plus 2 tbsp. sugar (divided: pay attention to this because I messed it up by not reading carefully)

1 tsp. unflavored gelatin

½ c. milk

1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 c. heavy cream

1 small banana (squishy is okay), peeled and coarsely chopped (okay I didn’t know the banana was supposed to be chopped until this instant.  Who cares?  It’s going in a food processor anyways.)

4 oz. cream cheese, cut into chunks

In a medium bowl, stir together the strawberries and ¼ c. of the sugar.  Letstand until the sugar dissolves and the juices are released (which happens less nicely if you use ¾ c. sugar instead).  In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the milk.  Let stand, stirring once or twice, until the gelatin softens, about 5 min.  I find both milk and gelatin unspeakably gross, so this step was pretty much revolting to me.

In a medium saucepan, stir together the remaining ½ c. plus 2 tbsp. sugar, the lemon juice, cream, and gelatin mixture.  Bring almost to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring, until the gelatin dissolves.  Let cool slightly.

Transfer the cream mixture into a food processor.  Add the banana (chopped, or whole if you’re like me).  With the motor running, add the cream cheese, several chunks at a time.  Process until the mixture is smooth.  Add the strawberries, processing in pulses until the berries are chopped “moderately fine” (or, screw that and just do what feels right).

Refrigerate, covered, until very cold (4½-24 hours; mine stayed in for about 22).

Stick it in your ice cream maker and have at it.  I’m sure you know the drill.  Let it firm up in the freezer for an hour before serving it.  This one will also keep for about 2 weeks.

 Ice cream is my favorite food group.