Happy Cinco de Mayo! I’m concluding a week full of healthy recipes for something a little more indulgent. A party cannot be a celebration without a fun dessert! I changed a few ingredients in a classic banana sundae to give it spicy, warm flavors found in Mexican cooking. Cinnamon and cayenne bring new life to plain chocolate ice cream. Bananas are replaced by caramelized plantains that become crunchy from cooked sugar and melty goodness from roasting them at such a high temperature. Top it all off with rich chocolate fudge and creamy, rich dulce de leche for the ultimate Mexican treat! Serve them individually in slightly sloped dishes, or make it interactive with your guests by making a sundae bar. Arrange each of the ingredients in appropriate serving bowls so that everyone can make their own special treat just the way they like.
Makes: 4 servings
Idle Time: 2-3 hours Total Time: 2-3 hours
4 large plantains
1 pint chocolate ice cream or frozen yogurt
1 pint vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt
3 tbs + 1 tsp cinnamon, divided
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tbs _ 1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 can dulce de leche (can be found in the ethnic foods isle)
2/3 cup walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
- Put the vanilla ice cream in the freezer and keep the chocolate at room temperature.
- In a medium size bowl, combine the pint of chocolate ice cream with the cayenne and 1 1/2 tbs cinnamon. Mix together as best you can an put pack in the original container. Freeze immediately until it has become ice cream consistency again. This can take anywhere from 2-3 hours depending on the settings of your freezer.
- While the ice cream is freezing, make the chocolate fudge.
- Put the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Heat in 30 second increments until the chocolate is almost completely melted. Stir in the heavy cream until completely combined. Add vanilla extract, 1 tsp cayenne, and 1 tsp cinnamon and set aside at room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees 30 minutes before serving.
- Peeling the plantains is not as easy as peeling a banana. Slice one end of the plantain and run a knife along the peel to unwrap. Be careful not to break the plantains. Use the knife to cut the plantains down the center. Put onto a sprayed cookie sheet.
- Spray the plantains with cooking spray and sprinkle the remaining cinnamon on both sides of them all. Lay in one row, almost touching, and press the brown sugar evenly among them. Any brown sugar that is not on a plantain, but on the cookie sheet, will burn during cooking so do the best you can to keep it on the plantains.
- Cook in the oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the plantains are soft on the inside and the sugar is crunchy on the outside.
- Reheat the chocolate fudge for 15 seconds in the microwave.
- Assemble the sundae by placing two slices of plantain in a dish. Add one scoop each of chocolate and vanilla ice cream. Top with the dulce de leche, chocolate fudge, and some toasted walnuts. Serve immediately.
Cooking In Red Socks 