George’s Banana Split From Scratch

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Hi Bold Bakers!

WHAT YOU GET: This is a recipe for a classic Banana Split — but entirely from scratch! You’re not going to be growing your own cherries, strawberries, or bananas, but you will be making your own ice cream in strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate — along with the sauces and the whipped cream! It’s a simple way to control all of your ingredients while wowing everything waiting with a spoon.

It’s a big day in the Stafford-Kurtz household! Hard to believe that our teeny tiny baby is now 2-years-old. I would say where does the time go, but if you were to go through my phone from the past 2 years you would see exactly where. A lot of you have seen George grow and transform over the past 2 years so you might be as shocked as I am that this day is here. Regardless, he has given us a lot to be grateful for since he came into the world and we are very thankful for him.

Before George was born I knew I wanted to bring him into the kitchen as soon as I could. From a few weeks old I would position him in a bouncer in front of me as I worked or made dinner. I would talk him through what I was doing like he was getting a personal cooking class. He would lie there and just look at me, then fall asleep, and then wake again. I didn’t know how much was sinking in but I kept on doing it so he would be exposed to what went on in a kitchen.

Fast forward to today, and I can’t peel carrots without him tearing through the kitchen yelping ‘helping’ as he drags his sous chef tower across the floor.

Previously you have seen George in the kitchen with me making Homemade Animal Crackers and 4-Ingredient Homemade Goldfish. For his Birthday, I combined 2 of his favorite food groups that I knew would make his day: fruit and ice cream.

Here is George’s take on a Banana Split.

The Ice Cream For A Banana Split

When it comes to a classic banana split recipe, you need three types of ice cream: strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla. Luckily my incredibly easy 2-Ingredient Ice Cream is the perfect base for all three. You need only to make one batch and split it into thirds.

Strawberry Ice Cream

Use my 2-Ingredient Ice Cream recipe, but then add my homemade strawberry sauce (just use strawberries instead of raspberries) to it — watch the video (below) for full context. Save some of the strawberry sauce to drizzle on top later. It’s as simple as heating up strawberries, water, and a bit of sugar on the stove.

Chocolate Ice Cream

The same goes for chocolate ice cream. Take a third of the batch of my 2-Ingredient Ice Cream base and add my simple chocolate sauce to it. Hold some back to drizzle on top later, too.

Vanilla Ice Cream

This one’s the easiest — the base recipe for my 2-Ingredient Ice Cream is already vanilla. You can add extra (or use vanilla bean seed) to kick it up a notch if you want, but it’s not required!

High-Quality Toppings

If you’re making a banana split, it’s gotta be a special occasion for all that effort. Why skimp on the toppings — and why reach for low-quality ingredients when there are better options? Grab your favorite sprinkles, peanuts, chocolate, and more. Make sure your heavy cream has the right fat content for perfect whipping.

It all matters!

How To Make A Banana Split

It’s all in the assembly. Once you have each individual component ready, take your ripe banana and split it length-wise in your dish, and add a scoop of each ice cream flavor. Drizzle with both sauces, add your whipped cream, peanuts, and top it all with your cherry.

Hint: Nobody says you only have to use just one cherry. You’re in charge, here.

Gemma’s Pro-Chef Tips For Making The Best Banana Split

• You can make everything from scratch as I did or use store-bought ice cream and sauces, either way, it will taste great.
• Strawberry sauce: Use this recipe for raspberry sauce, but use strawberries. You will need to puree the strawberries after they are cooked and pass them through a sieve to remove seeds.
• Make your own chocolate syrup, it’s fast, cheap, and easy.
• Use my 2 Ingredient No Machine Ice Cream. The is a great one for kids to make from scratch. And they can customize flavors.

Make More Ice Cream

I usually list out all the related recipes here… except I have 50+ flavors of ice cream you can make using my 2-Ingredient recipe! Find them all here.

But, you can also try recipes like my Homemade Gelato (No Machine), Frozen Custard, and Japanese Mochi!

Learn new skills and level up your baking in the Bold Baking Academy — subscribe NOW, featuring the Bold Baking Concierge for direct access to Gemma & her team for all your baking help.

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