What flavours go with bananas?

June 23, 2009 10:04 AM

Twofer: whipped cream and bananas. Yes, this is SFW.

I am making a banana mousse (amongst other things) in a few weeks for my sister's housewarming. It's a very simple recipe: whip cream, fold in pureed bananas, chill. I'm serving it with a little salted star anise caramel (brown sugar, star-anise infused butter, sea salt) which cuts nicely through the sweetness, and a sliver of banana wrapped in a wonton with black pepper and fried until crispy, which also helps cut the sweetness.

My problem is the richness. I would like to infuse the cream with something to counteract the richness of the dish (particularly since it's late July), but I have two questions:

1) The only method I know for reliably infusing cream is to bring the cream to just before a simmer with whatever is being infused into it. Will cream still whip properly if I do that and then chill before whipping? If not, is there another way to infuse cream that will work? Bear in mind I will not have access to a professional kitchen or professional-grade equipment, though shopping for unusual ingredients/additives is possible.

2) What flavour should I use? I'm usually good at flavour combinations, but this is eluding me because--no matter how much I love them--bananas do taste kind of weird.

posted by dirtynumbangelboy to food & drink (19 comments total)

You could try a little rum or whisky in the cream. Bourbon could be good. No infusion technique needed and the cream will still whip. To my mind the edge of the alcohol cuts against richness.
posted by yarrow at 10:12 AM on June 23

Oh, and chocolate is obviously a good match for bananas, but I was hoping to do something a bit more interesting.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 10:12 AM on June 23

How about a fruit coulis instead of (or along with) an infused cream? Mango or passionfruit would go with the banana-caramel-star anise combo.
posted by bcwinters at 10:13 AM on June 23

Ooh. (damn non-previewing)

Bourbon could be great. It sort of becomes a riff on Bananas Foster that way. How much, about 1tbsp/cup of cream?
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 10:13 AM on June 23

Yeah, I think that would be about right. I always just kind of splash some in, but that sounds like about the right ratio.
posted by yarrow at 10:16 AM on June 23

Huh. My first thought on counteracting the richness was something involving citrus, specifically lemon or lime. Maybe folding in some zest or dripping some juice in the banana puree. Not sure how that would act on the cream though.
posted by General Malaise at 10:26 AM on June 23

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing but I figured the acid would start turning the whipped cream into cheese, and as I'm making this several hours in advance...

On the other hand, I could infuse the cream with the star anise, and citrus in the caramel.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 10:32 AM on June 23

I was thinking citrus, too, but I was thinking orange - it will read as "bright and a bit sweet" and not "obvs orange". The fun thing is that you get to try out ALL of these ideas and sample them!
posted by ersatzkat at 10:33 AM on June 23

maybe something nutty? that would also go with the caramel. (though the whiskey sounds pretty good, too)
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 10:34 AM on June 23

Heh, ersatzkat (yay enspousening!).. the fun part is I'm making this with my nephew (my niece is going to learn how to make hummus from scratch I think), so I'd like to have the recipe nailed down. Which, ALAS, is going to involve a lot of trial and error.

Orange would be lovely I think. And 5_13, nutty makes sense too.. I'd like to avoid peanuts due to potential cross-contamination and allergy concerns, but maybe some crushed hazelnuts or some such, toasted. Hmmm.

Also I need to bear in mind I'm making 30+ portions of this, heh.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 10:41 AM on June 23

Orange (or any citrus) zest might work better than citrus juice, and you wouldn't have to worry about the curdling problem. I love things flavored with zest, it has such a rich flavor without being too sweet or too tart.
posted by misskaz at 10:59 AM on June 23

How about ginger? Its freshness and spiciness will offset the richness of the caramel and sweetness of the banana. I'm not sure if you would want to infuse the cream, though; this idea might work better if you sprinkle the cream with shredded candied ginger.
posted by thisjax at 11:34 AM on June 23

Could I add that if you're making something with alcohol in it, that you let people know. Not everyone is able to drink alcohol, for either health or religious reasons.
posted by essexjan at 11:46 AM on June 23

Cream picks up flavour quite easily, as do all milk products, really -- just think of that delicious liquid in the bottle of one's cereal bowl in the morning... I have two suggestions: (1) try soaking some guava paste in the cream in the fridge overnight. (2) some dried candied cantaloupe and the tiniest pinch of cayenne pepper.
posted by pernishus at 12:10 PM on June 23

bottle ==> bottom...

sheesh! -- that is not, perhaps, an improvement...
posted by pernishus at 12:11 PM on June 23

If you really like the nut idea, how about some hazelnut oil/extract?
posted by sarajane at 12:37 PM on June 23

FYI, some folks are allergic to hazelnuts...if you use them - or extracts thereof - best to let it be known.
posted by sparrowdance at 12:51 PM on June 23

For lemony flavor without lemon, infusing the cream with lemongrass might be interesting.
posted by Lexica at 1:15 PM on June 23

Sort of related: wine pairings with banana bread.
posted by mdonley at 3:52 PM on June 23