Banana, maple, roasted chocolate

In a medium pot, bring milk and cream to a simmer. Remove from heat and add bananas. Let steep 20 minutes. Using an immersion blender, blend in maple syrup, gelatin, and salt. Let cool slightly. Add egg whites and blend until smooth. Refrigerate. Transfer to a soda siphon.

Bring 1.5 kilograms water to just below a simmer. Meanwhile, in a bowl, slowly whisk to combine all ingredients, removing any clumps. Slowly whisk into the water, dissolving the previous addition before adding more. Bring to 180°F and let cook 2 minutes. Strain and cool. Reserve.

Heat oven to 300°F. Roast bananas until the peels are black and the oozing banana juice. Let cool. Remove bananas from peels and place in a bain-marie. Add acid and enough Sorbet Syrup until the mixture reads 30 brix on a refractometer. Stir in food coloring. Vacuum-seal to prevent oxidation. 

In a large bowl, add all ingredients. Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth. Place over a double boiler and bring to 167°F while whisking. Hold the base at 167°F for 30 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh strainer then place over an ice bath to cool. Refrigerate.

(Yield:  3 quarts)
Add equal parts Roasted Banana Sorbet and Vanilla Custard Base to an ice cream machine. Process according to manufacturer’s instructions. Scoop out tiny quenelles of custard and individually freeze in nitrogen. Transfer frozen quenelles to plastic containers and freeze until needed.

In a deep bain-marie, combine all chocolates. While the chocolate is melting, combine trimoline and 2.475 kilograms water in a medium-sized pot. Bring to just below a simmer. While the water is heating, in a bowl, whisk together brown sugar, sorbet stabilizer, and salt. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the warm water. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Pour mixture over the melted chocolates and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth. Place over an ice bath to cool. Add vanilla and 30 percent Vanilla Custard Base by weight. Blend again. Transfer to an ice cream machine and process according to manufacturer’s instructions. Freeze.

In a large bowl, combine chocolate, butter, and salt. Set aside. Heat the bottom of a tall, medium-sized pot to red hot. While the pan is heating, in a separate, medium-sized pot, combine heavy cream and maple syrup. Warm to just below a simmer. Add sugar to the tall pot and let melt, gently stirring occasionally, until it reaches an amber-colored dry caramel. Deglaze the caramel with the maple dairy then bring the mixture to 223°F. Remove from heat and pour through a fine mesh strainer over the chocolate, butter, and salt. Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth. Set over an ice bath to cool.

In a medium-sized pot over medium flame, caramelize maple syrup to a medium amber. Deglaze with warm milk, stir in vanilla paste, and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat. In a separate bowl, whisk to combine sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk in the egg yolks. Gradually whisk warm milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture. Return mixture to the pot, set over low heat, and cook, stirring constantly until thickened into an anglaise. Remove from heat. Add butter and gelatin. Using an immersion blender, blend until emulsified. Transfer to a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix until light, fluffy, and completely cooled. 

Weigh out heavy cream so it is half the weight of the Caramelized Maple Cream. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, reconstitute the Caramelized Maple Cream until smooth. Slowly stream in heavy cream until emulsified, frequently scraping down the sides of the bowl to ensure the base is smooth. Replace paddle attachment with a whisk. Whip until light and aerated.

Heat oven to 325°F. In a food processor, pulse together sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and lemon zest until. Add butter and egg whites. Process until small pebbles form. Transfer the crumble to 2 parchment-lined sheet trays and bake 10 minutes. Remove crumble from the oven and chop to break up the clumps. Return to oven and bake an additional 10 minutes, chop again, then bake until fully dry, up to 5 minutes. Dehydrate the soil overnight to remove any oils. 

In a medium-sized pot, warm the cream. Add roasted bananas, cover, and let steep 30 minutes. Strain. Return banana cream to the pot and add glucose and salt. Bring to just below a boil. Add 280 grams Chocolate Soil. Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth. Strain over caramelized chocolate. Blend again until smooth.

Mix to combine yuzu juice, simple syrup, and 750 grams water, and enough simple syrup until the mixture reads 14 brix on a refractometer. Mix to combine food coloring. Transfer to an ice cream machine and process according to manufacturer’s instructions. Freeze.

Using a piping bag set with an 806 tip, pipe 36 grams Soil Ganache into the bottom of a small serving bowl, creating a half sphere. In a separate piping bag, pipe Soft Maple Caramel in a zig-zag shape over the Soil Ganache. In a third piping bag set with an 809 tip, pipe 40 grams Whipped Caramelized Maple Cream over the Soft Maple Caramel, completely covering the surface. Shake Banana Maple Foam in the soda siphon. Disperse a layer of the Banana Maple Foam in a zig-zag formation, just below the top of the bowl. Lightly tap the bowl to remove any large air pockets. Sprinkle with fleur de sel. Using the edge of a quenelle spoon, press out a line in the container of Roasted Milk Chocolate Sorbet. Place 1 pre-frozen quenelle of Roasted Banana Custard directly in the middle of the line. Using a large quenelle spoon, scoop the Roasted Milk Chocolate Sorbet, ensuring the Roasted Banana Custard is encased in and perfectly hidden inside. Place the quenelle on top of the Banana Maple Foam, pointing northwest.