Paçoca Ice Cream topped with Fried Bananas and drizzled with a luscious Chocolate Sauce is what I have for you today... Huh? Paçoca is a Southeastern Brazilian candy made from ground peanuts and sugar. Don't worry! If you don't have access to pre-packaged paçoca (peanut candy), you still can make this super duper delicious ice cream by roasting and grinding peanuts -- as simple as that!
I developed this recipe specifically for The Latin Kitchen, and it wound up becoming one of my all-time favorite ice creams. This is serious stuff, kiddos! A synonym for paçoca ice cream is addiction! Of that I am quite certain.
I am not kidding... I had to hide my paçoca ice cream in order to not eat it all in one sitting. All by itself it is already out of this world. But topped with fried bananas (banana frita) and drizzled with chocolate sauce, it is pure heaven. It is one of those unique experiences that one never forgets. If you are crazy for peanuts, peanut butter, and other peanut treats, you just have to try paçoca ice cream.
Paçoca is also used to refer to a completely dish. In my Northeast region, paçoca is a dish made from carne de sol (sun-cured beef), like this...
... along with farinha de mandioca (cassava flour), and red onions, and ground together in a mortar and pestle (pilão). This Northeastern paçoca dish is known as paçoca de pilão in the rest of Brazil while the Southeastern paçoca (peanut candy) is known is my Northeastern region as paçoquinha ('little paçoca'). I know that this can be a little bit confusing. It is all due to the origin of the word: paçoca comes from the indigenous Tupi word "posok," which means "to crumble," "to shatter."
But for now, let us focus on paçoca the peanut candy. To discover more about paçoca, stop by The Latin Kitchen and learn more about it from Bridget Shirvell. There you can also get the recipe in English for my Paçoca Ice Cream with Fried Bananas and Chocolate Sauce . In addition, if you would like to find out more about the health benefits of bananas, please take a look at this impressive article.
Paçoca Ice Cream with Fried Bananas and Chocolate Sauce
Ingredients
- For the Paçoca Ice Cream:
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 medium ripe yet firm bananas quartered
- ½ cup sugar divided
- 1-⅛ teaspoons ground cinnamon divided
- Freshly squeezed juice of ½ lime
- 2-½ cups ground paçoca or roasted and ground peanuts. See note below! use a fork or your hands to break up the paçoca
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk 14 oz
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
- For the Fried Bananas:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 medium ripe yet firm bananas sliced into rounds
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- For the Chocolate Sauce:
- ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
- ⅓ cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- To make the paçoca ice cream: Wrap the ice cream bowl/bucket in plastic wrap (in order to keep it clean) and freeze it for about 24 hours prior to making the ice cream.
- Heat a large, non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat and melt the butter. Reduce heat to medium and cook the quartered bananas (chunks) for about 1 minute, tossing the bananas by shaking the pan around occasionally. In a small bowl, mix together ¼ cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Pour on top of the bananas and let cook for about 2 minutes, agitating the pan occasionally. Remove from heat and drizzle the lime juice on top of the bananas, swirling the pan in a circular motion to coat them. Transfer to a bowl, let cool, and freeze.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together ¼ cup sugar, ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon, ground paçoca, heavy cream, condensed milk, vanilla, and salt until obtaining a homogeneous mixture.
- If using an ice cream machine: Pour mixture into ice cream machine frozen bowl/bucket, and follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Let it churn for about 25-30 minutes or until firm. Transfer the ice cream to a container, fold in the frozen bananas chunks, cover (with a lid or plastic wrap), and store in the freezer for at least 24 hours. Serve by itself or with fried bananas on top drizzled with chocolate sauce.
- If NOT using an ice cream machine: Follow the instructions above for preparing the banana chunks and also the ice cream mixture. Transfer the ice cream mixture to an airtight container and cover with plastic wrap. After ice cream has been in the freezer for 60-90 minutes, remove from the freezer and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon or plastic spatula. Freeze ice cream again and continue to stir every 30 minutes for 2-3 hours. Fold in the frozen bananas chunks, cover (with a lid or heavy duty aluminum foil), and store in the freezer for at least 24 hours. Serve by itself or with fried bananas on top drizzled with chocolate sauce.
- For the fried bananas, heat a large, non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat and melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Reduce heat to medium and cook the banana rounds for about 1 minute, shaking the pan around occasionally. In a small bowl, mix together ¼ cup sugar with ¼ teaspoon cinnamon. Pour over the bananas and let cook for about 2-3 minutes, agitating the pan occasionally. Remove pan from the heat and let cool a little bit before serving on top of the ice cream with the chocolate sauce.
- For the chocolate sauce, place both chocolate chips and heavy cream in a medium microwaveable bowl and heat at medium power (50%) for 1 to 1-½ minutes. Stir well, heating at 15-30 seconds intervals if necessary, stirring until smooth. Drizzle on top of the fried bananas.
Recipe Notes
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Please note that health-focused and diet information provided on easyanddelish.com is for educational purposes and does not constitute medical advice, nor is it intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease. Consult with your doctor or other qualified health professional prior to initiating any significant change in your diet or exercise regimen, or for any other issue necessitating medical advice.
Jasline (Foodie Baker) says
Wow, peanut, banana and chocolate, what's not to love about this? This looks simply amazing!
Eric says
This recipe looks great, I'm looking forward to giving it a go!
I have a quick question about the "other" paçoca, the meat version. I received a small packaged tub of it from my friend. It's not refrigerated, which seems ok because it's relatively dry. My question is, how should I eat it? As is with a spoon? Heated in a pan? Combined with other ingredients?
Thanks Denise!
Denise Browning says
Hi, Eric!
The paçoca (meat) should be shredded and then sautéed in butter with small diced onions and minced garlic. It can be served as a filling (with melted cheese) for tapioca crepes: https://www.frombraziltoyou.org/brazilian-breakfast-and-tapioca-crepes-with-cheese/
It can be served with mashed cassava which is prepared like mashed potatoes. It can be added to farofa : https://www.frombraziltoyou.org/farofa-cassava-flour/
You can use it as a filling for sandwiches (we usually use toasted French bread) and topped with cheese, etc... There are many ways to serve paçoca but basically is shredded and then sauteed. I hope this helps...
mjskit says
I'm drooling just looking at those pictures. What an amazing dessert!!! This is one of those desserts that you eat first and if you have room, then you eat the meal. 🙂
Denise Browning says
LOL... Since I got a sweet tooth, I do really enjoy eat dessert first.
Daniela says
You are so right Denise, this IS addictive 🙂
Here it's warm right now so that's the perfect treat.
The carne de sol looks wonderful too!
Denise Browning says
Daniela: Thanks a lot! I love this ice cream so much that I did not bother devouring it at the end of winter season here.
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com says
Wow!! Decadent deliciousness 😀
Denise Browning says
Thanks a lot!!! This became a real fave of mine...
Krissie - Pearls of Style says
Yum yum yum, this looks so good and I can just imagine how amazing it would taste. I'm sure if I wasn't careful I could devour the whole thing on a rainy Sunday.
Krissie x - https://pearlsofstyle.blogspot.com.au
Denise Browning says
I would make you company, Krissie!!!! Thanks again for stopping by. Wishing you a delicious week...