Ice Cream on the pie or IN the pie?

Growing up, fresh-baked cherry pie with a scoop of ice cream hit the spot! Even on a hot summer day, the treat was welcomed. For my birthday, my babysitter's sister would bake a lattice-crust cherry pie. Add that to the German chocolate cake my grandma brought, and oh, the day was a dessert lover's delight!

Now, thanks to ice cream superstores like Coldstone Creamery and DQ, ice cream pies are popular. Delicious ice cream mixed with add-ins chilled inside some kind of crust. I'm not sure if this is how the ice cream pie gained its popularity, or if some crafty chef realized ice cream inside the pie shell equaled a delicious treat!

In honor of National Ice Cream Pie Day, why not combine a fancy ice cream treat - the banana split - with a pie shell. You'll love the results! I prefer to make a graham cracker crust, but if convenience is necessary, a prepared graham cracker crust will suffice.

Banana Split Pie

• 4 Tbsp. chocolate hard-shell ice cream topping
• 1 9-inch graham cracker crust (chocolate crusts work, too)
• 2 bananas, sliced
• 1/2 t. lemon juice
• 1/2 cup pineapple ice cream topping
• 1 quart strawberry ice cream, softened
• 2 cups whipped topping
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 8 maraschino cherries
• chocolate syrup

Pour chocolate topping into crust. Freeze for 10 minutes.

Place sliced bananas in small bowl. Mix with lemon juice. Arrange bananas over chocolate topping. Layer with pineapple topping, ice cream, whipped cream, and nuts.

Cover and freeze until firm (a couple hours). Remove from freezer approximately 15 minutes prior to serving.

Garnish with chocolate syrup and maraschino cherries.

Serves: 8.

Decadency on a spoon - Chocolate Ice Cream Melts the Palette

Decadent. Sinful. And oh! so delicious. Chocolate ice cream remains a popular ice cream treat.

Forget the local dairy king imposters known as soft serve. Dish up the good stuff: the homemade indulgence that grandma and grandpa used to make.

Ice cream dates back to 4th century B.C., when Nero demanded snow and ice be brought down from the mountains. Then, the ice was mixed with fruit, creating the first-known example of ice cream.

The Tang Dynasty (AD 618 - 697) were the first to mix ice and milk products to form the creamy treat. Eventually, traders tales of the frozen cream weaved their way back to Europe, where experimentation led to the development of sherbets, ices, and milk ices.

Americans enjoyed the dessert, too. In 1782, the French envoy honored the new American republic and served the concoction to the assembly. Dolly Madison dished it in the White House.

The first mention of chocolate ice cream was in a cookbook by Jean-Pierre Buc'hoz from 1787, but it is possible that earlier experiments in the kitchen produced the chocolaty goodness first.


Try this recipe today, in honor of National Chocolate Ice Cream Day.

• 4 oz. quality unsweetened chocolate
• 1 1/4 C. milk
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 C. sugar
• 1 C. cream
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1/2 C. cold milk

Melt chocolate over low heat. At the same time, heat milk over low heat in a small saucepan. Gradually stir milk into melted chocolate. It is important to slowly add the milk; otherwise, the chocolate will clump and become hard. Heat while stirring until mixture reaches a smooth consistency. The mixture will be thick.

Beat eggs with sugar. Stir in the hot chocolate and milk mixture, stirring constantly. Add cream, salt, vanilla, and 1/2 C. cold milk. Allow mix to cool. Freeze in an ice cream freezer.