Rich, creamy banana ice cream with banana compote

City/Region: England
Time Period: 1894

Today, the Lusitania is most remembered for being the target of a German torpedo on May 7, 1915, but when she sailed, she was known for being the height of speed and luxury. This ice cream dessert was served to second class passengers on October 9, 1913 on board the Lusitania, and the same dessert is on a menu from April 11, 1912 aboard the Titanic.

It’s not hard to see why Victoria Pudding was served to fancy passengers. The flavors are layered and delicious, the texture is luxurious and creamy, and the compote is undeniably fancy. At first you get the flavor of the banana, then the floral notes from the orange flower water come in, and nothing is overpowering. The banana compote is quite a bit of work, and as it doesn’t add any new flavors to the dish, I think it’d be okay to skip it. If you’re going for maximum opulence, though, then definitely make it.

Victoria Pudding
Pouding à la Victoria
Take one pint of vanilla custard (Book of Ices, p. 23), add to it the purée of six large or eight small raw ripe bananas that have been pounded with one ounce of castor sugar, the pulp of two oranges and one lemon, and a quarter-pound of raw ripe or cooked pineapple; mix these together, and colour with a little of Marshall’s Apricot Yellow, and rub through a fine hair sieve; flavour with a wineglassful of orange-flower water, a teaspoonful of vanilla essence, and a wineglassful of brandy; pour the mixture into the charged freezer and freeze it to the consistency of a thick batter; then add half a pint of whipped cream that is sweetened with half an ounce of castor sugar; refreeze it and put it into a fancy pudding mould, place this in the charged ice cave for three and a half to four hours, during which time turn it occasionally from side to side, so as to get the ice evenly frozen. When ready to serve turn out the pudding in the usual way on to a dish, and serve round it a compote of bananas (see recipe).
This is a nice dish for a dinner or luncheon sweet, and if the mould has a pipe the space made by it can be filled with the compote of fruit.

Compote of Bananas
Put two tablespoonfuls of thick apricot jam into a basin with the pulp of two bananas, a wineglassful of Marshall’s Maraschino Syrup, a few drops of Marshall’s Carmine, a saltspoonful of Marshall’s Apricot Yellow, the juice of one lemon and of one orange; mix these together with this purée three or four raw ripe bananas that have been freed from skin and sliced about a quarter of an inch thick; set it on ice till quite cold, then use.
— Fancy Ices by Agnes B. Marshall, 1894

Ingredients:

Ice Cream
A pinch of salt
7 medium or 6 large egg yolks
A heaping 1/2 cup (110 g) plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups (590 ml) heavy cream, divided
6 ripe medium bananas
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 small oranges, peeled and seeded
1 small lemon, peeled and seeded
3 round slices (110 g) canned pineapple
Yellow food coloring
2 teaspoons orange flower water
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons brandy

Banana Compote
5 ripe medium bananas, divided
2 tablespoons apricot jam
2 tablespoons maraschino syrup
Red food coloring
Yellow food coloring
1 lemon, juiced
1 orange, juiced

Instructions:

1. For the custard: In a large bowl, sprinkle the salt over the egg yolks, then add the heaping 1/2 cup of sugar and whisk together until the mixture is a pale yellow. Whisk in the vanilla.
2. Heat 2 cups (475 ml) of the heavy cream until it’s just simmering, then take it off the heat. To prevent scrambled eggs, temper the egg yolk mixture by adding a ladleful of the cream to the yolks and whisking until combined. Do this 3 or 4 times (3 or 4 ladles worth), then add the rest of the cream and whisk until smooth.
3. Chill in the fridge or in an ice bath. The fridge will take longer, and you’ll need to cover the custard and make sure the covering is touching the surface so a skin doesn’t form. Chill for several hours until thoroughly cold. To chill in an ice bath, have your custard in a metal or thermal shock-resistant bowl, then place it in a larger bowl of ice water. Stir occasionally. This should cool the custard in about 10 minutes.
4. While the custard chills, mash the bananas as smooth as possible. Mix in the sugar.
5. Put the oranges, lemon, and pineapple in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add this to the banana mixture and stir together. You want this to be as smooth as possible, so use an immersion blender if you have one, regular blender, or food processor to make it as smooth as you can, or mash very well.
6. Add the banana mixture to the chilled custard and stir to combine. Add yellow food coloring to make the mixture the color of the outside of a banana. Keep in mind that the whipped cream we’re adding in a bit will lighten the color. I used about 4 or 5 drops of gel food coloring.
7. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve, pressing as much of it through as you can. Having the mixture as smooth as possible beforehand will make this process easier and will leave less pulp behind in the sieve.
8. Stir in the orange flower water, vanilla, and brandy.
9. Pour the banana custard mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
10. While the custard starts to freeze, whip the remaining 1/2 cup (120 ml) of heavy cream with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar to stiff peaks. When the custard is about half of the way to the consistency of soft serve, add the whipped cream and then continue to freeze until it’s nice and thick.
11. Take a fancy mold large enough to hold the ice cream and rinse the inside with a bit of water and pour it out (this will help get the ice cream out of the mold later). Add the ice cream to the mold and put it in the freezer until fully frozen, ideally about a day.
12. For the banana compote: Mash 2 of the bananas well. Stir in the apricot jam and maraschino syrup. Stir in a few drops of red food coloring and a few drops of yellow food coloring to get a bright red-orange (you can adjust the color to your liking). Stir in the citrus juices.
13. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve. Slice the remaining 3 bananas into about 1/4 inch (1 cm) slices and gently stir them into the compote until they’re evenly coated. Chill in the refrigerator until the ice cream is fully frozen.
14. To serve: When the ice cream is ready, dip the mold in hot water for just a few seconds, dry it off, then turn it out onto a serving plate. Spoon the compote on and around the ice cream in whichever decorative manner you like best. Slice or scoop it into serving dishes and serve it forth.