Two Scoops of Banana Pudding Ice Cream

This popular ice cream flavor at Crank and Boom tastes like the real thing

Southerners know banana pudding by heart: the clear cup, the vanilla wafers stuck in the top, the dollop of whipped cream (or Cool Whip, depending). Toa Green, who co-owns and operates Crank and Boom Craft Ice Cream with her husband, Mike Green, in Lexington, Kentucky, is turning this beloved dessert on its head—in the best way. “I think it’s really fun when you can take something like banana pudding, which is this classic dish, and then turn it into an ice cream,” says Green, “and it tastes literally like banana pudding with all the same components.”

Crank and Boom started in the back of Thai Orchid Café, Green’s previous restaurant in Lexington, where she made coconut ice cream inspired by the treat she ate as a kid in Thailand. The ice cream business has since grown into two brick-and-mortar locations in Lexington. The banana pudding recipe was born out of Small Batch Club, Crank and Boom’s fundraising program, where new flavors are released every month to benefit local nonprofits. “It was the one flavor that we brought back the most because it would sell out the most,” says Green. “People loved it so much that we decided to put it in our regular lineup.”

When making this dessert at home, you need an automatic home ice cream maker (Green recommends Cuisinart), plus what Green calls “the happy fat balance”—a two-to-one ratio of heavy cream to whole milk—and less sugar than you think. Using real flavors is the Crank and Boom philosophy, and overripe bananas are key. Green says to be sure to layer in the toppings closely so that every scoop has vanilla wafers, whipped cream, and banana ice cream goodness. After than, she says, it’s up to you: “Swirl with your heart.”

Toa Green’s Banana Pudding Ice Cream Recipe

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