It’s hard to beat plain old ice cream as theperfect summer dessert, but these six cool-schooledchefs have done it. And so can you, with just a littleadvance work (and a gadget or two). It’s worththe effort: When the mercury rises, knowing your freezer is stocked withdelectable homemade confections is cold comfortindeed. For pure visual impact, we love the luxuriouslayered look of chef Patrick Coston’schocolate-peanut-butter coupe at Ilo. And with localberry season approaching, the time is right for GaryRobins’s frozen strawberry soufflés,crunchy with nuggets of hazelnut praline and redolentof sweet, intensely fragrant fruit. Easy-to-followrecipes for Otto’s luscious lemon gelato and IlLaboratorio del Gelato’s bittersweet-chocolatesorbet are two great reasons to break out yourice-cream maker. Above all, summer is the season toindulge your inner Good Humor–addicted child,which we plan to do from now till Labor Day withwatermelon-cucumber Popsicles and squares of banana–crème fraîche ice-cream bars cloaked inchocolate and macadamia nuts—a frozen bananawith an Eleven Madison Park pedigree.
Chocolate-Covered Banana–Crème Fraîche Ice-Cream Bar
Text by Robin Raisfeld