Spirits 'Winter Chill' Banana Cream Soup

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This boozy chilled banana cream soup is a fun meal starter - 5 ingredients and no cooking. You can literally 'whip' it up in no time!

Spirits was a restaurant in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada years ago. It was on the first floor of the Seagram distillery building after it had been turned into a museum... all very chic and chichi for back in the day!

This soup could be the hit of your dinner party Winter or Summer.

History of Seagram's

Seagram's was once an an extensive operation that covered a couple of city blocks. It was made up of a distillery, a mill, a cooperage, barrel warehouse and administration buildings. Seagrams was a major employer in the area from 1857 to 1992.

Okay- back to the soup

Spirits had this chilled soup on the menu in the winter months - hence the 'Winter Chill' reference. Bananas are available year round and the hit of liqueur adds a bit of warmth. The original was made with Cointreau but I use either Grand Marnier or Cointreau, depending on which I have on hand. I have written it with Grand Marnier and orange garnish. Spirits restaurant, spirits in the soup... get it? HA!

The restaurant served it as a full bowl of soup with rolls. I find it a bit rich so I tend to serve it in small portions- almost like an 'amuse-gueule'. You could serve this at the table in small bowls or martini glasses. It would also be a great appetizer to pass to a large party or BBQ, using little shot glasses. (Okay..you almost can't tell the difference here between soup and cocktail!)

You could switch up the liqueur in this - I can vouch for the Cointreau and the Grand Marnier but I think Sambuca could also be fun, or coconut liqueur. For non-alcoholic versions you could substitute orange juice or coconut milk. The 'dainty' servings above were made with Cointreau and used raspberries as garnish.

It only takes a couple of minutes to blend up. You can make it a few hours ahead and just keep it chilled. Don't make it more than a couple of hours ahead or you risk it turning blackish.

The recipe as written will make about 4 half-cup servings. Halve it if you want to go for the 'dainty' experience!

Wine Pairing for Spirits 'Winter Chill' Banana Cream Soup

This could be a bit tricky because the soup is somewhat sweet. So you would want an off dry or semi sweet wine to pair with it. Think German Riesling or Gewurztraminer. An off dry Prosecco would be a good choice as well as an off-dry fruity Rosé would also work.

Can I Substitute Other Fruits?

You could substitute about 2 cups of any other fruit for the bananas. If you choose something with seeds though you will want to strain it remove the seeds and maintain a silky texture.

How Long Does This Keep?

If you use bananas the soup will start to darken after a few hours. If you are using another fruit like mango, raspberry or strawberry you won't have this problem and the soup will keep well in the fridge for a few days.

Can I Freeze This?

I wouldn't recommend freezing this since the milk and cream will have a tendency to separate after freezing. You could reblend it but I am not sure the texture would be like fresh.

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