I’ve been eyeing the bunch of bananas my husband bought at the grocery, wondering what to do with them. Neither one of us is a big fan of bananas, but there was talk of making up some smoothies with them. Just the same, I had my doubts. Not a big fan, personally. It occurred to me that I enjoy bananas in every possible way except for the way nature intended – peeled and eaten like the piece of fruit that it is. Ick.
Bananas foster, banana cream pie, frozen bananas – that’s it! Frozen bananas! I peeled them, cut them in half, and jammed a large lollipop stick up the middle and placed them on a parchment-covered cookie sheet and whisked them off to the freezer to firm up while I made the chocolate. To my horror, and possible for the first time ever as an adult, I found there wasn’t a chocolate chip in the house. How did that happen?! So I rummaged around and found a package of chocolate batons, the kind you use to make pain au chocolat. Eureka! This might work! So here’s how I did it.
4 relatively ripe bananas, peeled and cut in half, with a stick of your choice shoved up the middle
8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate batons
2 tbsp. butter*
2 tsp. canola oil*
mixed nuts, chopped up fine (I had a container of already chopped nuts intended for use as an ice cream topping, so I used those)
Dispatch the bananas and put them into the freezer on a parchment-lined cookie sheet for at least 15 minutes (but not enough to freeze them solid – the ice crystals that might form will totally seize up your melted chocolate and become claggy).
Melt the chocolate and fats together either in a microwave or over a double boiler. Spoon the melted chocolate over the bananas rather quickly, scraping off the excess gently. Sprinkle nuts (if using) over top and place back onto the cookie sheet.
Return cookie sheet to the freezer right away and allow bananas to freeze up firm. Enjoy!
* You could probably use 1/4 cup of cream instead, making it more of a ‘ganache’. But whatever, butter and oil worked just fine.
Foray Into Victorian-Age Madness 