Now that everything is in order, holidays finished and school-work schedules are back on track you might want a really easy dessert to make for a fun night with the family. Make it for a Saturday game night. It will even work with pizza if that is your norm.
- 24 chocolate Oreo cookies
- 4 tbsp. room temperature butter-not margarine
- 1 pkg. Chocolate Mousse mix (I know!)
- 1/2 cup caramel topping
- 2 large bananas
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, pulse the cookies for 2-3 minutes until fine crumbs form. Add the butter, pulse only 4 -5 times until well combined.
Press the crumbs into the bottoms and sides of 6 buttered 4 3/4 inch tart pans. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 8 minutes. Let cool completely.
Prepare the mousse mix, reducing the milk amount to 3/4 cup. Stir in the caramel topping.
Slice the bananas and line each tart, top with the mousse mixture and garnish, of course, with whipping cream. To raise the bar a little, make it chocolate whipping cream or grated chocolate.
This is a little whimsy but a great treat just the same.
Kid Friendly Banana Tarts
Running out of ideas Mom? Holidays too long? This will make you a hero in the eyes of the young.
- 24 oreo cookies
- 4 tbsp. butter, room temperature
- 1 pkg. vanilla mousse mix
- 1/ 4 cup caramel topping
- 2 large bananas, thinly sliced
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Process the cookies in your food processor for 2 minutes until fine crumbs form.
Add the butter and pulse 5 times, until combined. Press the crumbs into the sides and bottoms of 4 inch tart pans. Bake these for 8 minutes.
After they have completely cooled, prepare the mousse mix as stated in the intructions on pkg. Reduce the amount of milk to only 3/4 cup. Stir in the caramel topping.
Line the bottoms of the tarts with banana slices, top with the caramel mousse mixture. If this isn’t enough, top with whipped cream and drizzle even more caramel sauce over the op.
What can I say? Yup! You did it again.
Bananas Foster French Toast
Anyone who had ever stayed at our B & B or even had a dinner in our home knows that I have never been shy when it comes to calories…..can’t help it. If you want fabulous food, then you must pay for it….just kidding. That comment probably has the ire of any dietician reading this.
Never mind…this is one fabulous French Toast.
- 2 cups whipping cream (heavier the better)
- 3 large eggs
- 1/4 tsp. vanilla
- 1/4 tsp. almond extract
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
- 4 slices of brioche
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 4 ripe bananas, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
- 2 tbsp. rum
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 pint whipping cream
In a large bowl combine the cream, eggs, vanilla and almond extracts and beat until well combined. In a smaller bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon and set aside. Dip the slices of bread into the cream mixture and use half of the sugar mixture, sprinkling on both sides.
Melt the butter in a frypan and when hot, cook as many pieces of bread as the pan will hold, cooking until a golden brown.
Heat remaining butter in another pan. Sprinkle the bananas with the sugar, add pecans. Remove from heat and stir in the rum and cook until caramelized. Place 2 slices of bread on a plate, pour the banana mixture over them and, of course, add the whipped cream.
A cup of freshly brewed coffee will complete this meal. Many groans and moans of pleasure will follow. Yummy!
Baked Banana Pudding
This is an addictive pudding and your kids will be fighting over the last of this dessert.
- 2 cups half and half
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup flour
- pinch of salt
- 3 large eggs, separated,
- 2 tbsp. butter, room temperature
- 2 tbsp. best quality vanilla extract
- 3 egg whites
- 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup icing sugar
- about 44 vanilla wafers (half of a 12 oz. box)
- 3 ripe bananas, sliced 1/4 inch thick pieces
For the pudding, using a double boiler set over simmering water, combine the half and half and sugar. Whisk in the flour and salt until combined (about 2 minutes) then remove from heat.
Place the egg yolks in a separate bowl and gradually add half of the hot mixture, constantly whisking to temper the eggs. Return this mixture to the remaining hot mixture back on the stove. Cook, stirring constantly until thickened and the consistency of pudding. This should take about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla. set aside.
Prheat oven to 350 degrees. For the meringue beat the egg whites for about a minute. Add the cream of tartar, vanilla and icing sugar and beat on high until stiff peaks form.
In an 8 inch square baking dish cover the bottom with the wafers. Top with half of the banana slices and one half of the pudding. Make a second layer, ending with the pudding. With a spatula, spread the meringue over the top of the pudding and form attractive peaks.
Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until the top turns a golden brown. Let cool down to room temperature (if you can wait that long) and serve to your adoring public.
In a word: Yummy
Banoffi Tart
This is, originally, an English dessert but we will add just one thing to add a French influence. Banoffi means “can’t take it off” and the English establishment couldn’t take it off their menu it was sooooo good.
Try it. Seeing as how salted caramel is the latest rage, it might hit the top of the list for you too.
Crust
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- 3 tbsp. sugar
- pinch of fine sea salt
- 6 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/2 tsp. cider vinegar
- 2-3 tbsp. cold water
Pulse the flour, sugar and salt to combine. Add the butter and pulse until it becomes a coarse texture. Mix 2 tbsp. water, vinegar and egg yolk together to combine and add to the flour mixture while still pulsing. If the dough doesn’t come together in about 5 pulses, add the remaining tbsp. of water. Shape into a disc, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-2 1/2 hours.
Filling
- 2 tins sweetened condensed milk
- pinch of Fleur de sel
For filling, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Scrape condensed milk into a 9 inch pie plate and stir in the fleur de sel. Cover with foil and place inside a larger pan with at least 1 inch of water in the bottom.Bake for about 2 hours, without stirring. Be sure to top up the water in the outer pan throughout the cooking process. Uncover, let sit to cool for about 20-25 minutes. Then scrape into a bowl, whisking until smooth and now chill until read to use.
While the filling is cooking in the oven, roll out the pastry disc to about 1/3 inch thick and place in a 9 inch fluted tart pan with removable botttom.
Prick with a fork and chill for half an hour.
Reduce oven to 375 degrees.
Assembly
- 2 large bananas, sliced
- 2 tbsp. white rum
- 1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. fleur de sel
- 1/2 cups whipping cream
- 1 1/2 tsp. sugar
- toasted almonds and chocolate shavings for garnish
Line the pastry disc with foil and fill with dried beans. Set pan on cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature now to 350 degrees and bake for 20 minutes more. Remove the foil and bake a further 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.
Mix 1 tsp. vanilla and rum together and toss the banana slices gently to coat. Spread into a single layer on the crust. Now carefully spread the toffee on top, covering the bananas and sprinkle with the fleur de sel.
Whip the cream to soft peaks, add the sugar and 1/2 tsp. vanilla. Spread this over the entire pie and garnish with the toasted, sliced almonds. Chill until ready to serve.
This can be made the day ahead but keep refrigerated.
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Banana White Chocolate Muffins
This is one sure way to get your potassium…..gotta love those bananas and this is another way to do that.
You will need:
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup Crisco oil
- 4 pureed bananas
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 cups flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp. baking powder
- 1/3 cup grated white chocolate
- 1/3 cup pecans, chopped
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl, blend eggs, oil, bananas and milk. In another bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, white chocolate and pecans.
Make a well in the centre and add the milk mixture. Stir only until moistened.
Fill prepared muffin tin 3/4 full. Bake for about 20 minutes or until they turn a light golden colour.
These are delicious and fits into the “other” food group….chocolate. Just ask any woman.
Enjoy.
Diana Foster Bananas
This is such a classic dessert, you can’t make a mistake.
- 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 4 tbsp. brown sugar
- 2 ripe bananas
- 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
- 3-4 oz. rum (try cinnamon vodka for a variation)
- Ice cream
Preparation: In a fry pan, melt the butter and brown sugar and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Add the cinnamon. Cut the bananas in half lengthways and in half again across the middle.
Place two halves of the banana in each dessert bowl. Go back to the sauce and carefully add the rum stirring well to combine and cook off the alcohol. This will flame up so be very careful when doing this step
. Drizzle the sauce over the bananas. Add a scoop of premium vanilla ice cream. (Banana ice cream if you can find it). Seconds, anyone?
yummy and goes really well with the rest of the dinner flavours.
Nut and Chocolate Smoothie
This is a different smoothie but the kids will love it (provided they don’t have allergies). It could also serve as breakfast if you slept in and are in a rush to go to work. You? Nah.
- 2 bananas
- 3 tbsp. smooth peanut butter
- 2 scoops premium chocolate ice cream
- 5 tbsp. vanilla yogurt
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup whipped cream
- chopped, salted peanuts for garnish
Place peeled bananas in blender. Add peanut butter, ice cream, milk and cream processing until smooth. Pour into chilled glasses, top with chopped peanuts, and add a small straw. Serve immediately.
This is very good if it is totally smooth and will remind you of the peanut butter and banana sandwich days. Enjoy!