Do people still go camping these days? With all these internet memes popping up you’d think that the current generation avoids outdoor activities like the plague - which is kinda bad news for outdoor foods such as this baked banana in foil.

In case you’re wondering, No, I didn’t go camping today. Instead I had a 10cmx10cm square of end-piece tinfoil,an overripe banana and a craving for something sweet.

Take the banana and with a sharp knife, cut a slit through banana peel and banana on one side {make sure not to go all the way through banana}.

Cut chocolate chunks {you can also use chocolate chips or chocolate spread} and stuff it inside the banana. Go ahead and sprinkle some nuts on top too, if you’re feeling rather indulgent.

Or even add a smidgen of butter on top for extra sauciness.

Wrap the stuffed banana in tin foil and seal the edges of the foil tightly.

Now, if you happen to be outdoor or using an outdoor grill, cook the banana on a rack over the last embers of the campfire or barbeque for 20-25 minutes.

Or, if you prefer the shade of the indoors, bake this in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for the same amount of time.

Serve at once, straight out of the foil as it is or with some cream or vanilla ice cream spooned on top.

Enjoy!

My entry for the Tumblr Food Challenge.

I took a glance at my schedule last night and saw that I only have a 7-9 seminar and nothing for the rest of the day. I should really have used the time to study for my block exam (which is in 8 days) but I had to go play landlord and hustle rent money and that threw off the dynamics of studying and so I thought I might as well make these and scratch it off of my to-do-list *takes a deep breath*. Ironically, this was not what I had planned to make for the challenge at all. I’d planned (and bought the ingredients) to make a Chocolate Charlotte Royale filled with Banana Bavarian Cream. Highly pretentious - trust me, I know. But I might make that during the weekend just to see how it would end up. For now, let’s just marvel over the fact that I just made a piece of crusty pretzel stuffed with a combination of sweet banana, slightly bitter chocolate paste and salty,tangy cheddar. If I ever open a bakery in this (or another) life or the next , this will definitely be on the menu. So if you should ever stumble to said fantasy shop, then do ask for these with a side of melted butter.

Soft Pretzel: (Dough Recipe from Food Mayhem. I made 1/2 the recipe)

[1 1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F) + 1/2 cup + 1 teaspoon white sugar, divided + 4 teaspoons active dry yeast + 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour, divided + 1 teaspoon kosher salt + 1/2 teaspoon table salt + 1 tablespoon vegetable oil + 4 tablespoon butter, melted (for brushing)]

In a small bowl combine warm water, 1 teaspoon of white sugar, and yeast.

Let stand for 10 minutes or until creamy and frothy.

Put 3 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and both salts in the bowl of your stand mixer. Mix with the paddle attachment for a few seconds.

Add vegetable oil and yeast mixture and just mix until moistened.

Switch to dough hook and knead on low for 5 minutes. Add in the remaining cup of flour while dough is kneading. You can add up to 2 tablespoons of water if dough looks dry.

When dough is done kneading, place in a large oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise till doubled in size, about an hour.

While you’re waiting for the dough to rise, prepare the filling.

Filling:

[2 ripe but firm bananas + 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese + Chocolate Paste (recipe below)] OR you could swap the grated cheese & chocolate paste with long sticks of cheese and shards of chocolate - it’ll be much easier to handle. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that when I did this)

- Chocolate Paste (recipe and pictures from my previous post - Baked Banana Wontons):

[3/4 cup cocoa powder + 1/4 cup soy milk (or milk. Or even just plain water) + 1/4 cup icing sugar]

Combine the cocoa powder and icing sugar in a bowl.

Add in the soy milk 2 tablespoons at a time, mixing all the while until it reaches the consistency of a chocolate spread. Add more soy milk if the paste is still too thick. Set aside.

Put the chocolate paste inside ziploc or piping bag. Cut the tip before using.

Cut the banana into thin strips and set the fillings aside.

Preheat oven 450 degrees F, 30 minutes before you are baking. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray.

When dough has risen, turn it out onto a floured surface and divide into 12 (6 in my case) equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope, roughly 1/2″ diameter.

**From this point on we will deviate from the good ol’ pretzel recipe.

You will now take each rope and roll it flat with a rolling pin to make a rough 3cmx25cm rectangle.

 Lay 2-3 slices of banana on one side of the rectangle

 Squeeze a line (or 2. Or 3) of chocolate paste on top of the banana slices.

 ** The amount of chocolate paste you put in is a compromise between the amount you want and the amount that could fit inside the pretzels without leaking out. Be clever with it and eyeball the right amount. I had trouble fitting 3 lines of squeezes so use that as a guide of sorts. 

Sprinkle the grated cheese on top.

 Pull and fold the other side of the rectangle over the filling and seal the edge tightly.

 Proceed with shaping the stuffed rope to a normal pretzel.

After all pretzels are shaped, dip them into the boiling solution for 10-15 seconds. Place on baking sheet and brush with melted butter.

 - Boiling Solution:

[1/2 cup baking soda + 4 cups hot water]

 Dissolve baking soda in hot water.

Bake the pretzels for 8 minutes, or until golden brown.

** To ensure maximum crustiness, I baked these in the middle rack and put a tray of boiling water in the rack under it.

Serve while still warm.

 Enjoy!

**Cook’s Note:

- Instead of chocolate paste and grated cheese, I’d recommend using splinters/tiny bars of chocolate and sticks of cheese instead - simple reason: they can be fitted inside the dough easier without leaking out.

- Be sure to leave gaps in between the banana slices or else you won’t be able to twist the pretzels into shape.

Here it is, in all its pretentiousness - the dang Charlotte Royale. I completely scratched off the idea of making banana bavarian cream because, in all honesty, I just couldn’t be bothered to do it. Right now I’m somewhat glad I didn’t submit this as an entry for the food challenge. There was a setback when the cake came out too dry and was virtually un-rollable - I ended up with a triangular swiss roll instead of a nice round one. But that kerfuffle aside, I think this turned out pretty well. It doesn’t look as pretty as a Charlotte Royale should, but it tasted good, especially when flooded with the caramel sauce. Be warned though, this is not a dessert made for one (at least, not the one in this post). Even a small one should be shared between 2, at the very least. 

Chocolate Swiss Roll (Cake recipe from AllHealthyRecipes)

- Cake

[1 cup flour + 1/2 cup sugar + 3 eggs + 1/2 teaspoon baking powder + 4 teaspoon cocoa powder]

- Filling:

[1 cup heavy cream, whipped + 2 bananas]

Mix the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder and sieve it into a bowl.

Beat sugar and eggs until light and fluffy. Add flour and mix until combined.

Spread the mixture in a greased or lined sheet cake pan.

Bake for 15-20 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees C.

Meanwhile, place a clean tea towel on a work surface, cover with baking paper. 

When the cake is cooked, place it on the baking paper and roll the cake up from the short side - rolling the paper inside the cake.

Stand the rolled cake on a wire rack for 5 mins, then carefully unroll & allow the cake to cool to room temperature before spreading the whipped cream on top.

Lay the bananas along one side of the cake and roll the cake. 

Keep the rollcake in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before slicing to assemble.

Banana Mousse:

[2 tablespoon orange juice + 2 teaspoon gelatine or agar powder + 2 bananas + 1 cup heavy cream + 1 tablespoon sugar]

Dissolve the gelatine or agar powder in the orange juice. 

Puree the bananas and add the gelatine-OJ mixture and puree again until smooth.

Whip the cream with sugar until stiff. Fold in the banana mixture.

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before assembly.

Assembly:

Fetch a mold - you can use any sort of round-bottomed bowl or even squared ones.

Cover it with a layer of cling-film, leaving tags to pull out later.

Lay the swiss-roll slices into the mold, pressing gently. Arrange them as close as you can, minimizing the gaps in between.

Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Spoon the mousse into the mould and place more swiss-roll slices on top of the mousse to seal the whole thing.

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour

** I used a bowl with a 10cm diameter. If you’re using a larger mould, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours).

When the time has lapsed, simply up-end the mold, loosen the plastic from around the sides and lift it off.

Peel back the plastic wrap and set the charlotte aside while you make the caramel sauce.

Caramel sauce:

[2 1/2 tablespoon sugar + 1/4 cup heavy cream]

Heat the sugar over medium-high heat until it caramelizes. 

Turn the heat to low and whisk in the heavy cream. Keep whisking until the caramel melts back into the sauce.

Serve the charlotte on its own or with the caramel sauce.

Enjoy!

Just to get everyone into the spirit of joining the Tumblr Food Challenge, here’s a compilation of posts that I’ve made so far that included the current challenge ingredient: Bananas.

Get cookin’ and join the awesomeness! :)

**Update:

1. More inspirations from other entries submitted for the challenge:

Ginger Spiced Baked Turon (Banana Spring Rolls) by Red + Black Apron

Mini Banana & Mint Flatbreads by Open Challenge

Sweet Rye Trifle with Banana Jam by Super Culinary Adventure Times

“Carded at the ticket ripper” Cake by Bandit Bakery

Jemput-Jemput (Banana Fritters) by Chomp Down Those Food!

2. kumako365jp replied to your post: Going bananas about bananas

You are killing me!! marvelous work.

Konnichiwa, Kumako-san! I hope you’re feeling better these days! And thank you, you’re too kind :)

I’ll admit that this post was more of a concession to my perpetual need to cook than something that was carefully planned. I just had to cook something. Anything. And so came about this twist to the classic strawberry shortcake. I originally wanted to make mango shortcakes but someone or other seems to have eaten the mango for iftar yesterday, so I’m using caramelized bananas instead. Meh, c’est la vie. Feel free to substitute other fruits for the bananas.

Coconut Shortcake (basic shortcake recipe from Joy of Baking)

[ 2 cups all-purpose flour + 1/4 cup sugar + 2 teaspoon baking powder + 1/4 teaspoon salt + 1/3 cup cold, unsalted butter + 1 large egg + 1/2 cup coconut milk ]

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C and place rack in middle of oven.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.

In a bowl, whisk the flour, sugar and baking powder and salt.

Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.

Whisk the coconut milk with the egg and pour into flour mixture. Mix until just combined, do not overmix.

The dough will look a little scraggly but don’t be tempted to add more flour.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead gently. 

Pat the dough into an 18-cm round and cut circles using a 3 inch (7 cm) round cookie cutter.

Place the scones on the baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with a little coconut milk and sprinkle some sugar on top.

Bake for about 15 -20 minutes or until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted in the center of a scone comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Caramelized Bananas (recipe from Food.com) :

[ 2 Bananas, each sliced at an angle to 6 pieces + 4 tablespoons of sugar ]

Pour sugar onto a plate. Roll bananas in sugar, until completely coated.

Spray a medium size nonstick pan, and heat over medium high heat. Add bananas and sugar.

Cook bananas until light to golden brown underneath, about 4-5 minutes.

Gently flip bananas over to brown other side, turning heat down to medium. The second side will brown in about one minute.Transfer to a plate that has been coated with cooking spray and set aside. 

Coconut whipped cream:

[ 2 cups whipped cream, whipped until stiff + 4 tablespoon coconut cream ]

Mix the two cream together and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Assembly:

Take a shortcake and spoon about 4 pieces of bananas onto it.

Top with a rounded tablespoon of coconut whipped cream and take another shortcake to top it off. 

Enjoy!

I sat through a grueling midterm yesterday and was looking forward to sleep in on the weekend when I remembered that earlier during the week I agreed to take some food pictures for Graha. I had to make the puff pastry from scratch. At 10PM. He owes me big and he knows it. I’m thinking lunch at our usual Korean BBQ place will cover for this favour very nicely indeed. 

So angst aside, this is Jamie Oliver’s recipe for banana tarte tatin. You can always swap the bananas for any other fruits; stone fruits, strawberries, or go for the classic by using apples. If you have frozen puff pastry available then this recipe; the prep and cooking will take about 30 minutes. And it’s unbelievably good served warm with ice cream.

Banana Tarte Tatin:

Caramel & Banana:

[ 60g unsalted butter + 160g caster sugar + 1 teaspoon zest of orange + 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder + 4 bananas ]

Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4 
Cut your butter into cubes and put into a sturdy deep-sided baking tray approximately 19 x 30cm 

Place the tray on a low heat, let the butter melt, then add the sugar and stir constantly until completely combined

Continue to cook for about 5 minutes or until the sugar has all dissolved and the mixture is golden and caramelized. By the time this happens the mixture will be roasting hot so be very careful and whatever you do, DON’T be tempted to put your fingers in the mixture as you’ll give yourself a nasty burn

Meanwhile, peel the bananas, halve them lengthways, and lay them carefully on top of the golden caramel 

Remove from the heat, then sprinkle over the cinnamon and finely grate over the zest of half your orange

ASSEMBLY:

Dust a clean work surface and rolling pin with flour 

Roll out your puff pastry (homemade or store-bought) until you have a rectangle shape (or any other shape) about the same size as your tray and about 0.5cm thick.

Drape your pastry over your rolling pin and carefully lay it on the baking tray, gently tucking it around the bananas to make sure they’re well covered, with no gaps 

Using a knife or fork, prick the pastry a few times 

Place the tray at the top of the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden

Serve warm with some ice cream, crème fraîche or any other fluffy dairy product you like. I served mine with some whipped cream and honey with an extra pinch of cinnamon.

Enjoy!

Breakfast is supposedly the most important meal of the day. But many people don’t have the knack for making something nutritious in the allocated time between getting up, taking a shower and flying out the door. So most of us resorted to boxed cereals and power bars (the healthy kind; fruit loops doesn’t count!) which, in my humble opinion, is pretty much like eating a piece of cardboard. So here’s a recipe for Chocolate and Banana Flapjacks. It’s fudgy, it’s chocolate-y and it’s made with oatmeal, which is good for sucking the cholesterol out of your blood circulation. Ideally you should make this the night before, so all you have to do is cut and eat before taking off to wherever you have to go, but this also works for a rather indulgent snack. It takes 20-25 mins to make (including prep time!) and the chocolate-banana combo will blow you away. Add a handful of chopped walnuts or almond for a protein boost!

Chocolate-Banana Flapjacks:

[ 100g unsalted butter + 100g brown sugar or granulated sugar + 1 teaspoon salt + 2 tablespoon honey + 180g oatmeal + 2 ripe bananas, mashed + 200g milk (or dark) chocolate ] *Optional: 100g chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 190c. Grease a small square tin (or use a non-stick spray or a non-stick tin) and set aside.

Put the butter,sugar, honey and salt into a microwaveble bowl and nuke it on full power for 1 minute or until everything is melted (you can also use a saucepan on a gentle heat). Keep stirring.

Mash the bananas.

Then add bananas and oats (and chopped walnuts, if using) to the melted butter mixture. Stir well

Pour the mixture into the greased tin and bake for 20-25 minutes. When the oven bell dings or your timer goes off, take it out of the oven.It should feel slightly soft when pressed. Score with a knife and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in the microwave or use a double boiler (a bowl above a pan of simmering water). Pour the melted chocolate over the cooked flapjack (I also used a bit of white chocolate on mine).

Leave everything to cool; ideally overnight but I just gave these 1-2 hours in the fridge and they’re good to go. Don’t attempt to remove from the tin while it’s hot cause it will just fall to bits and you’ll end up creating a downright (albeit yummy) mess.

When cooled cut into squares (or any other shapes) and eat! (highly recommended with a glass of milk)

Enjoy!