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Monday, October 27, 2008
For the past few weeks, S has been testing banana cake recipes for two reasons. The first was part of our quest, mentioned in my previous post, for the perfect house cake. The second was because she had been recently asked to contribute a recipe that reminded her of home to a new cookbook and she had chosen the banana cake. Now, while I love her banana cake, there are sometimes when too much of a good thing can make you go, well, a little bananas. In order to have enough ripe fruit (key word here being ripe) for her cakes, S had been stockpiling bananas like a gorrila about to face a harsh winter. And after tasting the sixth or seventh version of her cake, and having determined that, yes, she had indeed improved upon the original recipe, I had to say something. Well, actually, it was more of a cross between a whimper and whine. I asked her, as gently as possible, since she had now perfected her cake recipe, if perhaps there was something else we could do to the bananas because I really couldn’t look at another banana cake, let alone have a slice for breakfast. Trying to be as helpful as possible (while also trying to ignore her icy look), I quickly made several suggestions, chief among them the ideas of a banana tart tatin or a banana ice cream. Fortunately, S remembered that there was indeed a banana ice cream recipe in a book by one of her favourite dessert chefs, Emily Luchetti, and so, instead of bonking me on the head with a wooden spoon — which she seemed ready to do — she went off looking for her copy of A Passion for Ice Cream. That same weekend, by chance, S had promised to show a friend how to make some super-delicious cookies. Said friend C wanted a recipe that was super-easy but whose results were super-impressive. S chose Claudia Fleming’s chocolate brownie cookies (I like to call them “crownies”). Not only are these melt-in-your-mouth cookies sinfully rich and yummy, they make the perfect sandwhich cookies for ice creams. Suffice it to say that as soon as S and C were finished making their crownies, I was stealing them to assemble banana ice cream sandwiches.
Banana Ice Cream 2 bananas (large size, or 4 small Asian ones) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Put the unpeeled bananas on a baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until soft and beginning to give off some liquid. Let cool. Remove the skins from the bananas and puree them in a food processor. In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, 3 tablespoons of the sugar, and the salt. Combine the milk, cream and remaining 3 tablespoons sugar in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasiionally, until almost simmering. Slowly pour the milk and cream into the eggs, whisking as you pour. Return the milk mixture to the saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a heat-resistant plastic or wooden spatula, until the custard reaches 175 degrees F and lightly coats the spatula. Strain the custard into a clean bowl and cool over an ice bath until room temperature. Stir the banana pureee into the custard and let rest in your fridge for at least 4 hours or up to overnight. Churn in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. Freeze until scoopable, about 4 hours, depending on your freezer. Chocolate Brownie Cookies 35g all-purpose flour Preheat the oven to 375ºF/190ºC. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, briefly whip the eggs to break them up. Add the sugar, espresso, and vanilla and beat on high for 15 minutes, until thick. While the eggs are whipping, place the butter in the top layer of a double boiler, or in a metal bowl suspended over a pot of simmering water, and scatter the chocolate on top. Heat until the butter and chocolate melt. Remove from over the water and stir the chocolate and butter until smooth. Gently fold the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture until partially combined (there should still be some streaks). Add the flour mixture to the batter and carefully fold it in. If the batter is very runny, let it rest until it thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Drop the batter by heaping teaspoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets and bake until puffed and cracked, 8 to 9 minutes. Cool on a wire rack before removing from the sheets.        Posted by Chubby Hubby 
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Those look so dainty and delicious
Posted by: Miss Tiffie | 27 October 2008 @ 9:35 pm
Hey! Blog about the Miele guide!!!! And about whether Asia’s restaurants are going to survive the economic crunch!!!
Posted by: Ng Yi-Sheng | 28 October 2008 @ 3:10 am
Any chance of the perfected banana cake recipe or do we have to wait till the book’s published? Thanks
Posted by: gobsmackd | 29 October 2008 @ 2:35 am
Nice, I like the new header
Posted by: Chicken Fried Gourmet | 29 October 2008 @ 8:58 am
did i read 35 gm of flour for the cookies correctly? 35 gms flour will yield 5 dozen cookies?
Posted by: Eil | 29 October 2008 @ 3:24 pm
Yes, just 35g flour.
Posted by: Chubby Hubby | 29 October 2008 @ 3:54 pm
I love your Banana Cake recipe in your archives. A copy is stuck to my fridge for quick reference. Any chance to share the “improved” version? Pretty please…
Posted by: Adeline | 29 October 2008 @ 5:20 pm
Those chocolate brownie cookies are one of my favourites. I’ve already made them several times, and utilised them in different ways. I LOVE that you’ve sandwiched them in banana ice cream.. taste sensation!
Posted by: Y | 29 October 2008 @ 9:28 pm
The choc cookies look lovely! Will you share the banana cake recipe?
Posted by: Susie | 29 October 2008 @ 11:14 pm
Nice French manicure!
It just reminds me how badly I need one!
Too much cooking and washing dishes lately!
Stacey Snacks
Posted by: StaceySnacks | 30 October 2008 @ 7:36 am
Oh my God. That looks amazing. I love anything with bananas.
Posted by: maxigumee | 30 October 2008 @ 9:51 pm
I have two very ripe bananas on my kitchen counter; I think i might give this banana ice cream a whirl. Thanks for sharing
Posted by: Elaine | 31 October 2008 @ 10:20 am
Hi S and CH, I see that you didn’t put the dough in the fridge (which seems to be the rage now). Is it because your crownies are a different kind of cookies (not the chewy-inside, crispy-outside kind)? Thanks!
Posted by: V | 1 November 2008 @ 2:14 am
Dear V, the recipe appears at written by Claudia Fleming. It is crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside if it is taken out of the oven at the right moment and allowed to cool before it is eaten. She doesn’t call for any refrigeration. On a hot day, I sometimes refrigerate the cookie batter for 5 to 10 minutes, but that’s because we live in the tropics. The batter otherwise does not require extensive refrigeration.
Posted by: S | 2 November 2008 @ 3:53 pm
that could not be a more perfect combo of flavors. i want one of those cookie sandwiches right now.
Posted by: joanna | 3 November 2008 @ 5:32 am
Oh…I am sooo craving one of those right now!! I swear, if I only have enough Callebaut left in the pantry I’ll make them right away! And pair them with the peanut butter choc-chip ice cream I made yesterday!
And S, I know how you felt when CH said you gave him an icy look and was about ready to hit him with a wooden spoon, because I often feel the same way with the man in my life. And if he were to have a blog, that’s exactly how he’d describe it too!!
Posted by: Christy | 3 November 2008 @ 5:17 pm
woow..love your pics men, im starting a local base blog here in my country.. and i will also feature the best food of every town i visit..your blog is indeed an inspiring one..=)
Posted by: tawidtayo | 4 November 2008 @ 7:05 pm
Nice, thanks.
Posted by: muge | 4 November 2008 @ 7:36 pm
nice idea!!! can use the brown cookie as xmas gifts ^^
Posted by: suzie | 4 November 2008 @ 8:20 pm
“Stir the banana pureee into the custard for at least 4 hours or up to overnight.”
some text missing here?
Posted by: Fans | 4 November 2008 @ 10:46 pm
Fans: Oops. Store the custard in the fridge between 4 hours and 24 hours.
Posted by: Chubby Hubby | 5 November 2008 @ 10:36 am
Hi, I tried out the cookie recipe pretty much exactly,
and while they puffed up and looked amazing in the oven, the minute i took them out they all collapsed into thin disks, still tasted very good though. Any idea why?
Thanks !
Posted by: Ash | 6 November 2008 @ 8:06 am
Dear Ash, I suggest that you bake them for a little longer. They need to not only puff but crack. The important thing would be to look for the cracks before you pull them out.
Posted by: S | 6 November 2008 @ 5:50 pm
I get my banana dietary requirement from breads, and this is one nice recipe. I wish my wife and I learn how to bake soon, though.
Posted by: watson | 9 November 2008 @ 8:44 am
I tried the cookie recipe and it’s amazing!
Posted by: Kay | 10 November 2008 @ 2:14 am
hello. i tried baking the cookies but they just can’t seem to puff up. they melted and spread out into think discs
any idea what went wrong?
Posted by: gladys | 29 November 2008 @ 2:59 pm
Dear Gladys
I’m really sorry to hear that the recipe didn’t work for you. I only have two suggestions: make sure you really beat the egg mixture for 15 minutes and try chilling the cookie batter/dough for 10-15 minutes before you dollop them onto your baking tray.
Posted by: S | 1 December 2008 @ 1:32 pm
hello there!
i was just wondering what brand of ice-cream machine you used to make these?
Thank you!
Posted by: sumos | 17 January 2009 @ 11:35 pm
Hi Sumos, I used a Musso. It has been serving me well for almost a decade now.
Posted by: S | 19 January 2009 @ 8:18 pm