Usually, when I have overripe bananas left (really very ripe, even), they end up in a loaf cake. It’s easy to make, it’s good… in short, it’s the ultimate anti-waste recipe. On the blog, you’ll find two loaf cake recipes: the banana and chocolate chip loaf cake and Christophe Michalak’s banana loaf cake.
Except that this time, I fancied something else. Inspiration being nowhere to be found, it was on the Facebook group Les rois de la pâtisserie that I found the idea for this recipe, which I owe to the blog Casserole et chocolat: a chocolate pecan brownie, caramelised bananas, the whole thing covered with a lightly vanilla-flavoured chantilly cream.
It’s the kind of recipe that doesn’t require starting the day before, you can almost make it on a whim (a bit like me). Admittedly, the banana chips need an hour of baking but that’s mainly for the decoration, so at worst, you skip them (even though I find them rather nice).
My 2-year-old son devoured a slice, a real little foodie, that one!
Ingredients & Method
5 components · Full recipe
Chocolate pecan brownie
Ingredients
- 50 g (1.8 oz) pecan nuts
- 2 eggs
- 30 g (1.1 oz) sugar
- 60 g (2.1 oz) brown sugar
- 1 slightly heaped tablespoon unsweetened bitter cocoa
- 50 g (1.8 oz) dark chocolate
- 90 g (3.2 oz) butter
- 20 g (0.7 oz) flour
- a pinch of fleur de sel
Method
1
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F.
2
Melt the butter and dark chocolate in the microwave.
3
Separate the egg whites from the yolks. Place the yolks in a bowl and beat the whites to stiff peaks with a small teaspoon of sugar taken from the 30 g (1.1 oz).
4
Add the remaining sugar and brown sugar to the bowl and whisk the yolks until pale. Add the melted chocolate-butter mixture and stir to combine.
5
Fold in the sifted flour and cocoa, then add the fleur de sel.
6
Gently fold in the beaten egg whites in 3 additions using a spatula.
7
Add the roughly chopped pecan nuts.
8
Pour the batter into a greased 18×18 cm (7.1 in) frame — aim for a thickness of about 2 cm (0.8 in). Spread evenly and bake for 20–25 minutes (monitor closely as oven temperatures vary).
Banana chips
Ingredients
- half a banana
Method
1
Lower the oven temperature to 100°C / 210°F.
2
Slice half a banana into very thin rounds, arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and dry in the oven for at least 1 hour. You may need a little longer depending on your oven — the chips should be completely dried out and crispy.
Caramelized bananas
Ingredients
- 2 bananas (+ the remainder of the one used for the chips)
- 60 g (2.1 oz) sugar
- 15 g (0.5 oz) butter
Method
1
Slice the remaining bananas into rounds about 1 cm (0.4 in) thick.
2
Melt the butter in a frying pan, then add the sugar.
3
Once the sugar has melted, place the banana slices in the pan and cook on each side until golden brown. Set aside to cool.
Whipped cream
Ingredients
- 180 g (6.3 oz) full-fat whipping cream
- 25 g (0.9 oz) mascarpone
- 1 to 2 tablespoons icing sugar
- half a vanilla pod
Method
1
Place the mixing bowl and electric beater whisk in the freezer for at least 15 minutes.
2
Pour the cream and mascarpone into the bowl and start whipping at medium speed, then increase the speed as the cream begins to firm up.
3
Add the icing sugar and vanilla when the cream is almost fully whipped. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 14 mm star nozzle and keep refrigerated until assembly.
Assembly
Ingredients
- None
Method
1
Trim the edges of the brownie for a clean finish and to recover a little extra brownie.
2
Arrange the caramelized banana rounds on top of the brownie.
3
Pipe rosettes of whipped cream over the brownie to cover the bananas.
4
Add the banana chips and a few brownie offcuts cut into small cubes. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
Gallery
