KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 16 — Sometimes it can be hard to make a decision, especially when you have two favourites.
Want some ice cream? Would you like Forbidden Chocolate or Banana-rama?
Time to get a new tub of whey protein powder for the gym. Double Rich Chocolate or Banana Cream?
Decisions, decisions.
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Or — if like me, you cannot make up your mind — how about a bit of both? That’s why Chocolate Banana Splits were invented, after all. (At least, this is the reason I’m most convinced of.)
This, plus an innate laziness (particularly during the year-end holidays), is why I have decided the easiest solution and most sensible (not to mention scrumptious) compromise is to make a chocolate banana tart.
Simple yet oh so delish.
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Use a good mix of dark and milk chocolate for the ganache.
Imagine a smooth, velvety mix of dark and milk chocolate for the ganache. Fresh, ripe bananas add a touch of natural sweetness. A perfect match, if ever there was one.
Why settle on one favourite, when you can have the best of both worlds?
CHOCOLATE BANANA TART
While the main stars are the chocolate and bananas, naturally, one can’t have a tart without making a tart base. To keep things simple (you might have observed this trend if you have read this far), I am employing shortbread biscuits to make the crust.
Fresh, ripe bananas add a touch of natural sweetness.
These are, I dare say, decadent in the amount of butter they contain (‘tis the season to be merry, so indulge!) but you can also use other types of biscuits — from traditional digestives to organic oatmeal cookies.
Further modifications continue even in the ratio of chocolates used for the ganache. The one I’m using here is made of equal parts dark and milk chocolate. But you can make it lighter with more milk chocolate or more grown-up with more dark chocolate.
You do you.
Shortbread biscuits make for a rich, buttery crust.
In fact, whilst I prefer a super-smooth filling, you can jazz things up a bit by adding chunky peanut butter, pumpkin seeds or coconut flakes. Garnish the finished tart with fresh strawberries or candied orange peel.
Ingredients
300g shortbread biscuits
80g butter, melted
½ teaspoon cinnamon
100g milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
100g dark chocolate (70 percent and above), coarsely chopped
Sea salt to taste
200ml heavy cream
50g butter, cut into small pieces
2 ripe bananas
Method
First, preheat the oven to 200°C. Prepare the crust for the tart by crumbling the biscuits by hand into a mixing bowl. Add melted butter and cinnamon to the biscuit crumbs and mix until well combined.
Transfer this mixture to a 24 centimetres non-stick tart pan, pressing it down to form a thin base. Press the excess mixture up the sides of the pan to create the crust to hold the ganache filling. Bake the tart base in the preheated oven for 15 minutes until it has set. Remove and let it cool completely before adding the filling.
Mix the chocolate ganache with the mashed bananas to create the tart filling.
To make the chocolate ganache filling, put the dark chocolate, milk chocolate and sea salt in a large heatproof bowl and set aside. Using a non-stick pan, bring the heavy cream and butter to a simmer over medium heat. Make sure it’s not a rolling boil else the dairy solids may separate.
Pour this cream-butter liquid over the chocolate and let it sit for about a minute before stirring the mixture. Keep stirring until all the chocolate pieces have melted and the ganache is smooth. Set aside to cool.
Mash the ripe bananas together; make sure there aren’t any large chunks remaining. Mix it with the cool chocolate ganache until smooth and well combined.
Chill the tart until the filling has set before slicing and serving.
Pour the chocolate banana filling into the tart base. Transfer to the refrigerator. Keep the tart chilled for about six hours until the filling has set before slicing and serving.
This chocolate banana tart can be prepared a couple days in advance. It will keep for a couple days more, especially if kept chilled in the refrigerator.
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