banana fritters

i couldn't resist buying a box of bananas, but i knew i couldn't make another banana cake or five, so i needed a way to use them up deliciously. banana fritters. my fritter batter of preference is self raising flour mixed with cornflour and soda water - it's crisp and light. i use about equal parts of each flour and enough soda to make a batter similar to cream in consistency. i don't bother flouring the bananas and just dunk them in the batter and gently lower them into hot rice bran oil to deep fry. i have my oil not too hot, but hot enough to make sure the bananas bubble away - about 180 degrees celcius. i like cooking my bananas slowly for a longer length of time so they are nice and soft; you do yours the way you like to have them. if you want a sugar hit, sprinkle with castor or icing sugar!

banana caramel tart

the first time i had this was in a little cheese shop in eastwood...granny smith's? i'm embarrassed to say i don't remember the name, but that was probably about 20 years ago. i can't remember exactly what theirs was like either, but this one is pretty good - especially the pastry...at least i think so. don't get me wrong, theirs must have been good enough for it to be memorable.

2 -3 bananas
300 mls thichened cream.

pate sucree
60 grams icing sugar
125 grams plain flour
pinch of salt
60 grams butter, softened
1 egg yolk

caramel filling
200 grams brown sugar
125 grams butter
35 grams cornflour
250 ml milk
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

make the pastry by placing the icing sugar, flour butter and egg yolk in to the bowl of a food processor and process until a dough is formed. refrigerate for 30 minutes.
preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius.
roll out the pastry to fit a 24 centimetre loose bottomed flan tin. place a 23 centimetre disc over the the base (or bake blind, if you prefer) and bake for 10 minutes or until light golden. set aside to cool.
prepare the caramel filling by combining the brown sugar and butter in a medium pan over low heat to melt the butter. blend together the cornflour and milk and add to the butter mixture. whisk while heating until the mixture boils and thickens. remove from heat and quickly whisk in the egg yolks and vanilla essence. cover and set aside to cool.
spread the caramel filling into the pastry case and cover with a layer of sliced bananas. whip the cream and dollop over the bananas to completely cover. refrigerate and serve.