Banana Bread

Ingredients (wet)

3½ overripe bananas
⅓ cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs

Ingredients (dry)

1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1½ cups gluten-free flour (Bob’s Red Mill)
1 greased (buttered) and floured (gluten-free) 8”x4” loaf pan

Method

Preheat the oven to 280°F. Grease and flour the loaf pan.

Cream butter and sugar in a stand mixer for about 5 minutes, then slowly incorporate eggs.

Mash bananas in a large bowl, then add the above mixture. Whisk until incorporated, then add the wet mix to the dry mix and fold until just combined.

Pour the mix into the loaf pan. Bake for 48 minutes then poke a skewer into the bread—if it comes out clean, it is done. Let cool for 5 minutes, then carefully pop bread out of molds. Let cool completely before slicing.
 

Poached Sour Cherries

Ingredients

1 cup frozen sour cherries
1 orange peel
1 tsp black peppercorns
½ cup sugar
½ cup white wine

Method

Take cherries out of freezer the day before so they are slightly defrosted. 

Lightly crush, then toast peppercorns in pot. Place wine, sugar and orange peel into the same pot and bring to boil.

Once the liquid has boiled and the sugar has completely dissolved, pour over cherries.

Let cool before storing in fridge.
 

Cardamom Cream

Ingredients

2 cups cream cheese (room temperature)
1 Tbsp cardamom
½ cup sugar
1 orange (zested)
½ tsp salt
¼ cup whipping cream (optional)

Method

Mix room temperature cream cheese, cardamom, sugar, orange zest and salt in a bowl until smooth and lump free.

Depending on the brand of cream cheese you use, you may want to add some whipping cream to the mixture. You’ll want it to be pliable but still to hold its shape. Start small and use what you need.
 

Chocolate Soil

Ingredients

⅓ cup unsalted butter
1 cup almond flour
½ cup sugar
¾ cup cocoa
½ tsp salt

Method

Preheat oven to 280°F.

Melt butter in a small pot. Put flour, sugar, cocoa and melted butter into a bowl. Mix all ingredients.

Line a baking tray with baking paper. Press the soil into a large cookie and dimple with fingers—the height of the soil should not exceed the height of the baking tray edge.

Cook for roughly 20 minutes, rotating halfway through. Cookie should be soft, but not raw.

Once cooled, crumble—but do not over crumble. Store in the fridge in dry liter containers.
 

Hazelnut Crème Anglaise

Ingredients 

1 cup whole milk
1 cup whipping cream
6 egg yolks
6 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp Frangelico liqueur

Method 

Bring a small pot of water to a low simmer (about 2 inches of water). 

In a medium, heat-proof bowl, whisk eggs, sugar and vanilla together, then set aside.

In a separate pot, bring milk and whipping cream just to simmer. Remove from heat. Slowly whisk cream and milk into egg mixture. Go slowly to ensure the egg mixture does not cook.

Before you continue, set up a medium bowl and spatula off to the side.

Place egg and cream mixture overtop simmering water in your heat-proof bowl and slowly whisk. As you whisk the mixture, it will slowly start to thicken (about 7 minutes). Check by dipping a spoon in the Anglaise. You should be able to leave a path on the spoon when you run your finger through the sauce.

Once thickened, transfer to a bowl with spatula and whisk in Frangelico. Place a layer of clean film directly onto the sauce and refrigerate (this will stop a crust from forming on your cooling Anglaise).

Assembly 

Warm banana bread in a pan with a generous smear of butter on both sides.

For plating, cascade poached cherries and a teaspoon of poaching liquid over the banana bread, then quenelle cardamom cream atop. Crumble soil and banana chips (optional) overtop cardamom cream. Finally, drizzle crème anglaise over the dish. Gold flakes optional.