This is a classic banana split, tweaked with a bit more technique involved. It’s still a banana split at heart, though.
Serves 4
- 100ml pouring (single/light) cream
- 1 ½ tbsp icing (confectioner’s) sugar, plus extra if necessary
- 2 ripe bananas
- 200g chocolate gelato
- 200g milk gelato
- 200g salted caramel gelato
- 8 amarena cherries
Peanut croccante
- 2 tbsp glucose syrup
- 135g caster (superfine) sugar
- 135g roasted peanuts
- Chocolate fudge sauce
- 250ml pouring (single/light) cream
- 100g soft brown sugar
- 2 tbsp golden syrup or maple syrup
- 20g unsalted butter
- 200g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken into chunks
For the peanut croccante, add the glucose syrup and caster sugar to a small saucepan over a high heat. Cook, stirring, until caramelised and very dark
brown in colour, then add the peanuts and mix together thoroughly. Carefully tip the mixture out onto the centre of a heatproof silicone mat, cover with non-stick baking paper and roll out with a rolling pin as thin as possible.
Leave to cool, then pull off the paper and chop into small pieces. Set aside until needed (this will keep for months in an airtight container).
To make the chocolate fudge sauce, add the cream, sugar, golden syrup and butter to a heavy-based saucepan and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat, add the chocolate and whisk together until the chocolate has melted into the mixture and everything is well combined. Keep
warm over a low heat.
Whip the cream and 2 teaspoons of the icing sugar together in a bowl to form soft peaks. Set aside.
Slice the bananas lengthways in half and place cutside up on a baking tray.
Sprinkle the remaining icing sugar over the bananas to cover completely (adding a little more if you need) and caramelise with a blowtorch or place under a hot grill for a few minutes until nicely golden.
To serve, arrange the caramelised banana slices side-by-side on a serving plate. Place a scoop of each gelato next to one another in the centre of each banana and dollop over the cream. Pour over the fudge sauce (or alternatively serve this on the side) and top with the croccante and amarena cherries.
