Thank Bananas It's NOT Friday

Friday was a pretty mixed day for me.  The highs were taking my brothers springer spaniel 7 month pup for a walk, then visiting my nieces and nephews after work.  

The Lows were finding out the night before my dad's cancer has spread and he will need chemotherapy.  Which was probably why I got distracted at work and accidentally locked myself in the walk in freezer.

So decided Friday that I really wasn't in the right frame of mind to blog.  

First Recipe:

Banana Cookie dough Pie

I love cooking watching cooking programs, I have all the food channels on favourites.....  I might not be able to eat every recipe, but they do give me great ideas for making my own.  

I was watching an episode of Unique Sweets, were one baker made a pocket pie filled with cookie dough.  In my personal view a totally genius idea.  Only way it could be better was to add some banana.  

Make your own or buy Dairy free shortcrust pastry dough.  Then bake your favourite cookie dough recipe.  In my case I made  Banana everything cookie recipe from PPK (Post Punk Kitchen)

Roll out pastry fill with cookie dough.  Fold over, seal and then bake for 20 mins at 180 Celsius in your oven.

You bite through crisp short crust pastry into soft cookie dough, with a fudgy like  texture similar to a brownie.  

Again total genius idea

- Perfect on the go snack, since you lose less cookie crumbs

- Perfect warm, served with dairy free cream or ice cream

- Perfect camouflage, you can now have dessert for lunch and no one will know

mmmmmm just perfect.  Please give it a try and let me know how you get on.  

Second Ends:

Banana Chocolate Truffle
from She Simmers

Strangely cooking disaster is the one thing Iv not had to worry about this week.  I have started to make my own sweets/candy since buying dairy free ones are so expensive.  

I'm not really a chocoholic, but I do love dark chocolate.  I only need a small piece to really satisfy my cravings.  Which helps with my IBS since I have to avoid artificial sweeteners and watch how much normal sugar I eat.  

I love Chocolate Truffles, So wanted to see if adding banana would work.  Iv tried them before with puree banana, it didn't give much flavour.  This time I decided to roast the banana and add it too the chocolate ganache mixture.

Easy chocolate Banana truffles

5 oz  Dairy free Chocolate

1/2 Cup Coconut cream (From can of Coconut milk)

1 overripe banana - roasted

pinch of sea salt

cocoa powder

- Keep your can of coconut milk in the fridge overnight, this will help separate the watery milk and thick cream.  

- Roast your whole banana (skin and all) in your oven for 20 mins.  May take longer if not fully ripe.

- Once cooked use hand blender to puree into Coconut cream.

- Place a glass bowl over a small pan of simmering water.  Put chocolate and banana coconut mix into bowl.  Leave over a low heat until the chocolate melts.

- Take of heat and leave to cool in the bowl.  Once at room temp, place in the fridge to set.

- Take a baking tray and cover it in greaseproof paper.  Sprinkle on enough cocoa powder to stop your truffles from sticking.

- Once set form into walnut sized balls and roll in the cocoa powder.  

Roasted banana's work really well in a chocolate truffle.  You don't really taste the banana, what you do get is a luxurious chocolate truffle that tastes like a liqueur has been added.  I loved these, but they may be too grown up for some members of the family.  This one's strictly for the grown ups.  

I like to keep my truffles in the freezer, they only take a minute to defrost enough to eat.  Also it stops me eating them all in one go.  

Next time I plan to make the banana truffle recipe from the She Simmers blog.  These would make an ideal handmade gift for friends and family.

After blogging about them, I'm away to defrost one of my truffles.  Hopefully next week will be less eventful xxx