Tag: recipeinspiration

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White Chocolate Banana Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Sauce

Banana cupcakes

We’ve all been there; you buy a fresh bunch of bananas with all the best intentions, turn your back for five minutes only to find them looking a little sorry for themselves.

Instead of looking on such a sad state of affairs with an air or dismay, instead I see this all too common kitchen occurrence as an opportunity to get creative. This is how this recipe for my white chocolate salted caramel muffins was born:

Makes 12
Preparation time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: 20-25 minutes

Banana cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

For the cupcakes:
3 ripe bananas
85g butter
2 eggs
120g light brown sugar
1tsp Nutmeg
1tsp Cinnamon
1tsp Vanilla bean paste
Bicarbonate of soda
260g Self raising flour
70g white chocolate – chopped up

For the caramelised bananas
2 ripe bananas – sliced
Icing sugar to coat

For the salted caramel sauce
75g butter
200g Light brown sugar
300ml Double cream

METHOD
Begin by preheating your oven to 160°C.

Start by mashing your bananas until pulped. To this add your butter and sugar and using either a manual or electric whisk and cream together until light and fluffy. Next add your eggs individually, ensuring they are well combined before adding the next. Then whisk through your vanilla bean paste. Regular vanilla essence will also work just as well.

Once all the eggs have been added, sift in your flour, bicarbonate of soda, nutmeg and cinnamon and fold into the banana mix. Finally stir through your white chocolate chips. Once you are happy that the batter is smooth, evenly divide the cake mixture between 12 cupcake cases. When each have been filled, gently tap the cupcake tray on a hard surface to knock the air our – this will ensure an even rise.

Place your cakes on the middle shelf of your cooker and bake for around 25 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Once baked, remove and let cool on a wire rack.

To caramelise the sliced bananas, simply place some icing sugar in a bowl and coat each banana slice. Placing these onto a baking tray, simply bake at 160°C for around 10 minutes or until they are bubbling. Before they cool completely place them on top of your cakes – be careful as they will be hot, but if you wait for them to cool they will become stuck to the baking tray.

Finally to make the salted caramel sauce, simply melt your butter and sugar in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Once all the sugar has dissolved, let the mixture bubble for a few minutes before slowly adding your cream. When adding your cream, be sure to mix continually so not to solidify or cause the sugar to crystallize. Once in, let the caramel simmer for a further five minutes, add a generous pinch of salt and let cool.

Once everything has cooled slightly, simply pour the caramel into a serving jug, pour over the cupcakes and your away! Banana heaven!

And voila, over ripened banana crisis averted!

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Ramen Love With You

Ramen

I, like most people, am a huge ramen fan; it’s simple make up, warming qualities and intense Asian flavours just tick all the right boxes for me. It really is no wonder that since it’s invention in the early 1900s, that it has become one of the world’s most popular dishes. Indeed, in Japan each region has its own distinctive ramen variations  rangeing from Northern Japan’s iconic pork bone broth variety to the South’s miso ramen.

While I really do appreciate the time and effort that goes into creating a traditional ramen, sometimes I simply can’t wait more than twenty-four hours for my broth to intensify! As a resolution, I have put the following recipe together for a quick and very simple pork-belly and egg noodle mid-week ramen supper. (I apologise in advance for all the ramen rules I’m breaking, and if this recipe even qualifies as a ramen – but I made it for a few friends a few weeks ago and they weren’t complaining!)

Pork Belly Ramen

Pork Belly Ramen, Serves 4

INGREDIENTS
For the broth
2 tbsp Mirin
150 ml of Dark Soy Sauce
2 Garlic Cloves
1 thumb sized piece of Ginger
1 tbsp Muscovado Sugar
2 Litres of good quality Chicken Stock
4 Spring Onions

For the Ramen
750g Pork Belly
1 tsp Crushed Chilli Flakes
4 Eggs
250g Egg Noodles
A small handful of Coriander

METHOD
Begin by slicing the pork belly into quarters and bake in the oven at 180°C on a baking tray with a drizzle of soy sauce and sprinkling of crushed chilli flakes. This will need baking for about 30 minutes or until fully cooked through.

To make the broth, heat the mirin and soy sauce in wok and slowly bring to the boil. Once boiling grate in the ginger, add the garlic finely sliced and stir in the muscovado sugar so that it all dissolves. Leave the mixture simmering for a further 5 minutes. Next add the chicken stock and spring onions, finely sliced, and leave simmering.

While your broth is simmering away, place a large saucepan of water over some heat until boiling, to this pan add both your noodles and eggs. Remove both after four minutes exactly and place in a waiting bowl of cold water. Leave to cool. Once cooled, carefully peel your now soft-boiled eggs.

Taking four deep-dished bowls, evenly divide up the noodles between each. To this add an even amount of pork belly. Next top your bowl up with the broth, slice the eggs in half and float in the broth. Finish with a sprinkling of coriander, a drizzle of soy sauce and extra chilli flakes if you want to spice things up.

There you have it, my super easy but super tasty Ramen – and done in a flash!