Frozen Bananas

I'm back again. Sorry about the sporadic posting. It's been a bit busy here as I have six weeks left of uni! I can't believe it but at the same time, this semester has been dragging by and I cannot wait to finish.

My Dad came down last weekend to run Bridge to Brisbane with me, which coincided with his birthday and Father's Day. It was a great weekend - we ate a lot, I ran my first ever race (only a 5K) and in general enjoyed having some family time. It was great to spend time with just my Dad - usually in my family I hang out with Mum and my brother hangs out with Dad. It was a shame my Mum couldn't make it down this time, but both my parents will be visiting again in three weeks.

So today I am back with what can't really be called a recipe, especially because I forgot the precise ingredients I used. Sorry about that. I'm not winning any awards for being a good blogger at the moment.

These frozen bananas were, obviously, inspired by Arrested Development, which if you haven't seen, do so (though not season 4, feel free to skip that one). You can pretty much do whatever you want with these - dip the bananas in any kind of chocolate you want (or peanut butter or yoghurt) and roll them in nuts, sprinkles, choc bits, coconut, etc.

I also want to thank my lovely friend Annie for making these with me. We actually made these about two months ago but I never got around to posting the recipe on the blog. I thought now would probably be a good time - it's the end of summer in the other half of the world, and over here (on the right side of the world) it's spring and the temperature is pretty much perfect at the moment (mid 20s). So everybody - get busy.

What you need:

5 bananas
Dark/Milk/White melting chocolate
Crushed peanuts
Coconut
Sprinkles
Or any other toppings you want
Popsicle sticks

What to do:

Cut the five bananas in half, so you have 10 half-bananas, sliced lengthways in the middle.

Insert the popsicle sticks in the flat (cut) end of the bananas. Make sure the popsicle sticks are wedged tightly into the banana so the banana will not fall off.

Melt the chocolate you are using. While it is melting (do it over the stove so the chocolate melts evenly and stays warmer for longer), lay out desired toppings on a bench near the melted chocolate, so it easy to do the following steps. Place a tray covered with baking paper near the toppings.

Dip a banana into the melted chocolate and then roll in your desired toppings. Carefully place decorated banana on the tray. Repeat for remaining bananas.

Place tray with decorated bananas into freezer for at least half an hour. Keep bananas frozen and serve cold.

Life Lately 3

I wish I had more 'life' things to discuss when I do these posts but at the moment all I have been doing is working for uni, writing and watching tv (Underemployed anyone?). Therefore this will be the usual mashup of thoughts I've had throughout the week.

Products I'm loving lately:
Cocopure Chocolate Coconut Butter
This stuff is totally amazing. It's rich, thick and absolutely amazing. They have a whole range of coconut butters but I have a feeling this one would be my favourite.

Lindt Excellence with Sea Salt
This is probably my favourite Lindt block of chocolate - I love the rich chocolate combined with the intense salt. It's amazing.

Philadelphia Chocolate Cream Cheese
I'm sensing a pattern. But this stuff is also amazing - with fruit, on bread, by itself. I am crazy about it.

Posts I'm loving lately (oh look, they're like all related to books):
I'm sure you've seen it already, but if you haven't, this post about what would happen if Disney princesses had Instagram is brilliant.

In other book character posts - I feel like this is incredibly relevant to me.

17 problems only book lovers understand - this is my life. Also, number 2 is probably what I relate to most. Also, the gif of Colton Haynes yelling 'you ruined everything' is legitimately terrifying.

Signs you're addicted to books - 11, 15 and 18 are particularly relevant.

I feel like I should read these books. I do tend to judge books by their cover, and I know it's not always right so I'm going to make an effort to read more books with bad covers.

Here is a list of things people want to do in high school. I did practically none of these. What about you guys? Did you do any of these crazy things in high school? (Also, the movies referenced in this post are AMAZING). 

And that is all I have time for today, because I have a seriously busy week of uni before my first 5k this Sunday. Better get running.

Caramel Biscuit Brownies

I do not even want to mention how many times I have made these brownies since my Mum sent me the recipe. I know I always talk about amazing brownies, but these truly are.

SIDE NOTE: Regular scheduled posting? What is that? I may return to it sometime soon.

When served warm, they are soft, gooey and the sweet caramel is piping hot and contrasts with the rich brownie. When served cold, the caramel biscuits are more obvious (the biscuit has not melted into the brownie base as when they are hot). You can taste the rich brownie, the caramel is chewy and the biscuit hard and crunchy. The texture of the biscuit is a little disconcerting but not terrible. I personally prefer to serve them warm, as I love the melted caramel and lack of biscuit crunch.

Remember, if you are serving the brownies warm, if you reheat them in the microwave, wait a moment before serving because the caramel will burn your tongue. I'd advise reheating in the oven, because, as usual, reheating in the oven makes the food taste better.

This is not my recipe. I have copied it below exactly as it appeared in the June 2013 issue of Australian Good Taste.

Makes 12 brownies (very large)

What you need:
200g dark (bittersweet) chocolate
200 g butter
3 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 1/4 cups caster sugar
3/4 cup plain flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
200 g (1 packet) Arnott's Caramel Crowns (or caramel centered chocolate covered biscuits)

What to do:
Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius. Grease and line with baking paper a regular sized brownie tray.

In a large bowl melt the chocolate and butter together.

In a smaller bowl, whisk the eggs and egg yolk together until well combined. Add the eggs to the chocolate mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined.

Stir in the sugar. Sift in the flour and cocoa powder and stir in with the wooden spoon.

Pour half the brownie mixture into the pan. Spread the biscuits (should be 12) evenly on the brownie base. Press them down into the mixture. Pour the remaining brownie batter over the top and spread evenly with a spatula so the surface is smooth.

Bake for 40 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly and serve warm.