Caramel sauce

Some days you just need to indulge. Butter, sugar, butter, sugar, cream... probably not for the fainthearted! This ridiculously rich caramel sauce can be used for banoffee pie, to drizzle over ice cream, or to eat straight out of the jar. Don't tell anyone I said that.

To make 3 small jars:
150g unsalted butter
150g soft brown sugar
half a teaspoon sea salt
a dash of nutmeg
80ml double cream

DUNK!

Aside from the cream, chuck it all in a saucepan and leave on a medium heat to melt.
When the mixture it is about half melted, add the cream.
Stir the mixture every now and then, to make sure everything is melting.
Once you have a glossy mixture, take off the heat and leave to cool.
As it cools the mixture thickens, so place into sterilised jars once the mixture has cooled down a little.
Remember to seal jars, or a skin might form over the mixture.
This can be stored in the fridge for three days

Banana and butterscotch fool

Bananas, grown in 107 countries (according to Wikipedia), have the 4th highest monetary value in food (after rice, wheat and corn). In 2011, India produced 29.7 million tonnes of bananas (20% of the world's production) (also according to Wikipedia).When I made this dish, it was purely to use up a few overripe bananas, but it became SO much more... It's moreish and indulgent, yet light, as well as tasting just like bannoffee pie - which can only be a good thing. In the highly unlikely possibility that you have butterscotch left over, serve with ice cream for a knickerbocker glory, or with stewed apples.

Banana and butterscotch fool

 BANANA FOOLfour overripe bananas (just because their skin is speckled or brown, it doesn't mean the bananas are too ripe- especially if you're blending them!)
350ml double cream
100g marscapone/ ricotta
a few tablespoons of caster sugar (how much you use depends on the sweetness of the banana)

BUTTERSCOTCH200g soft brown sugar/ caster sugar
150g salted butter, cubed
200ml double cream

Banana and butterscotch fool

Blitz the bananas until smooth and set aside.
Whip the cream into soft peaks, then stir in the sugar until thoroughly combined.
Turn the whisk back on and add the marscapone (be careful the mixture doesn't splash up everywhere, unless you want your kitchen redecorated...)
Mix in the blitzed banana, and set the mixture aside.

Banana and butterscotch fool

In a medium-sized saucepan, put the sugar in on a low-to-medium heat.
If the mixture starts bubbling at the sides, add the butter onto the sugar, and start to stir.
Continue stirring until all the butter has melted, and the sugar has completely dissolved into it.
Take the mixture off the heat, and stir in the cream. Even if it looks like the cream is separating from the mixture, continue stirring until it combines.

In individual ramekins, layer the banana mixture, then the butterscotch, then banana mixture then butterscotch. I layered it up whilst the butterscotch is still warm, though not really hot (so the mixture is liquid enough to drizzle over and set).
Leave in the fridge until ready to be served.
Just before eating, top with flaked almonds.

Banana and butterscotch fool

Or, you could...

crumble amaretti or gingernut biscuits on top just before serving.

add a bottom of espresso-soaked biscuits.

Banana and coconut ice cream

This recipe is so delicious and simple that you could have it as a milkshake instead (minus the coconut)!

ICE CREAM6 spotted bananas - the overrripeness gives lots of sweetness so you don't have to add too much sugar
600ml double cream
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
3 egg yolks
150g desiccated coconut

Beat the sugar and egg yolks together until fully combined.
In a small saucepan, gently heat the cream on medium heat.
When the cream starts to bubble, take it off the heat and pour into the egg/sugar mixture slowly, whisking at the same time. Never pour the egg mixture into the pan as the direct heat will cook the eggs, giving sweet scrambled eggs but not custard.
In a separate bowl, mash the bananas until you get a smooth purée.
Add the bananas to the custard, mix together, and strain through a sieve into your ice-cream maker.
Add the coconut and leave to churn.
If you don't have an ice cream maker, stir the coconut into the banana custard and leave in a tub to freeze. After an hour, stir it up so you get a smooth mixture, not one with ice in.

Notes
You could use chocolate or toffee instead of coconut, or tequila or pineapple instead of banana. Be careful with freezing alcohol... Alcohol has a much lower freezing point than water, and the higher the proof, the lower the temperature. So by diluting the alcohol or using a lower strength, alcohol should freeze.

An alternative way of making ice cream is the Victorian way of getting a huge bag of ice and some rock salt.
As soon as salt is added to ice, they react (doing something of which i'm not quite sure)
So pour the ice cream mixture into a sealed bag, and put this bag into the bag of ice. When you add the salt to the ice, close the bag up, and shake for anywhere from 5-15 minutes until the ice cream sets.