Tuesday 24 January 2012

Chocolate Banana Bread and Butter Pudding Oh Yeah.


While in Sydney I purchased this beautiful tin, which inside contained Panettone, it was on special and being as it was a few days past Christmas I had low expectations for the food within but was more interested in the tin itself. Beautiful.  Now what to do with the stale Panettone??? it smelled amazing but tasted dry (apparently that's just how it is) however, an idea struck. I struggled to find a version on the internet of this recipe, so this is my written version taken from watching Ray on TV, so apologies if it differs from the original.

Chocolate Banana Bread and Butter Pudding ala Ray McVinnie. Genius.

Ingredients:

Butter as needed
Sliced Stale french stick/raisin bread/ brioche/sourdough/croissant/ Panettone! enough to cover your square baking dish two layers worth.(I used about 1/2 a Panettone loaf)
2-3 ripe bananas
1 1/2 cups choc chips (dark is good!)

For the Custard:
4 eggs
500ml milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 t vanilla (essence or the real deal)

Preheat Oven -  Bake 180 degrees C


Layer 1
Melt your butter in a pot on low heat or in microwave (just slice off a bit and melt it you can always do more, depending on your surface area on your bread you may need more or less). Grab your baking dish (I used a square 20x20cm dish but you can alter the above measurements to fit whatever you have).  Brush the melted butter on to one side of your sliced bread and lay these in the dish buttered side down to cover the bottom. You can overlap them  a bit to make them fit, small gaps are ok.

Layer 2
Sliced bananas all over the top

Layer 3
Evenly sprinkle over 1 cup chocolate chips

Layer 4
Another layer of your bread this time buttered side up (overlap these ones a little to make the top look good)

Final steps
Mix all your custard ingredients in a bowl and whisk together till mixed, then carefully pour over the bread layers - filling in the gaps with custard mix, once all in gently push on the  bread so the mix soaks into the bread - leave it for 10 minutes or so for the bread to soak up the liquid.  Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup choc chips on top and 1/2 cup of brown sugar.

Bake 45mins, serve with cream or vanilla icecream.

Beware its very sweet! but very addictive! Enjoy!


Monday 23 January 2012

Music du jour

Everybody go ooh and aah.  New for 2012 the beautiful and striking Lana Del Rey. Love it. Little bit Kate Bush, little bit Adele, little bit Joanna Newsom. Her videos are a feast for the eyes and ears. Gorgeous. Check out Lana Del Rey asap and love it!

Monday 9 January 2012

A New Year 2012

So I have been a bit preoccupied with Christmas and New Year (had a fantastic weekend in Sydney, got my Target and Ikea fix!) and so haven't had time to blog.  But here I am now finally getting to it, it will be short and sweet today as I have just spent two hours drooling over beautiful imagery on Pinterest, which if your not on there you should check it out.  As a hairdresser I am a very visual person so this forum thrills me beyond belief! It's like an edited version of google image search. Love it. check out my link on the right to see my pin boards so far. I have been searching for inspiration for tiling my bathroom, alas so far I can only find the tiles I like in the UK. Aren't these amazing???




and I just like the colour of this bathroom, I would happily sit in there for hours.




As for New Years Resolutions?? I don't usually make them as they tend to only last a day or so and then I am back to my old ways. (the usual lose weight one...blah blah blah)  I think this year I am going to give our house a bit of attention, making it reflect the style I love a bit more. Vintage, creative, colourful, shabby chic. Goals for the year - make some cushion covers, do more craft and learn more craft, and sell some things I have made at a market stall!oh and try to spend a bit more time with my husband x x

I will leave you with some inspiration from Princess Lasertron's advent month - I really wanted to participate but just didn't find the time on a daily basis, maybe next year.  They are words to live by. Happy New Year.xx