Choc Banana Custard Slice Recipes

BANANA CUSTARD SLICE

Steps:

• Into a large saucepan put milk, sugar, eggs and bananas and then blend with a stick blender (if you don't have a stick blender then use a blender or food processor and then transfer to saucepan) heat over a very gentle heat stirring frequently until the custard thickens (should coat back of wooden spoon with a thick mix and when stirring leave a trail), add arrowroot to help thicken even more.
• Spread the custard out on a tray (with sides) to let cool completely.
• Preheat oven to 180°C.
• Cut pastry sheets in half and place pastry sheets on baking paper lined trays.
• Prick pastry sheets all over with a fork.
• Place in oven and bake for 10 minutes.
• Give cooled custard a stir to (don't worry about it having formed a skin), put down a layer of pastry and top with 1/3 of the custard but don't take it right to the edge, put on another 1/3 layer of custard and then another pastry sheet and then the final layer of custard and the final 4th sheet of pastry.
• Sprinkle with icing sugar and then refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Remove and slice into desired portions (3 to 4).

BANANA CUSTARD PUDDING

Steps:

• Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in saucepan.
• Over medium heat, slowly add milk, stirring until mixture comes to a boil.
• Cook for 2 minutes.
• Temper egg yolks by adding a small amount of hot liquid, then return all to the saucepan.
• Cook until thickened, then remove from heat.
• Stir in vanilla and chill custard for 1 hour.
• Just before serving, fold in banana slices.
• Garnish with mint if desired.

VANILLA CUSTARD SLICES

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Roll out 250g of the pastry on a sheet of baking parchment to about 25cm square. Scatter over half the almonds, then press them in very gently, dust with half the icing sugar and lay over a second sheet of baking parchment. Lift onto a baking sheet, and sit another baking sheet on top like a sandwich. Fill a few small tins with baking beans (or something similarly heavy and ovenproof, like uncooked rice). Bake for 30 mins, then have a quick peek - it will probably need another 5 mins to be well browned and crisp all over.
• Remove from the oven, take off the weights and top baking tray, then carefully lift off the top sheet of parchment and leave to cool. Repeat with the remaining pastry - you can do both sheets at once if you have enough baking sheets and tins, but they might not cook as evenly with two in the oven, so it is safer to do one at a time. Cool both completely.
• Put the gelatine in a bowl of cold water to soften, then put the remaining custard ingredients in a big saucepan. Set over a low heat to start, whisking continuously to mix well, then increase the heat a little until the custard is gently boiling. Keep whisking the whole time - the custard will thicken and lump unevenly, but keep cooking and whisking until it is smooth and very thick.
• Remove the custard from the heat and take out the vanilla pod. Squeeze out the water from the gelatine sheet, then stir it into the custard until it has dissolved.
• Line the base and sides of a 20cm square tin with baking parchment - criss-crossing two big strips will give you the neatest corners. Using a big, sharp knife and a ruler - or the base of your tin if it is removable - trim one pastry sheet to a shade under a 20cm square, so it will sit inside the tin, almond-side down. Spread over the custard as evenly as you can. Trim the second pastry sheet in the same way, but then divide the square into eight 10 x 5cm rectangles (so it will be easier when you cut the slices later). Sit them on top of the custard, almond-side up, putting them back together a bit like a jigsaw puzzle. Gently press down on the pastry so it doesn't break but sticks to the custard, then cover and chill for 4 hrs or so, but better still overnight.
• To serve, lift the slice from the tin and cut all the way through where the pastry top is already cut. Dust the slices with a little more icing sugar and serve. Best eaten within 24 hours, when the pastry is still good and crisp.

BANANA & CUSTARD DRIP CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4, grease two 20cm cake tins with butter and line the bases with baking parchment. Add 225g butter and 225g sugar to a large bowl and beat with an electric whisk until the mixture is pale and light. In another bowl or a jug, mash 3 of the bananas with a fork. Add 3 eggs, 75g yogurt and 1 tbsp vanilla, and mix to combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the butter and sugar, and add 225g flour, 1 tsp baking powder and 3 tbsp custard powder. Whisk to combine until you have a smooth batter.
• Divide the mixture between the tins, spreading it to the edges, then bake on the middle shelf for 25 mins - a skewer inserted to the centre should come out clean when the cakes are cooked. Cool in the tins for 10 mins, then turn out onto a wire rack. Clean the tins, grease with more butter and line the bases as before, then bake another batch of sponges wth the remaining ingredients. Can be made 2 days before icing; once cool, wrap well in cling film and leave in a cool place, or freeze for 2 weeks.
• While the cakes cool, make the icing. In a small bowl, mix the custard powder, vanilla bean paste and milk until lump-free. In a large bowl, weigh the butter and icing sugar, then mash together with a spatula (this is to prevent covering the kitchen with icing sugar!). Once roughly combined, mix with an electric mixer until smooth. Scrape in the custard mixture and beat again.
• When you're ready to assemble, clear a space for the cake in the fridge. Place one of the sponges on a plate or cake stand, and use roughly a quarter of the custard icing to stack the other cakes on top, spreading the icing right to the edges between each sponge. Use a little more icing to thinly cover the entire cake, filling in any gaps between the cake layers and using a palette knife to smooth the surface. Try not to get any crumbs in the bowl of icing - this first coat is called the 'crumb coating' and will trap in any crumbs, so don't worry if it looks a little messy at this stage. Chill the cake for 30 mins until the icing is firm.
• Use the remaining icing to completely cover the cake. Hold your palette knife up against the side of the cake and swoop around it to give you a nice clean, flat surface. Smooth over the top as much as possible too. Wipe the plate or cake stand clean, then chill for another 30 mins.
• Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Melt the white chocolate in a bowl suspended over a pan of gently simmering water, or in short bursts in the microwave. Pour roughly a quarter of the chocolate onto the baking tray and spread it to a rectangle, roughly 12 x 20cm. Sprinkle with hundreds & thousands and set aside to cool or chill until set. Mix the oil into the remaining chocolate in the bowl and add enough food colouring to dye the chocolate a vivid yellow colour.
• Remove the cake from the fridge and pour the yellow chocolate icing over the top, using a teaspoon to encourage it to drizzle down the sides. Cut the set sheet of white chocolate into pointy shards and arrange them on top of the cake (you may have to use some of the sweets and biscuits to hold them in place). Stack the remaining sweets and biscuits on top of the cake and stick in the cake topper (if using). The cake will look its best for an hour or two after decorating, but leftovers will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge.

CHOCOLATE BANANA ICEBOX CAKE

Steps:

• Place a fine-mesh sieve over a medium bowl, and set it aside.
• In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add the milk, little by little, while whisking to incorporate it fully. Whisk in the egg yolks. Heat the mixture over medium, stirring constantly, until it has thickened and just come to a low boil, about 4 to 5 minutes. Continue to cook the custard while whisking for another minute, then immediately pour it into the sieve, pushing it through with a small spatula. Stir in the vanilla.
• Chill the custard until it reaches room temperature or colder, about 1 1/2 hours. (To speed the process, you can spread the custard into an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Stir often until the custard has cooled, about 10 minutes. Transfer the custard back to the medium bowl.)
• Whip the 3/4 cup heavy cream to stiff peaks. Fold the cream into the custard.
• Add about 1/2 cup of custard to the bottom of a 2-quart serving dish, spreading it in an even layer. Top with a layer of cookies (about 15), breaking them as needed to fit the edges. Slice the bananas 1/4-inch thick, and top the cookies with a layer of bananas.
• Dollop 1/3 of the remaining custard on top of the bananas and, using an offset spatula, gently spread it into an even layer until the bananas are completely covered. Repeat the layering of cookies, bananas and custard two more times, finishing with custard.
• Cover with plastic wrap and chill until the custard is cold and the cookies have softened, at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.
• To serve, whip the 1 1/2 cups heavy cream and confectioners' sugar to medium-stiff peaks. Top the pudding with the whipped cream, and sprinkle with cocoa powder, dusting it through a fine-mesh sieve. Serve cold.

BANANA TARTLETS WITH CHOCOLATE CUSTARD

Steps:

• For custard: Whisk egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and salt in medium bowl to blend. Bring milk to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. Gradually whisk hot milk into yolk mixture. Return mixture to saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until custard thickens and boils, about 2 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and rum and whisk until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Transfer custard to bowl. Place plastic wrap directly atop surface of custard. Refrigerate overnight.
• For crust: Blend all purpose flour, 2 tablespoons sugar and salt in processor. Cut in chilled butter using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 1/4 cup ice water and process until moist clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough together; divide into 6 equal balls. Flatten each ball into disk. Wrap each disk in plastic; refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Roll out 1 dough disk to 7-inch round. Transfer to 4 1/2-inch tartlet pan with removable bottom. Trim dough overhang to 1/2 inch. Fold overhang in, pressing and forming double-thick sides. Pierce crust all over with fork. Repeat with remaining 5 dough disks. Freeze crusts 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake crusts until golden brown and baked through, piercing with fork if crusts bubble, about 40 minutes. Cool completely in pans on rack. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Store airtight in tartlet pans at room temperature.)
• Preheat broiler. Divide custard equally among crusts (generous 1/4 cup for each). Place banana slices decoratively atop each tartlet, covering custard completely. Brush bananas lightly with water. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon brown sugar over bananas on each tartlet. Broil just until sugar melts and bubbles, about 1 1/2 minutes. Garnish with cream, if desired.