• Banoffee with a twist.

    Recipe, styling and photograph by Katelyn Allegra

    Banoffee Eton nest

    By Katelyn Allegra Serves: 6
    Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins

    Ingredients

    • MERINGUE NEST

    • 250g white sugar
    • 10ml (2 tsp) cornflour
    • 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
    • BURNT HONEY SAUCE

    • 60ml (4 tbsp) honey
    • 30ml (2 tbsp) butter, cubed
    • 125ml (½ cup) fresh cream
    • pinch coarse salt
    • CARAMELISED BANANAS

    • 2 – 3 bananas, peeled and sliced diagonally
    • 60ml (4 tbsp) castor sugar
    • WHIPPED CREAM

    • 125ml (½ cup) fresh cream
    • 15ml (1 tbsp) icing sugar
    • 2,5ml (½ tsp) vanilla extract
    • GOLD EASTER EGGS

    • 5 – 6 small chocolate Easter eggs
    • edible gold dust, to coat
    • SPUN SUGAR

    • 110g white sugar
    • 15ml (1 tbsp) water

    Instructions

    1

    To make the meringue nest, preheat the oven to 100°C. Combine the 250g sugar and cornflour. Whip the egg whites until soft peak stage. Steadily add the sugar to the egg whites, while mixing continuously, 15ml (1 tbsp) at a time. Continue to whip until all of the sugar has dissolved and the meringue reaches stiff peak stage. Spoon the meringue mix into a piping bag with a large nozzle.

    2

    On a sheet of baking paper, draw a circle of about 25cm – 30cm in diameter, with a smaller, 10cm-diameter circle drawn on the inside. Flip the paper over and place it on a baking tray. Starting from the inside of the smaller circle, pipe blobs of meringue into increasingly large rings, until you reach the inside of the larger circle’s line to create a “nest”. Bake the meringue in the preheated oven, 1 hour or until the outside is crisp and the inside still soft. Set aside to cool.

    3

    For the burnt honey sauce, pour the honey into a large saucepan over high heat and cook, 2 – 3 minutes or until dark golden brown. Drop in the cubes of butter and fresh cream, whisking well, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, whisking, 6 – 8 minutes or until thickened. Add the coarse salt and whisk to combine.

    4

    For the caramelised bananas, sprinkle the castor sugar generously over the banana slices and use a blowtorch to caramelise the sugar.

    5

    Whip the fresh cream, icing sugar and vanilla together until stiff peaks form and refrigerate.

    6

    For the gold Easter eggs, coat the Easter eggs in gold dust and set aside.

    7

    To make the spun sugar, tape 2 wooden spoons, 10cm apart, onto a work surface with the handles hanging over the edge. Place a sheet of baking paper on the floor under the handles. Combine the 110g white sugar and the water in a small saucepan. Stir gently over low heat until all of the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to medium and cook until the caramel turns a very light amber colour.

    8

    Remove the caramel from the heat immediately and allow to cool slightly. Once your caramel starts to set, use a fork or whisk and quickly flick the caramel back and forth between the handles of the spoons to form thin strands. Once set, gather the strands and shape into a wreath. Use at once to avoid melting.

    9

    To assemble, top the meringue nest with the whipped cream, caramelised bananas, golden eggs and spun sugar, then drizzle with the burnt honey sauce.

    Imka Webb
    Author

    Imka Webb is a freelance digital marketing expert and the digital editor of Food & Home Entertaining magazine.  www.imkawebb.com