Banoffee with a twist.
Recipe, styling and photograph by Katelyn Allegra
Banoffee Eton nest
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
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.
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.
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.
For the caramelised bananas, sprinkle the castor sugar generously over the banana slices and use a blowtorch to caramelise the sugar.
Whip the fresh cream, icing sugar and vanilla together until stiff peaks form and refrigerate.
For the gold Easter eggs, coat the Easter eggs in gold dust and set aside.
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.
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.
To assemble, top the meringue nest with the whipped cream, caramelised bananas, golden eggs and spun sugar, then drizzle with the burnt honey sauce.