Roast banana, gingerbread and mascarpone trifle
My take on trifle is a bit radical, using my favourite gingerbread recipe and no jelly. It's still very quick to make and so moist it lasts for a few days. For any recipes with banana, I like to roast them to bring out the sweetness and intensify the flavour. Next time you make a banana cake, try baking them in the oven in their skin on 180 for 15 minutes, then let them cool slightly before peeling and pureeing. You can also leave the cooked bananas in their skins and refrigerate until needed.
Ingredients
For gingerbread
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tbsp water
150g butter
125g brown sugar
200g treacle
200g golden syrup
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
250mls milk
2 eggs
300g plain flour
(Makes: 1 loaf)
For roast banana, gingerbread and mascarpone trifle6 ripe bananas, unskinned
200ml thickened cream
400g mascarpone cheese
6 x 2cm-thick slices of gingerbread
6 tbsp marsala liquor
1 tbsp icing sugar, sifted
2 tbsp drinking chocolate
Method
For gingerbread
Preheat oven to 175 and line a medium loaf tin.
Dissolve bicarb soda in the water. In a small saucepan, heat the butter, sugar, treacle, golden syrup and spices.
Whisk the milk and eggs in a bowl. Add dissolved bicarb soda to the warm butter mix; it will foam a little.
Stir the butter and egg mix together quickly then add the flour and combine until you have a smooth batter.
Pour into the loaf tin and bake for an hour or until a skewer comes out clean. Remove from tin and cool on a wire rack.
For trifle
Preheat the oven to 180.
Place unskinned bananas in a pan and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool in their skin.
Whip the cream to a very soft peak, add the mascarpone and beat for 20 seconds – keep a close eye on it as it will split if overbeaten. Put the cream mix in a piping bag.
Break the gingerbread into large chunks and press into the base of six large glasses. Pour a tablespoon of marsala over each serve of gingerbread.
Skin the bananas, cut each one into 5-6 rounds and place them around the edge of each glass.
Pipe the mascarpone into the glasses, filling them to the top. Dust with icing sugar and drinking chocolate and serve.
TIP: The gingerbread freezes well for later use, and is fantastic iced for an afternoon snack.
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