Bananas Foster Banana Boats with Shaken Whipped Cream

Method

1. Toast the walnuts in a dry 16 cm frying pan over medium-low heat for 3 min, shaking often, until fragrant and lightly coloured. Let them cool, then chop roughly. Watch them closely; toasting nuts burn quickly.

   Add in this stepWalnuts or pecans 20 g

   medium-low heat

2. In a small bowl, mash the soft butter with the brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and vanilla to make a brown-sugar butter. If only adults are eating, mix in a splash of rum; the alcohol does not fully cook off inside the foil.

   Add in this stepButter, softened 20 gBrown sugar 2 tbspGround cinnamon ½ tspSalt 1 pinchVanilla extract ½ tspDark rum (optional, adults only) to taste

3. Lay each banana with the curve facing down, slit the top peel and flesh lengthwise, stopping 1 cm from each end, and open it up. Spread the brown-sugar butter inside the slit and fill it with the dark chocolate.

   Add in this stepRipe bananas, unpeeled 2Dark chocolate (60–70%), chopped 30 g

4. Stand each banana in the centre of a 30 × 30 cm sheet of foil, wrap it and fold it closed at the top. Set the parcels seam side up on the grate and cook over charcoal (medium heat) for 8 min. They are ready when the butter and sugar are bubbling into a caramel and the banana is soft.

   charcoal (medium heat)

5. While the bananas cook, pour the very cold cream and the powdered sugar into a lidded jar of at least 350 ml, filling it no more than a third full. Screw the lid on tightly and shake hard for 3 min, until you can no longer hear it sloshing and it has thickened. Stop as soon as it goes quiet; shaken too long it turns into butter.

   Add in this stepHeavy cream, very cold 80 mlPowdered (icing) sugar 2 tsp

6. Open the foil, scatter the toasted walnuts and flaky salt over the bananas, add a generous spoonful of the whipped cream and eat at once.

   Add in this stepFlaky salt 1 pinch