Bacon Banana Caramel Topping Food

BACON CARAMEL POPCORN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
• Place popped popcorn in a very large bowl. Prepare 2 sheet pans with nonstick spray and line with aluminum foil.
• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, par-cook the bacon and render the bacon fat. Once the bacon has cooked, strain the bacon fat from the bacon pieces and reserve the fat. Transfer the cooked bacon pieces to paper towels and continue to drain the excess fat. Then add to popcorn.
• In the saucepan already used, add the butter and bacon fat (add more bacon fat as needed). Heat until the butter has fully melted.
• Add the brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Bring to a boil and stir constantly. Continue to boil without stirring for 4 minutes.
• Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla.
• Pour in a thin stream over popcorn, stirring to coat evenly.
• Divide the mixture evenly between sheet pans and bake, stirring every 15 minutes for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool completely before breaking into pieces.
• Store in an airtight container for up to one week.

UPSIDE-DOWN BANANA CAKE WITH MAPLE-CARAMEL SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease a 20cm square cake tin and line the base with baking parchment. For the cake, pour in half the syrup, swirling to coat the bottom. Peel and halve the 3 ripe bananas lengthways and lay, cut-side down, in the tin.
• Beat together the butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and overripe banana with an electric whisk. Tip the flour and pecans into a food processor and pulse until finely ground together. Stir into the butter mixture with the bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon, then stir in the yogurt. Carefully spoon into the tin without dislodging the bananas. Bake the cake for 45 mins-1 hr until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out with only moist crumbs.
• Meanwhile, make the sauce. Toast the pecans for 1-2 mins in a pan, add the remaining ingredients and cook until the butter has melted. Then bubble for 5 mins until it has thickened a little.
• When the cake is cooked, poke it all over with the skewer - inserting it about halfway into the cake each time. Pour over the remaining maple syrup and allow it to soak in for a few mins, then turn the cake out of the tin, upside-down, onto a serving plate. Reheat the sauce, and serve with Greek yogurt or vanilla ice cream.

BANANA UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Make the topping: In an oven-safe 10-inch skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add the brown sugar, lemon juice and salt, and whisk until the brown sugar melts, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Let cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture starts to smell like caramel and darkens slightly, about 1 minute longer. (Don't walk away, or the mixture may burn.) The mixture will clump and separate, but that's OK.
• Add bananas and nuts, gently tossing to coat with the caramel. Remove from heat and arrange fruit into an even layer on bottom of skillet. Ignore any sugar clumps; they will dissolve during baking.
• Make the cake: In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, vanilla and lemon zest until thoroughly combined. Whisk in eggs, one at a time. Add sour cream and whisk until well mixed. Sprinkle in baking powder, salt and baking soda into the batter, one at a time, and whisking vigorously after each addition.
• Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in flour until just incorporated. The mixture will be lumpy, but that's OK. Don't overmix. Scrape batter into the skillet over the fruit and spread evenly.
• Bake until surface is deeply browned all over (with darker brown edges) and the fruit is lightly bubbling around the sides of the skillet, about 35 to 45 minutes, rotating halfway through. A toothpick inserted into cake will come out clean.
• Once the cake is out of the oven, immediately run a butter knife or offset spatula around the edge of the skillet. Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes to cool slightly. Carefully invert cake into serving platter. If some fruit or nuts stick to bottom of skillet, gently remove them using an offset spatula or knife and place them back onto cake. Let the cake cool until the fruit topping sets, at least 30 minutes to 1 hour, before serving. Cake is best served on the day it is baked.

STICKY UPSIDE-DOWN BANANA CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and lightly grease a deep 23cm round cake tin, lining the base with baking parchment.
• To make the topping, put the butter and sugar in a small saucepan and cook over a medium heat until melted and combined. Add the vanilla and mix together. Pour the caramel into the cake tin and spread in an even layer. Cut the bananas in half lengthways and arrange on top of the caramel, cut-side down.
• To make the batter, put all the ingredients in a large bowl with 1/4 tsp salt. Use an electric mixer to beat together on a low speed until the batter is smooth and evenly mixed. Pour the batter on top of the bananas and level out with a spatula. Bake in the oven for 55 mins-1 hr or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. If the cake begins to look too dark, cover with foil after 45 mins. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 mins before turning out onto a plate. Best served warm but also delicious at room temperature. Best eaten within 2 days.