Bruleed Banana Scones Food

BRULEED BANANA SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, milk and vanilla. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Working over the bowl, grate the cold butter on the large holes of a box grater. Gently toss the grated butter in the flour until it resembles coarse meal. Stir in the wet ingredients just until evenly moistened.
• Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface, gather any crumbs and knead a few times until the dough just comes together. Working quickly and using lightly floured hands, pat the dough into a 9-by-6-inch rectangle. Using a large knife, cut the dough into 8 rectangle scones. Transfer the scones to the prepared baking sheet and brush lightly with milk; freeze for 5 minutes if the dough is too warm. Arrange the banana slices on top, pressing them into the dough slightly.
• Bake in the center of the oven until firm and lightly golden, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Let the scones cool for 15 minutes, then remove and discard the parchment paper.
• Preheat the broiler and position the rack 8 inches from the heat. Working over a compost bowl, generously sprinkle each scone with the sugar. Broil until the sugar is bubbling, about 1 minute, rotating the pan during broiling to ensure even browning. Alternatively, use a kitchen torch to brulee the scones. Let cool slightly before serving.

BANANA BRULéE

Steps:

• To make the bananas brulée, quarter the bananas lengthwise (peel on) and rub into sugar to coat thoroughly.
• Remove peel and place on cooling rack over several layers of foil. (Don't try this on your dining room table.).
• Don your safety goggles and fire up your torch. Hold the torch so that the very tip of the flame barely touches the banana, and move quickly back and forth until the sugar melts, turns brown, and bubbles. As soon as it looks like caramel, move on. You know you've got it down when a solid, glasslike sheet of gold (no graininess) has formed on the banana.

BANANA SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and ginger. Cut butter into a few chunks and rub it into the flour mixture with your fingertips.
• Mix milk and vanilla in a small glass. Pour about 4 tablespoons into the flour mixture and stir until the mixture starts to come together. Add the banana chunks and continue to stir, adding more milk if necessary, until dough comes together.
• Pat dough into a disk about 1 inch thick. Cut into four sections with a knife and place each on baking sheet.
• Bake at 400F for 17-20 minutes, until light gold.
• Cool on wire rack or eat warm. These scones are best the day they are made.

BANANA CREME BRULEE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Over medium heat, melt the butter in a saute pan. Add the bananas, and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of white sugar. Stir well to blend the sugar and butter. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. The bananas should be lightly caramelized. Mash the bananas with the back of a wooden spoon. Add the lemon juice to the mixture, raise the heat to high, add the brandy, and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat, divide among 6 wide, shallow creme brulee dishes, and let cool. Place the heavy cream in a saucepan. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise, and scrape the seeds into the cream with the tip of a knife. Add the scraped-out vanilla bean, and bring the cream just to a boil, then remove from heat. Reserve. Place the egg yolks and 5 tablespoons of white sugar in the top of a double boiler. Whisk them together, then stir over simmering water until the mixture becomes fairly thick (about 15 minutes). Strain the reserved cream into eggs, and stir the mixture over simmering water for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and ladle over the cooled banana puree in the 6 dishes. Place the dishes in a roasting pan, and fill the pan with enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the dishes. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes. Remove the dishes from the pan, and chill them for at least 3 hours.
• When you are ready to serve, sprinkle 2 teaspoons of light brown sugar over each dish, distributing evenly. Place the dishes on a bed of cracked ice in a roasting pan, and position the pan under a broiler until the sugar caramelizes. Watch carefully, and move the dishes around so the sugar browns evenly but doesn't char. Remove and serve while the crust is still hot.

BRULEED BANANA AND PUMPKIN RICE PUDDING

Steps:

• Combine the rice and 1 1/2 cups water in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high until most of the water is absorbed and the rice is mostly cooked through but still has a bite to it, about 8 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the milk, pumpkin puree, 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, raisins, vanilla, cinnamon stick and salt. Let the mixture reach a steady simmer and maintain that steady simmer through completion of the recipe.
• When the rice finishes cooking in the microwave, add it and any remaining liquid to the simmering milk mixture. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice is completely tender and the pudding thickens, 12 to 14 minutes. Slow, large bubbles will rise to the top towards the end of cooking.
• Remove the saucepan from the heat, discard the cinnamon stick and divide the pudding between six 6-ounce broiler-proof ramekins. Refrigerate until completely cool, about 30 minutes. The pudding will continue to thicken as it cools.
• When ready to serve, arrange a rack in the top position of the oven and heat the broiler on high (see Cook's Note).
• Place a single layer of sliced bananas on top of each pudding. Evenly sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar over the top of each pudding. Broil until the sugar forms a hard, caramel layer, about 30 seconds, checking every 10 seconds. Serve.

BANANA-NUT SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a cookie sheet.
• Place bananas in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until mashed. Add brown sugar, yogurt, egg, and vanilla, beating until smooth. Add cinnamon, baking powder, and salt, beating to combine. Add flour, 1 cup at a time, beating just until combined after each addition. Do not overmix.
• Grate chilled butter into batter using a cheese grater. Beat to combine. Fold in walnuts using a rubber spatula. Drop batter by generous 1/4 cupfuls onto the prepared cookie sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until edges and tops of scones are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of a scone comes out with only crumbs, 17 to 20 minutes.
• When scones have a few minutes left in the oven, combine maple syrup and butter for glaze in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until butter melts completely; do not boil. Remove from heat. Add just enough confectioners' sugar, whisking in a small amount at a time, to reach desired consistency for glaze.
• Drizzle glaze over scones using a spoon or whisk.

BANANA BREAD SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the banana, cream, egg, and vanilla. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt.
• Cut in the butter with a pastry blender, or 2 knives used like scissors, until the mixture resembles coarse meal with some larger pieces. (You can use your fingers if you work fast enough that the butter stays cold.) Toss in the chopped chocolate and hazelnuts.
• Drizzle in the banana mixture and stir with a fork until the mixture is crumbly and moistened, but stop before you've mixed it into a uniform batter. Tip out the mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and pat it into a 6-inch circle. Using a sharp knife or a bench scraper, cut the circle into 8 equal triangles. (At this point, you could freeze the triangles well-wrapped on their sheet for another day. Bake them from frozen.) Spread the triangles apart and brush the tops with the cream. Sprinkle with sanding sugar.
• Bake until the scones are golden brown and set, 22 to 25 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of a scone should come out clean. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack to cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature. Scones are best the day they're made.

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Slice 1 cup of the strawberries and transfer to a small bowl. Add the lemon zest and mix well. Set aside.
• Halve or quarter the remaining strawberries and transfer to a medium bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of the sugar, the lemon juice and a pinch each of salt and pepper; mix well. Let stand until juicy, stirring occasionally.
• Meanwhile, in a liquid measuring cup or small bowl, whisk 1/2 cup of the heavy cream with the sour cream until just smooth. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the 1/4 cup sugar, the baking powder, baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Working over the bowl, grate the butter on the large holes of a box grater. Gently toss the butter with the dry ingredients, then stir in the sliced strawberries. Pour in the cream mixture and stir together until evenly moistened.
• Scrape the mixture onto a work surface and fold a few times until the dough comes together, then pat into a 2-inch-thick rectangle. Using a knife or bench scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal scones. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle each scone with sugar. Bake until puffed and golden, about 30 minutes. Let cool.
• Meanwhile, in another large bowl, whip the remaining 3/4 cup heavy cream with a whisk or electric mixer until stiff. Split the scones horizontally and fill with the whipped cream and juicy strawberries.