Banana and Ice Cream Cocktail (take 2)

We were sober this time, promise

Some of you might recall my post back in December, where a friend and I concocted an improvised cocktail at a house party, consisting of bananas, ice cream, Chocolate Mickey Finn and Disaronno. Well, just recently we tried making it again (before the drinks started flowing!), this time taking the time to keep track of the quantities.

We used:
2 bananas, mashed
About two thirds of a one litre tub of Lyons Maid vanilla ice cream (roughly)
Disaronno
Chocolate, Fruit & Nut flavoured Mickey Finn

Using those quantities, we managed to create 5 glasses’ worth of cocktail, as pictured. It was just enough for the group of us, as I’d advise not making too much; perhaps just a little more than this would be just enough per serving.

Mash the bananas with a couple of scoops of ice cream, add a shot or two of each spirit, then continue to mash and stir whilst gradually adding in more ice cream as it becomes smoother, also adding in a little more alcohol if desired.

Alternative spirits we’ve considered (so far) are Barcardi vodka and Baileys Irish Cream – maybe next time!

Original post:
https://randomkitchenexperiments.wordpress.com/2014/12/28/banana-ice-cream-cocktail/

Rocky Road (To Hell) Pie

Parental supervision is advised (apparently!)

A simple enough idea – a homemade (well, cheated with the crust) Rocky Road Pie. Marshmallows, mixed fruit and glace cherries coated in melted chocolate.

The chocolate DID NOT want to cooperate in the melting process though. You know how they say “Always ask for assistance from a grown-up”….yeah, haha.

Turned out ok though. Allow to cool, then chill overnight.

This was actually a test run for something similar I want to do for Easter, so I’ll hopefully post that next month.

Pancake Day 2015 – Milkshake and Choc-Orange Pancakes

Flipping good (sorry)

This year, I thought I’d make my first attempts at making pancakes, but in typical fashion, I wasn’t prepared to just settle for any old plain type, so here are my experiments for this year’s Pancake Day. I think they turned out okay for a first attempt!

Idea #1 – Banana Milkshake and Glace Cherry Pancake

This is regular pancake batter, flavoured with a couple of spoonfuls of Banana milkshake powder, and with a couple of finely-chopped Glace Cherries mixed in. It’s the latter part that I wasn’t certain would work, but it mixed and cooked just fine, though I didn’t quite get an even spread.

Idea #2 – Chocolate-Orange filled Pancake (well, Clementine segments and Bourbon Biscuit Chocolate spread, to be exact)

Regular batter, covered down the centre with Bourbon Biscuit Chocolate spread, on tip of which I placed some Clementine segments, as I personally prefer them over regular Oranges usually. I’d never tried fruit in a pancake before, and I’d definitely try it again sometime.

Idea #3 – Strawberry milkshake Pancake

Again just regular batter, but flavoured with a few spoonfuls of Strawberry milkshake powder. Out of the two milkshake flavoured pancakes, I prefered the Banana flavoured one (as did my family); not to say that it was bad, but it needs some tweaking.

Now to improve and think of ideas for next year!

Banana & Ice Cream Cocktail

The ‘Banana Skinful’

Apologies for the rough photos, but this was rather unplanned! Had to grab a couple whilst I could.

This was co-created with a friend’s new housemate, who decided he wanted to make an improvised cocktail using a base of bananas and ice cream. After slicing, mashing and mixing throughly, I had a look at what we had to hand, and after eliminating Baileys as the first idea (realised we didn’t have any, haha) I suggested we use a dash of Disaronno, and some Chocolate, Fruit & Nut flavoured Mickey Finn.

Verdict? Amazing, everyone at the house party enjoyed it. A definite keeper. I think I’ll go with the name ‘Banana Skinful’, as suggested by said friend.

Jelly Cocktails

Zombie Brain Hemorrhage, jellified

Another quick one – ever wondered what might happen if you tried suspending a Zombie/Alien Brain Hemorrhage-type cocktail in jelly, instead of a shot glass? Well wonder no more. Not gonna lie, it looks kinda weird (perhaps more so than the shot) but still tastes nice nonetheless. I actually made these some time ago, but never got round to blogging – with Halloween just around the corner, thought it was an appropriate time to do so.

I used:
Orange jelly (instead of schnapps)
A dash of peach vodka
A dash of Grenadine
A dash of Blue Curaco
A dash of Irish cream or Baileys, applied via straw

Before setting.

Make up the jelly according to the instructions on the packet, then divide it into the glasses, allowing time to cool before adding the rest of the ingredients. Add in each a small measure of vodka, Grenadine and Blue Curaco, then add a dash of Irish Cream/Baileys via straw (place one end of the straw in the bottle, place your thumb over the other end then withdraw the straw slowly, not releasing your thumb until the end of the straw is just under the surface of the jelly). You may even prefer to add in each shot via this method. Very carefully place each glass in the fridge, and allow to set overnight.

After setting.

What was a shot is now an adult dessert. I used a similar method when making cocktail cubes – https://randomkitchenexperiments.wordpress.com/2014/06/24/cocktail-jelly-cubes/. Have fun trying these.

Banana-cherry-choc split cupcakes

It’s cake, who needs an excuse?

It was ‘National Cupcake Week’ last week apparently, but to be honest I was in the mood to try something new anyway. Already being a fan of the banana cake recipe (originally found online but modified by myself a couple of times since), I thought I’d try to twist it again. I decided to split the mixture into two portions (I spooned roughly one third into another bowl) and added glace cherries to the larger mixture, and chocolate powder to the smaller, then layered them. Here’s the method I used.

You’ll need:

230 grams (1 3/4 cups) self-raising flour

150 grams (3/4 cup) granulated white sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs, lightly beaten

120 grams (1/2 cup) melted butter or margarine

3 large bananas, mashed

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glace cherries, chopped

Chocolate milkshake powder

A splash of milk

Cake cases

This mixture will yield 18 cupcakes.

In one bowl combine your flour, sugar & salt. In another combine your eggs, butter, mashed bananas & vanilla. Tip one into the other and mix together, but don’t worry so much about making a smooth mix – it still needs to be lumpy ideally.

Spoon roughly one third of this cake mix into another bowl, and put the smaller mix aside for a moment. Add the chopped glace cherries to the larger bowl and mix in. Going back to the smaller mix, spoon in about half a teaspoon of chocolate powder mixture, and add just a splash of milk, to help mix it in. Continue stirring until it starts taking on a chocolate colour and the milk has been absorbed, adding in a little more chocolate powder as you stir to help this along.

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4 (180C or 350F). Spoon the banana and cherry cake mixture evenly into your cake cases, then spoon the chocolate-banana mixture on top of each. Place in the oven to bake of 25-30 minutes.

I was quite happy with how these turned out, and they definitely went down well with everyone. I didn’t really know how to name them, but ‘Banana-cherry-choc split cupcakes’ seemed the most precise!

Hope you enjoyed reading, I enjoyed eating them!

Bourbon Swirl

A quick dessert idea

After recently discovering that a certain well-known supermarket has launched a Bourbon Biscuit Chocolate Spread, I couldn’t resist the idea of seeing what I could do with it – I opted to go back to the old tried and tested pastry swirl recipe. It’s simple and doesn’t take long to prepare and cook.

You’ll need:
– 1 sheet of puff pastry (I used a pre-rolled sheet)
– Bourbon Biscuit Chocolate Spread  (though I’m sure regular Chocolate Spread and Bourbon biscuits will suffice!)
– A handful of crushed Hob Nob biscuits
– Mini marshmellows

Lay out the pastry, and apply a layer of spread, allowing for space to fold, as demonstrated.

Sprinkle the crushed Hob Nobs (as generous as you choose to be) and the marshmellows on top, fold and repeat.

Continue until you’re just left to fold the final pastry layer to cover. Apply a milk wash, then place in the oven, pre-heated at gas mark 7 for 15-20 minutes.

When ready, it’ll look something like this.

It’s nice to eat either warm or chilled, as a sweet snack or dessert.

Banoffee-choc Dessert Pizza

A sweet twist on a savoury classic

A simple enough idea, again based around a Banoffee theme – after I recently discovered Dr. Oetker’s Banoffee decorations whilst looking for ingredients, I had to! Also, given how pleased I was with my previous one from some time ago (https://randomkitchenexperiments.wordpress.com/2013/06/22/dessert-pizza-aka-sweetza/), I thought I’d try another with a different topping.

I used:
One pre-made pizza base, available from any good supermarket
Chocolate spread
One banana (though I didn’t use a whole one)
Dr. Oetker’s Banoffee decorations
A handful of glace cherries
Mini marshmallows
Toffee dessert syrup

 

 

 

 

 

You can choose to eat it as is, or perhaps place under the grill/in the oven for a few minutes, though I would advise to monitor it throughout, to avoid overcooking.

Cocktail Jelly Cubes

Here’s a test run for an idea I made up as I went along – thought it might be a good idea to use for summer gatherings or for parties with friends. It’s simple enough but has to be prepared over a couple of days. I had originally hoped I’d get a marbled effect, but upon realising that that idea needed more work, I improvised and instead decided to go for a layered look. Here’s the method I used.

I used:
1 Orange jelly
A few cubes from a Blackcurrant jelly
Grenadine
Blue Curacao
1 ice cube tray
Drinking straws

Make the orange jelly as instructed on the packet.

Being very careful to pour (or use either a spoon or smaller jug), pour a little of the jelly into each empty compartment, to around halfway.

Then (and here it can get messy, so lay some kitchen towel down first!), drip a little Grenadine and/or Curacao into each – I opted to use the straw method to achieve this (place the end of the drinking straw in the bottle, place a thumb over one end, then draw out the straw, slowly releasing over each cube). The Grenadine will instantly form a layer at the bottom, whilst the Blue Curacao will form a wispy effect – it’ll need further tinkering to get it to set this way.

Place in the fridge, keeping flat at all times. OPTIONAL PART – a few hours later or the following day, add a few drops of Curacao as an extra layer. Given time, it will set with the jelly, but leave for a few hours at least before adding the extra jelly on top. Leave overnight if chosing to do this the same day as the first jelly layer.

Next, take just three blocks of your second jelly, and melt down in around 100ml of water. Allow this jelly mixture to cool to room temperature, then carefully spoon onto each jelly cube. Place back in the fridge, again leave in overnight.

You should hopefully end up with something like this!

I’m happy with this result, so it’s an idea I’ll try again, continuing to tinker with it. For serving suggestions, I’d suggest placing a couple of cubes in a glass with some cream soda, or serving with some ice cream as part of an adult’s dessert, or simply as a substitute for a shot/jelly shot.

Battered Mars Bar….and Celebrations

Just a bit of fun with a Scottish idea

I’ve been wanting to try a battered Mars bar for ages (for those unaware, it’s an idea that originated in Scotland’s chip shops in the mid-90s), so thought I’d have a go at doing it myself – in typical fashion though, I wanted to do something different with the idea though, and then I remembered I still had some Celebrations…. By happy coincidence, I attempted this the week before Shrove Tuesday/Pancake Day, so I’ve even managed to be topical too – here’s an idea if you fancy doing something different with extra batter mix.

If, like I have here, you use some mixed chocolates, you can add an element of mystery to it, as it’s impossible to tell the chocolates apart once they’re all battered. NOTE: Please do bear that in mind beforehand, if you know people with nut/other allergies.

Batter mix:
125g plain flour (plus extra flour to coat the chocolates in)
1 egg
A dash of salt
A jug containing 75ml water and 75ml milk

Whisk all the ingredients in a bowl – the batter needs to be thick, so do play around with the measurements if desired.

I used a deep frying pan and a couple of inches of cooking oil. Heat up the oil on your hob, and coat the chocolates in flour. When the pan is sufficiently hot enough (you can use the ‘cocktail stick test’ to judge – place one end in the oil, and watch for bubbles to appear), dip each chocolate in the batter mix, then place in the pan. Allow to cook until the batter coating is golden brown, then carefully remove with tongs and repeat with each chocolate.

Tasted great! I have friends demanding I make more for them too, so looks like I’ll be doing this again in the near future.