I first had this dessert in a pub in the Cotswolds, England, years ago. I’ve been trying ever since to recapture it exactly, without success. But this is close, and divine. While I savor it, I just remind myself that Fernand Point, the great French chef of the 1930s, believed the secret of cuisine was butter. He said “Give me butter! Always butter!” It’s similar in spirit to banoffee pie, but a bit less sweet.
This recipe was excerpted from ‘Bliss on Toast’ by Prue Leith. Buy the full book on Amazon.
If you can’t get skinned hazelnuts, here’s how to get the skins off. Toast them in a microwave: Cook them in a single layer for 3 minutes, then stir and give them a few 1-minute blasts, checking after each, until the skins crack and they start to brown. Or toast in a dry frying pan, shaking it to get the skins hot and blistering. Or bake in an oven preheated to 400°F for 10–12 minutes. Rub in a kitchen towel to remove the skins. Whatever you do, watch them. Nuts burn in a moment.
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Now for a lot of frying in butter. Keep the frying pan at medium heat to prevent the butter burning. Melt a little butter and fry the nuts briefly to brown, then tip on to a cold saucer to stop them burning. Melt 1 Tbsp. more butter and brown the panettone on both sides, adding more butter if needed. Lift onto warm plates.
Step 2
Peel and split the bananas lengthways. Fry the halves in more butter, flat sides down, just to get them nicely brown on those sides. Put them browned sides up on the panettone slices.
Step 3
Mix the golden syrup with the brandy.
Step 4
Scoop a large ball of ice cream for each plate and put on the panettone. Sprinkle with the nuts and pour over the brandy syrup.
Recipe notes
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