Banana Nutella Chocolate Cream Tart

The Donna is coming! The Donna is coming!  The tension is palpable....the excitement drawing near....my sister is arriving tomorrow from Marco-la-la-land.  She's unique; we're the same, but different; and I love her.  So naturally, I had to bake a banana something or other for her.  Her birthday was in October and because she'd hit me, I won't give her age away, but I can tell you from my heart, she doesn't look anywhere near her __ years. 

So, here's what I came up with this year for "The Donna," as we like to call her. 

Banana Nutella Chocolate Cream Tart

Chocolate Tart Shell*

2 cups pastry cream OR
1 package 2.75 oz. pkg. vanilla pudding (not instant) made with whole milk and 1 vanilla bean (split in half—seeds scraped into mixture—add bean), chilled until ready to use
4 bananas
1 tablespoon dark rum
½ cup Nutella
1 cup whipped cream (the real deal…not Cool Whip, etc.)

1. Make pastry cream or pudding; chill until ready to use.
2. Make Chocolate Tart Shell; cool
3. Spread Nutella carefully, on the bottom of the cooled tart shell.
4. Fold whipped cream into pastry/pudding.
5. Slice bananas; add rum; toss to coat; add to pudding/whipped cream.
6. Spoon banana/cream mixture over Nutella.
Chill, covered, until ready to serve:  (I'd assemble this right before serving)
7. If desired, (and I highly suggest it), follow my recipe for the "fostered" bananas in my October's posting for Rum Roasted Banana Bread (as much or as little as desired) and when ready to serve the tart, spoon the bananas in the Foster sauce over each serving.  You'll thank me. 

*Chocolate Tart Shell
1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
8 tablespoons butter, chilled
2 tablespoons shortening
2-3 tablespoons ice water

In a food processor, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Pulse to blend. Add butter, cut into pieces, and shortening; pulse again until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add water and blend just until dough holds together; do not over mix.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Press into greased 9-inch tart pan, pushing mixture up sides. Chill for ½ an hour. Pierce holes around tart with tines of fork; bake for 18 minutes or until tart shell has no more moisture on surface.
Cool completely on rack.

Rum Roasted Banana Bread Glazed with Foster Cream

I found this great recipe for banana bread in a cookbook called, "Mix it Up!" by Jamee Ruth, and it came with my Kitchen Aid Pro mixer.  I've added cinnamon and nutmeg to her recipe, since I do like a little spice in everything I bake.  I challenge you to not want to eat all of the bananas right out of the pan or to pour them over vanilla ice cream.  This is Bananas Foster meets Banana Bread, and in fact, why not slice a piece of the bread, place in the bottom of a dessert bowl, top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, then spoon the cream sauce over the whole kit and kaboodle.  Absolutely indulgent. 

10 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 very ripe bananas

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon dark rum (I use Captain Morgan)

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup plain vanilla yogurt

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Grease and flour the bottom of a 9-inch loaf pan, and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.


Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed skillet. Leave ¼ cup in the skillet, and pour the rest into a small bowl. Set the bowl aside. Peel and slice the bananas, add them to the skillet, and saute’ for 1 minute. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the bananas, add the rum*, and saute’ for 2 minutes more. With a slotted spoon, transfer the bananas to a bowl and set aside. Add the cream to the remaining liquid in the skillet, stir, and turn off the heat.
*A very astute reader advised me to inform my fellow bloggers to remove the pan from over the heat when adding the rum, as the alcohol could cause flareups.  We do not wish for anyone to combust.  Spontaneously, or otherwise. 

Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, spices, and walnuts in a bowl. In the mixing bowl, combine the bananas, yogurt, eggs, vanilla, and the reserved melted butter. Mix on low for one minutes. The bananas should be lumpy, rather than completely blended. With the mixer running, add the flour mixture all at once, and turn the mixer off as soon as the flour is moistened. The batter should look a little dry in places. Using a spatula, transfer the batter to the loaf pan. Tap the pan to distribute the batter evenly.

Place the pan in the oven, and bake for about one hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack in the pan for 5 minutes; then turn the loaf out onto the wire rack.

While the bread is cooling, make the glaze: Warm the cream mixture in a skillet; cook for 2 to 3 minutes until it’s thick and creamy. Slice the bread and drizzle some of the Foster Cream over each slice. Serve immediately.