Toffee banana

Toffee banana is a classic Chinese dessert. Slices of banana are battered and deep-fried, then coated in toffee and sesame seeds making them deliciously crisp. You could also try this recipe with other fruit, such as apple or pineapple.

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 50 g self-raising flour 
• 25 g cornflour, plus extra for dusting 
• 90 ml cold water 
• vegetable oil, for deep-frying 
• 2 bananas, thickly sliced diagonally 
• 120 g white sugar 
• black and white sesame seeds, for sprinkling 
• ice-cream, to serve

Instructions

To make the batter, whisk together the self-raising flour and cornflour, then add the water and mix until smooth. Stir in 1 tsp of vegetable oil.

Fill a wok or deep-fryer one-third full of vegetable oil and heat to 190°C. Toss the banana slices in the extra cornflour to lightly coat. Using a bamboo skewer, dip each banana slice in the batter. Cook in the hot oil, in batches, until golden and crisp. Drain on paper towel.

Place the sugar in a large, heavy-based frying pan over medium heat and cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until a caramel forms. Remove from the heat, then working quickly and one at a time, add the fried banana to the caramel and turn to coat. Drop into a large bowl of iced water to "set" the caramel. Drain immediately, then sprinkle with black and white sesame seeds. Serve with ice-cream.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.