Chocolate-Banana Tempura with Ice Cream and Caramel

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For Top Chef Winner Hung Huynh's Asian take on a banana split, halved bananas are stuffed with bittersweet chocolate, coated in a light tempura batter and fried until golden. The indulgent dessert is finished with rum-spiked caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream.Plus: More Dessert Recipes and Tips

Total Time:
35 mins
Yield:
4

Ingredients

Caramel Sauce

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 1/4 cup heavy cream

  • 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

  • 3 tablespoons dark rum

  • 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier

  • One 1/4-inch-thick slice of peeled fresh ginger

  • 1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped

Bananas

  • 4 large bananas

Bananas

  • 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate bar, cut into eight 2-by-1/4-inch-wide sticks

Bananas

  • 1 cups cake flour

Bananas

  • 1/4 cup cornstarch

Bananas

  • 1 tablespoon baking powder

Bananas

  • 1 teaspoon salt

Bananas

  • 1 1/4 cups chilled club soda

Bananas

  • Vegetable oil, for frying

Bananas

  • Vanilla ice cream, for serving

Directions

  1. In a medium saucepan, combine the butter with the cream, brown sugar, rum, Grand Marnier, ginger and vanilla bean and seeds. Cook over moderately high heat until thickened, about 5 minutes. Strain the sauce into a bowl and keep warm.

  2. Peel and halve the bananas crosswise and cut each piece lengthwise three-quarters of the way through. Stuff each banana with a piece of chocolate.

  3. In a large pot, heat 2 inches of vegetable oil to 350°. Put 1/4 cup of the cake flour in a shallow bowl. In a medium bowl, mix the remaining 1 1/2 cups of cake flour with the cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Stir in the club soda just until incorporated; the tempura batter will be lumpy.

  4. Dust each stuffed banana with the cake flour in the bowl, then coat with the tempura batter. Carefully add the bananas to the oil and fry, turning a few times, until lightly golden, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bananas to paper towels to drain. To serve, arrange the banana halves in shallow bowls with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and top with the caramel sauce.

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