banana's, maple, cream, sugar, and deep fried goodness... the what you craving #3 results

well here we are on our third installment of my "what you craving" challenge... and i have to say that this one was lots of fun... everything went awesomely (with the minor exception that my house still smells of frying oil...) but anyways... for this one i went with a combo of lots of ideas that were thrown my way... i know, i know... not the original and intended plan, but you know what... i just couldn't decide... and i was going to make another dish (sticky toffee pudding but with "fun raisins" instead of dates), but i wasnt satisfied with my brandy-soaked raisins (they're not as plumply full of alcohol as i'd like... so it'll just have to wait until every drop of finger licking liquor is absorbed)... that's why i said "fun raisins"... haha!

so... a lot of people had mentioned "maple" and "maple walnut" and i got a "banana" or two thrown in there too... and then i got a request for a "custard or flan"... so with all these fabulous ideas i decided to go crazy and combine them all into a tiny smorgasbord of yumminess...

so i give you...

deep fried bananas and maple-walnut creme brulee... oh! and don't forget the side of cinnamon sugar funnel cake...

hang on a second while i loosen my belt...

some homemade raw vanilla sugar and all my brulee ingredients... yummmm...
for the creme brulee i followed a recipe from a cookbook i have used and over used many a time... my better homes and gardens new cookbook (the 14th edition)... it's just become a staple in this household... it just has lots of yummy and satisfying recipes... and you know what, i haven't been disappointed yet...

ingredients:
2 cups whipping cream
3 tablespoons sugar
6 egg yolks
1/3 cup pure maple syrup or maple-flavored syrup
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
*chopped walnuts

directions:
1. preheat oven to 350 degrees, and place cups or dishes in a 3-quart rectangular baking dish; set aside
2. in a heavy small saucepan, combine whipping cream and the 3 tablespoons sugar; heat over medium heat just until bubbly, stirring occasionally... then remove from heat and set aside
3. meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine egg yolks, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt... beat with a wire whisk just until combined
4. slowly whisk hot whipping cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture
5. place chopped walnuts into the bottom of each cup, and then divide custard mixture among prepared custard cups or souffle dishes covering the walnuts
6. place baking dish on oven rack and pour enough boiling water into the baking dish to reach halfway up the sides of the custard cups or souffle dishes
7. bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until custards appear set when lightly shaken, or when knife inserted into the center comes out clean
8. remove custard cups or souffle dishes from water; cool on a wire rack... then cover and chill for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours

this was the first time i got to use my new butane torch... it was kinda weirdly satisfying to burn things to a crisp with a handheld torch... hope i don't sound too creepy there... haha!

now the deep fried banana's or banana fritters or banana bangin awesomeness came from an online recipe source... a blog called "kitchen unplugged"... and i have to say... these are so easy and so freakin tasty that i'm going to keep this recipe handy for just about any occasion... and the batter that i dipped that bananas in was what i used for the funnel cakes... i just put the leftover batter into a piping bag and went to town...

happy baking everyone!