It can be annoying buying bananas only for them to begin to go brown and spotty after a few days, but there is a delicious way to use them without throwing them in the bin.
Rather than making banana bread, Nigella Lawson has a simple recipe on how to bake a banana toffee cheesecake that only takes 10 minutes to prepare.
Nigella said: “I love the way a handful of mournfully overripe, positively unprepossessing bananas give rise to this vulgarly triumphant cha-cha-cha of a cheesecake.
“Well, it is a cheesecake, but the texture is not the usual smooth cream; rather, it is aerated and moussy and as light as its perfume is, contrariwise, compellingly heady.”
This is the perfect recipe for when you want to use up any ripe bananas and want to make something mouthwatering and delicious that is guaranteed to warm you up on a cold autumn evening.
Method
Preheat the oven to 170C (150C fan or gas mark 3).
Boil the kettle and wrap the outside of the cake tin in a double layer of ovenproof cling film. The casing will protect the cheesecake when it bakes in hot water later.
To make the biscuit base: Mix together the digestive biscuits with butter until it is just beginning to clump, then press it into the bottom of the cake tin, then place the tin in the fridge.
To make the cheesecake filling: First, mash the bananas with a fork. Then place in a bowl with the lemon juice.
Place the cream cheese into a separate bowl or food processor and mix until smooth, then add the cream and sugar. Pour the mashed banana mixture into the cream cheese mixture and stir until smooth.
Take the well-wrapped cheesecake tin out of the fridge and pour the cheesecake filling into it.
Sit the cake tin in the centre of a roasting tray and pour the recently boiled water into the tray until it comes halfway up the cake tin.
Place the tray in the oven and cook for one hour and 10 minutes. Check on the cheesecake after a hour and it should be set on top but will a hint of a wobble.
Once ready, remove the tray from the oven and take the tin out of the tray. Carefully peel the clingfilm off the cake tin and leave to cool.
After the cheesecake has cooled place it in the fridge overnight, but do not cover it until it has fully chilled.
To make the toffee sauce: Melt the butter and golden syrup together in a saucepan on a low heat.
Once the toffee mixture begins to bubble, leave it to cook for one to two minutes until it is a foamy amber-coloured sauce.
When you are ready to eat take the cheesecake out of the fridge 30 minutes before serving it, remove it from the cake tin and drizzle a generous amount of toffee sauce on top.
