Ingredients

Method

• 2 x 500 g frozen all-butter puff pastry packets, thawed
• 1 free-range egg white, beaten
• 200 g sugar
• 3 bananas, sliced
• 1/2 cup milk
• Sea salt, to taste
• 2 cups cream
• Icing sugar, for dusting
• White chocolate shavings, to decorate

Method

Ingredients

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Working with 1 packet of pastry at a time (leave the other in the fridge until ready to use), carefully cut out a 20 cm circle. Repeat with the other packet of pastry. Reserve the off cuts from the pastry and return to the fridge.

Place the pastry circles on a baking tray lined with baking paper and brush the surface with egg white. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until flaky and golden, carefully remove and set aside to cool. Combine the pastry off cuts and roll out as thick as possible and cut out another circle. Bake until golden. Set aside all three pastry discs and allow to cool.

Melt the sugar in a saucepan over a medium heat. Once dissolved, blend the bananas with the milk and add to the sugar, a little at a time, stirring continuously to combine. Cook over a medium to low heat until the mixture turns pale toffee in colour and is smooth. Add sea salt to taste.

Remove the banana toffee from the heat and cool.

To serve, whip the cream and sandwich the pastry with the banana-toffee mixture and whipped cream. Dust with icing sugar and decorate with chocolate shavings.

TASTE's tips for working with puff pastry:

Brushing pastry with beaten egg gives it a golden, shiny crust. Be careful not to get any egg on the sides of the pastry as the layers will stick together and prevent the pastry from puffing evenly.

Thaw frozen puff pastry before using – it should be cold but shouldn’t crack when unrolled. Note that it’s important to work with cold pastry so that the layers rise instantly when they come into contact with the heat of the oven.

Take care not to overwork puff pastry as this will warm it and hinder rising.

Don’t reuse puff pastry once you’ve rolled it – the layers will be damaged. Instead, use off cuts to make shapes with which to to decorate desserts or to dip in chocolate and dust with icing sugar.