Chocolate Turtle Cookies

Warning! These are super rich and delicious and are even more scrummy with lashing of cream.

Ingredients:
125g butter, softened
2/3 cup of sugar
1 egg, separated plus additional egg white
2 tbspns milk
1 tspn vanilla extract
1 cup of plain flour
1/3 cup of cocoa
1/4 tspn of salt
140g pecans, chopped finely
14 soft caramel lollies (I used Werthers Originals but something softer would be better)
3 tbspns of heavy cream

Beat butter and suger until light and fluffy.  Add egg yolk, milk and vanilla and mix well.  Reduce speed to low and add in sifted flour and cocoa and then add in salt.  Mix until just combined then wrap dough into plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour or until firm.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.  Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.  Whisk egg whites in bowl until frothy and place chopped nuts into a separate bowl.  Roll dough into 1 inch balls, dip into egg whites and then roll in pecans.  Place balls 2 inches apart on the baking sheets.  Using a 1/2 teaspon make indentations in the centre of each ball.  Bake for about 10 minutes.

Microwave caramels and cream in a bowl, stirring occassionally until smooth, for about 2-3 minutes (depending on lollies used and microwave).  Gently re-press existing indentations into cookies then fill each with the caramel and cream mixture.  You need to work quickly as the caramel mixture sets fast.  Leave to cool completely on a wire rack, that is if you can resist them that long.

Upside Down Banana Cake

Ingredients:

50g  butter, melted

1/3 cup of soft brown sugar
3 ripe bananas cut lengthways
125g butter, softened
1 1/4 cups of soft brown sugar
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups of self raising flour
1 tspn of baking powder
2 large ripe bananas, mashed

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.  Grease and line a 20cm square cake tin.

Pour the melted butter over the base of the tin and then sprinkle the 1/3 of a cup of sugar.  Arrange the stripes of banana over the brown sugar with good side down.  I cut mine in about 5mm thickness but you can cut into halves if you want a thicker layer of banana.

Beat the butter and sugar using an electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs gradually, beating well after each addition.

Sift in the flour and baking powder and then add the mashed bananas and fold all together.  Carefully spread the mixture into the tin.

Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.  Turn out onot a wire rack to cool.

This is a super delicious take if you have bananas spare and are sick of a plain old banana cake.  Really easy to do and looks super impressive too!  The butter and brown sugar turn into an almost caramel like coating...so good!