Crepes with Bananas and Chocolate Ganache

Copyright 2013 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

The inspiration for this dessert came from Lidia's post on her blog entry which detailed her trip to Antarctica. She featured four dessert recipes and I was drawn to the crepe dessert for two reasons. One, it is easy to make. Two, it has been a while since I've had crepes for dessert so I figured, I could make it for a dinner that I was invited to.  However, she made her crepes with melted chocolate and toasted nuts. At the moment, nuts are not on my list of allowed food items due to my gout so I decided caramelized bananas will do nicely instead. 

For the banana filling, my inspiration came from Sophia Loren's cookbook. However, I simplified it and used a lemon to give it a tangy flavor which balances out the sweetness of the chocolate ganache. Although melted chocolate was already the perfect base for the crepe, I just find it hard to work with so a ganache was the next best thing and in this case, it was actually the better choice. As long as you keep it in liquid form, it can act as both the base and also to drizzle the crepe as a finishing touch.

Crepes with Bananas and Chocolate Ganache - Adapted

Crepes:*
2 eggs
2 cups water
2 tbsp white sugar
2 cups flour
1 tbsp Cognac
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp butter, melted + extra
1/4 tsp salt
zest of one lemon

Caramelized Bananas:
4 Cavendish bananas, peeled and sliced on a diagonal
4-6 tbsp brown sugar
4 tbsp butter
2 tbsp Cognac
juice of one lemon

Chocolate Ganache:
12 oz semisweet chocolate
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp Cognac
1/2 tsp instant coffee

Make the Ganache:
1. Heat the cream over medium low heat in a small pot. Make sure it does 
    not come to a boil. Once heated, add the chocolate and turn off the heat. 

2. Stir until the chocolate is fully melted and continue to mix until a smooth 
    shiny texture is obtained. Add the coffee and Cognac and mix well. Set 
    aside. 

Make the Crepes:
1. Combine the ingredients for the crepe except for the flour. Mix well with 
    a wire whisk. Add the flour a little at a time making sure it gets 
    incorporated into the batter after each addition. 

2. Heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat. Grease with a little bit of 
    butter and add 1/3 cup of crepe batter. Move it around until a thin 
    pancake is obtained. Cook until it starts to turn golden brown. Flip and 
    cook for another minute. 

3. Slide onto a plate and keep making the crepes until all the batter has been 
    used up. 

Make the Caramelized Bananas:
1. Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Fry the banana pieces 
    until slightly browned. 

2. Add the brown sugar and spritz with the lemon juice. Allow to bubble for 
   about 2 minutes. 

3. Add the Cognac and light with a match. Allow to light until the alcohol has 
    been burned off. 

To assemble the crepe, drizzle a good amount of the ganache until the crepe is fully covered. Spoon about 4 banana slices and a bit of the syrup and fold the crepe into fourths. Drizzle with more ganache and top with heavy cream if desired. Serve warm. 

*Lidia Bastianich's Decadent Recipes for the New Year.