Chocolate-coated bananas

I made these sweeties last week for Joni's (Sammy's Godfather) surprise welcome home party. He was away for 3 months on exchange in the U.S. and his devoted wife organised this party when he got back. Soooo good to have him back now! :)

I volunteered to bring dessert and felt very experimental that day. While cracking my brains about what to make, I recalled that German Christmas markets usually sell chocolate-coated fruits (eg. apples, bananas, strawberries etc.)

Thinking that it would be fuss-free to make, I decided to make my favourite chocolate-coated bananas. This would have been a fairly easy recipe BUT I actually managed to burn my chocolate! The long and short story of it was that I was distracted at the exact moment when the chocolate had to be removed from the heat!

My 80+ years old neighbour's caretaker was playing with Sammy while I was preparing the dessert. She walked through my door and asked me if I could help her to wear one of her earrings because Sammy pulled it out while she was carrying him.

Thinking it wouldn't take long, I offered my help but it turned out harder and longer than I thought. Before I knew it, the chocolate turned from a smooth liquid to some lumpy squash. There was absolutely no way I could rescue this thing, so I had to throw it away.

Of course by now we were stuck in the dilemma of "Should we buy some more chocolate while risk being late for the surprise party" or "Let's go empty handed". Hubby in his very cool voice suggested bringing the chilled bananas on sticks as dessert - to which I vehemently objected.

We compromised such that hubby would fetch baby and I to the party venue first while he went to buy more chocolate. Everything worked out in the end because hubby arrived before Joni did and my second attempt at chocolate melting was wayyy more successful than my virgin one. The bananas looked very attractive and were definitely a party pleaser.

One tip though: It would be wise to buy a mixture of regular and dark chocolate for the people who don't like their chocolate too sweet.

The frozen bananas when first taken out from the freezer

Chocolate before it was melted

Melted chocolate before it was burnt

Final product! Looks so colourful and cheery!

Another angle

Chocolate-coated bananas

- 6 bananas, peeled and cut into halves
- 200 grams chocolate (regular & dark)
- A handful of various toppings
- Some sticks

1. Skewer the halved bananas on sticks and freeze them for about 30 minutes.

2. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Use high heat at the beginning, but when the chocolate starts to become a liquid, lower the heat (very important!!) so that the chocolate does not burn accidentally.

3. Coat the bananas with the melted chocolate and decorate them with the toppings

4. Place the banana sticks in a cup either standing up or lying down on an open container.

5. Chill them for a while before serving