Chocolate, Salted Caramel & Banana Mess

Ingredients

Contains: egg, milk (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

• ½ vanilla pod, scraped of seeds
• 150ml double cream
• 2 ready-made meringue nests, crumbled into chunks
• 2 bananas, sliced
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 3 tbsp double cream
• 1 tbsp butter
• pinch of sea salt flakes
• 2 tbsp full-fat milk
• 1 tbsp double cream
• 50g dark chocolate, broken into small pieces

Directions

Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.

1. Scrape the seeds from the half vanilla pod. Pour the 150ml double cream into a bowl, add the vanilla seeds, and whisk to soft peaks. Chill until needed.

2. Put the caster sugar in a small heavy pan over medium heat and leave it undisturbed until it melts and turns golden amber, about 4 minutes.

3. Remove from the heat, add the butter and 3 tbsp double cream, and stir carefully until smooth. Stir in a pinch of sea salt flakes and set aside to cool slightly.

4. Put the dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl with the 2 tbsp full-fat milk and 1 tbsp double cream. Set over a pan of barely simmering water and stir until smooth and glossy, then remove from the heat.

5. Slice the bananas and divide them between two glasses or bowls. Crumble the meringue nests into chunks and scatter them over the bananas.

6. Spoon over the salted caramel, then add spoonfuls of the whipped cream, and finish with the chocolate sauce. Serve straight away while the meringue is still crisp.