Chocolate Covered Banana Popsicle

You may be wondering how a frozen banana can be that incredible, but somehow it tastes like a delicious ice cream treat. I had my first taste of this yummy creation in a small gelato shop in Covent Garden (London). And I was blown away by the thick chocolate coating and the pistachio toppings. I know this is a popular summer snack in the US but I have no idea if this is being sold here in Manila.  Anyway, this is freaking easy to make so I decided to make my own. 

I topped mine with bittersweet chocolate sprinkles, and chopped cashew nuts (hmmmm...just need to add a bit of a Pinoy touch), but feel free to get creative! Quick, super easy and beyond delicious, these chocolate-covered banana popsicles will definitely satisfy your sweet tooth.  I love them! Best of all, you can customize them to your liking - milk or dark chocolate, nuts or no nuts. Kids would have fun making (and eating) them too!

But anyways, I’ll stop talking...hahaha...these are delicious and you will love them! Here’s the recipe.

These are the ingredients I used to make the banana pops (ignore the orange fruit, I initially wanted to make an orange-flavored dip but I decided against it at the last minute.)

Before I proceed, I would just like to remind you my dear readers that I cut the recipe in half so that you can easily follow and make it. I used a dozen bananas for my popsicles and tripled the recipe, but if you’re feeling excited, please feel free to do that too.  

Ingredients:
4 pieces medium ripe but firm bananas
8 pieces wooden craft sticks
1 cup finely chopped cashew nuts
1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tbsp butter (this will help thin the melted chocolate and will make it silky, but this is optional)

Directions:
1. Peel, then cut each banana in half crosswise and insert a craft stick into each half.  Place on a tray lined with wax paper (or you can also use parchment paper) and place in the freezer until frozen, about 3 hours. (I left my bananas in the freezer overnight. Do not freeze the bananas in a Ziplock, else, ice particles will form. 

2. Place the cashew nut in a shallow dish or a plate.

3. Using a double boiler, melt the chocolate over slightly simmering water, over the lowest possible heat stirring frequently.  Make sure the water is not touching the bottoms of top pan (or bowl). When the chocolate looks all smooth, turn off the heat. This whole process should take about 3 minutes.

Double Boiler -- I used a sauce pot and put in 1 cup of water. While simmering, not boiling, I placed the glass bowl (should be bigger in size than the sauce pot) on top of the pot making sure it fits snugly. :-) 

4. Pour the melted chocolate into a tall glass (or you can use the same glass bowl). Dip the frozen bananas one at a time into the melted chocolate, turning it to coat, and immediately roll in the cashew nuts. (I also dipped my bananas in chocolate sprinkles).
Note: It’s important that the bananas are frozen so that the melted chocolate hardens right away.

Get the ingredients ready - take the frozen bananas out of the freezer. Miss en place...always.

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5. Place on a tray covered in waxed paper. Serve immediately or wrap individually in a plastic wrap or wax paper and freeze for up to 2 weeks.

Let’s go bananas...!!! For questions and queries, please send a comment.