Banana, chocolate and peanut crumble to comfort a sad heart

I have told you several times already how much I love the Internet – this very blog would not exist if it wasn’t for it. On the other side, social networks sometimes make me sad – they make me think about lots of things sometimes.

For instance, I see people from my family sharing loads of photos and thoughts and… I feel like I don’t know those people. I did, in a very distant past, years and years ago, but life has changed so much and I no longer can relate to them – they are like complete strangers. I have a few close and dear friends I consider family much more than the people connected to me by blood – that is comforting, that puts my heart at ease. Those warm feelings make me feel good after dark thoughts cross my mind and usually I look for comfort in food form, too – not ideal, I know, but it is what it is.

Aside from my mom’s rice pudding, nothing comforts me more than a good crumble, eaten straight from the oven with a little cold heavy cream on the side. This time I added almond meal and cocoa to the topping, creating a delicious and tropical combination with the bananas.

Banana, chocolate and peanut crumble
own creation

3 large bananas, ripe yet firm, sliced in 1cm coins

Crumble topping:
1/3 cup (46g) all purpose flour
¼ cup (25g) peanut meal
½ tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
2 tablespoons demerara sugar
¼ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1 ½ tablespoons (21g) unsalted butter, cold and chopped

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Divide the bananas between two 240ml capacity ovenproof ramekins or cups.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, peanut meal, cocoa, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add butter and using your fingertips, rub the ingredients together until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over the bananas and bake for 20-25 minutes or until topping is golden and crispy.
Serve with heavy cream or vanilla ice cream.

Serves 2