Death row inmates often ask for a thick, juicy steak dinner for their last meal...or turkey dinner with all the fixings - or so I've heard...I don't actually associate with death row inmates. But if I could choose my last meal -and I'm talking to my kids here, so listen up...this would be it!! When I'm in the home...when drooling is my only form of exercise...when my teeth spend more time in a glass than in my mouth...when there are tubes in every orifice and the pace maker ain't keeping pace...this is what I'll want...Banana Fritters With Edna's Hot Fudge Sauce...and kids, whatever you do, don't wipe the spills off my face - let me go out in a blaze of hot fudge glory! In the meantime - between now and my untimely demise (any demise of mine is sure to be untimely) I would like to request this for every birthday, holiday, and celebration of any kind..this dessert is a party all by itself but with balloons and sparklers, well, you've got something WORTH dying for - said the diabetic to her coma! (Don't worry ma, I only had ONE itsy-bitsy fritter - hardly worth wasting a test strip on!)
This is a two step deal...first you make Edna's hot fudge sauce. Edna is Edna McKuen, mother of the Aussie and she is a force to be reckoned with. She is up before the roosters and works like a tornado all day long, and nothing escapes her...not a cobweb, not a smudge on a window, not a crumb on the floor... she is a cleaning machine and can out shop any Mall rat this side of the Pacific...but in between the cleaning/organizing/shopping she has a heart the size of the Outback and willingly serves her family, friends and total strangers without batting an eye. In my next life I'd like to be Edna but I know I could never keep up! Plus, she makes one heckova fudge sauce!
The second part of this amazing dessert are the fritters...bananas dipped in a sweet, lite batter and fried to perfection....OH MY STARS!!! If the ol' Dang Meter could ring out SIX dangs it would be doing it loudly! Folks, if you like bananas...and if you like chocolate...then you're going to LOVE these...Amen. And Amen.
As if you need any more convincing let me just tell you that the mister, the dessert racist, (he only eats white desserts...lemon, coconut and the likes) ate this and MOANED...loudly...over and over again while his beloved little pet, Caesar Beezer the Wonder Dog whined for a taste...the mister LICKED his bowl clean and Caesar got nothing. Between the moaning and the whining it was like listening to an episode of Sex In the City Meets Animal Planet!
Banana Fritters With Edna's Hot Fudge Sauce - Adapted from Edna McKuen, The Aussie's Mum
(The Aussie said, "This is my mother's secret recipe - we always thought we would bottle this." If YOU bottle this be sure to give Edna and the Aussie a percentage, along with yours truly, as a finder's fee!)
Edna's Hot Fudge Sauce:
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 can (condensed milk can) water
6 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 heaping tablespoon cocoa powder
Place all ingredients in the top of a double boiler on medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Stir occasionally until mixture is smooth and without any lumps. Remove from heat.
Banana Fritters:
1 1/3 cups flour
pinch of salt
2 large eggs, divided
1/3 cup sugar, divided
1 cup milk
4 to 5 bananas, peeled and sliced in thirds
vegetable oil for frying
Whipped cream for serving and/or Vanilla Ice Cream
Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl and stir in half the sugar. Separate the eggs and set the egg whites aside. Combine the egg yolks with the milk and beat into the flour until smooth. Cover and allow to rest for 30 minutes. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg whites with the remaining sugar until soft peaks form, then fold into the batter.
Heat the oil in a deep sauce pan or skillet over a medium-high heat.
Dip the bananas into the batter and coat well, allowing excess to drip off, then put into hot oil, 4 to 5 at a time for 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown and crisp, then turn over until the other side is golden brown and crisp. Remove fritters with a slotted spoon to paper toweling to drain and cool. Serve fritters with a generous helping of Edna's Hot Fudge Sauce and if desired, top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Serves 4 to 6 - but you'll have extra Hot Fudge Sauce and it will keep in the fridge for up to two weeks, if it lasts that long! Once the Hot Fudge Sauce is refrigerated it will thicken up quite a bit, to thin it, put it back in a saucepan over low heat and stir in some cream...real cream, not milk, but I guess if you're desperate you could use milk!
"All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
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One year ago today: Black Bean Soup With Cilantro Lime Sour Cream
