Dark Chocolate Soup & Cinnamon-Toasted Pound-Cake Croutons
Adapted from: Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey: Desserts for the Serious Sweet Tooth by Jill O'Connor
Caramelized Banana's Adapted From: Jacques Torres



Dark Chocolate Soup with Cinnamon-Toasted Pound-Cake Croutons
with Jacques Torres Caramelized Banana's



First prepare the banana's as they have to cool

For the Caramelized Bananas:

4 large bananas, peeled and diced {used 2}
1/4 cup dark rum {used full amount}
1/2 cup sugar {used full amount}
1 tablespoon unsalted butter {used full amount}


Prepare the caramelized bananas:

Place the diced bananas in a medium-sized mixing bowl with the rum and toss to coat. Set aside to let macerate at room temperature while you prepare the caramel.
Heat a heavy-bottomed frying pan over medium-high heat. If it starts to smoke, it is too hot and you need to run it under cool water, dry it, and start again. When it is warm sprinkle the sugar into the pan. Try to keep the sugar in an even layer to allow it all to caramelize at the same time. As soon as you see the sugar begin to melt, start moving the pan over the burner to keep the sugar from burning. Tilt the pan from side to side so that the melted sugar runs over the unmelted sugar. Cook until all of the sugar is a light golden brown. Chef Torres usually adds a tablespoon of butter at this stage because it makes the caramel smoother. Add the bananas and rum and spread evenly in the pan. When cooking with alcohol, there is always the chance of it catching on fire, so be very careful when adding the rum. Continue to cook until almost all of the liquid has evaporated and the bananas are soft but not mushy; they should still hold their shape. Remove from the heat and pour the caramelized bananas onto a plate. Cover with plastic wrap and let cool for about 20 minutes. Covering the hot bananas with plastic wrap keeps the caramel from drying as it cools.

Chocolate Soup
Serves 8

Ingredients:
½ cup sugar {used full amount}
¼ cup water {used full amount}
Pinch of salt
6 cups half-and-half {used 2 cups heavy cream and 1 cup half and half}
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder {omitted}
1 1/2 pounds bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped {Used Godiva dark chocolate bars}
Cinnamon-Toasted Pound-Cake Croutons (recipe follows){cheated and used a Sara Lee Pound Cake}
8 scoops vanilla ice cream{omitted}

Directions:

Combine the sugar and water in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook, swirling gently from time to time, until the sugar is dissolved. Increase the heat to high and boil until the syrup turns a deep amber color, about 4 to 5 minutes. (Watch carefully, as it can burn quickly.) Immediately remove the pan from the heat and stir in the salt and half-and-half. Bring the mixture just to a gentle boil, stirring to dissolve the caramel into the half-and-half, about 2 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in the espresso powder and chopped chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

Divide the soup among 8 shallow soup bowls. Carefully place a scoop of vanilla ice cream in the center of each bowl and float 4 pound-cake croutons around each scoop of ice cream. Serve immediately.
Cinnamon-Toasted Pound Cake Croutons

Instead of plain, square croutons, feel free to use a heart, star or other cookie cutter to give your croutons a more fanciful shape.

Makes 32 croutons

Ingredients:

1 loaf (8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inches)

My Favorite Cream Cheese Pound Cake or purchased pound cake

1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat the broiler.
Cut a razor-thin slice from both ends of the pound cake to reveal the interior. Cut the trimmed loaf of pound cake into 8 equal slices. Trim each slice to form perfect, uniform, squares.
Stir the sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl.
Brush both sides of the pound cake slices with the melted butter and sprinkle generously with the cinnamon-sugar. Place the slices on a large baking sheet and broil until the sugar on top starts to bubble and turn brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and turn the slices over to broil the second sides in the same way. Transfer the sheet to a wire rack to cool.
Use a serrated knife to carefully cut each slice into 4 equal squares