Rum, Caramel and Meringue Semifreddo

I love ice-cream. I like it soft and a little melty and any flavour will usually suffice. Maybe it's this hot humid weather that we experience this time of year in the north but I have been indulging in ice cream more than usual lately. I have a great recipe that I usually use to make a super delicious, super easy home ice-cream but have ventured out a little and found a different version that is still easy and yummo.

This recipe is a combination of a Caramel Semifreddo and Nigella's Meringue Gelato Cake. I added some rum ('tis the season) and created a delicious frozen dessert. You can call it anything really I won't hold it against you semifreddo, gelato or ice-cream. I'm sure there are proper definitions of each but it's all the same when its in my belly! The meringue gives it a little crunch of texture which I don't mind in ice-cream, and rum + caramel = great combination! Enjoy! Oh and apologies for the terrible photos, not my best effort :(

Rum, Caramel and Merengue Semifreddo

Adapted from Australia's Sweet Baking Favourites and Nigella.com

What you will need

4 eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar
300ml thickened cream
1 can caramel top 'n' fill (or a tin of condensed milk boiled to caramel)
30mls rum
100g crushed meringues

What you will need to do

In a small bowl, whisk the caramel with the rum until smooth. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale and creamy. Add the cream and beat until thick. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg white mixture into egg yolk mixture until just combined. Gently fold through spoonfuls of the caramel mixture and merengues until just combined, do not over mix. Pour mixture into a pan with at least 2l capacity. Freeze overnight.

Choc Chip Banana Bread

I love a nice slice of banana bread, toasted with a bit of butter. But you know what is even better? Banana bread with a sprinkling of choc chips! Most people I mention this recipe to react with 'That's unusual!', but I grew up making choc chip banana muffins so this combination seems pretty common.

This recipe is a great way to use up old bananas and is so easy to make. You pretty much just mix the wet and dry ingredients together then bake. It would make a great  recipe to introduce children to baking as you can do it all by hand and they will only need help with the oven.

I decided to make half of the flour wholemeal to try and add a bit of 'health' factor to the recipe but I should have upped the milk or butter a bit as I feel it lost some of the moisture (wholemeal absorbs more liquid than white) so after being in the fridge for a few days it did taste a bit dry. Feel free to experiment by increasing the liquid a bit, if you do let me know how it goes! Next time I make it I know I will tinker with it a bit more.

Choc Chip Banana Bread

Adapted from Australia's Sweet Baking Favourites by Nestle

What you will need

1 cup plain white flour
1 cup plain wholemeal flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 bag choc chips
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
2 large mashed bananas
50g melted butter

What you will need to do

Preheat the oven to 180*C and prepare a loaf tin by spraying the inside with cooking oil. In a bowl, combine the flours, sugar and choc chips (reserve a handful to sprinkle over the top). In a separate bowl combine the eggs, milk, bananas and butter. Add to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Pour into prepared tin and sprinkle the reserved choc chips over the top. Bake for approximately 40 mins or until the centre is fully cooked (check with skewer or cake tester).

Remove from oven and let cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning out on to wire to cool completely.