Sublime Frozen Fruit Art
For anyone that’s visited Disneyland, and for us Southern California residents that’s more often than most, one of the most iconic treats served at the Magic Kingdom are frozen chocolate bananas.
Now these morsels are a treat any time, but they’re especially welcome when the weather gets hot. There’s just something about them (kind of exotic, if you ask me) that pulls me toward the frozen snacks cart at Disneyland. These weren’t ice cream, yet they were frozen. It was something natural and amazing (yeah, I know it’s just a frozen banana, but to a kid there really was something magical about them). There’s also the fact that when these came out of the cart they were rock hard as a result of the dry ice inside. It was a challenge, but also fun, to try to take that first overly-solid bite!
The concept is simple: put a peeled (frozen) banana on a stick. Coat it in chocolate and dip in peanuts. Simple yet spectacular.
The Magical Food Concept Comes Home
For me these were always a once-in-a-while treat, limited to my visits to Disneyland. I never made them at home. I never even thought about it. To me the frozen banana was something that could only be mass produced. The ones at Disneyland come wrapped in plastic package (making them “official”). However, the more I thought about it and the more I read, I saw that many people were making their own versions of this delicacy.
The great thing about making these at home is that you can do them any way you want. For me the biggest drawback to the ones at Disneyland was the thickness of the chocolate coating. It was always to thin. For a chocolate lover more is better. I’d love to bite into a thick, delightfully hard smathering of chocolate on my way to the banana.
Don’t want peanuts? No problem. Roll them in almonds. Or cashews. Or (if you’re into it) Brazil Nuts.
There are many recipes available online, but here’s just one. The author of this blog shares my sentiments, suggesting you can create them in any way you want including in butterscotch sauce or caramel. She may top hers with candy sprinkles or shredded coconut in addition to any type of nuts. The recipe is simple so I won’t replicate it here, just visit her site and enjoy.
Every time I do these I’m transported back to my childhood and great times and memories at Disneyland.