Say Hello to the Queen!

The other day I was scrolling through WordPress Reader, looking at posts of blogs I follow, when a "suggested" one popped up. It was actually a political rant from England, but it mentioned a dessert I'd never heard of before: Hello to the Queen. The narrative suggested that it was well known so I Googled it. It turns out it's a dish that served in the touristy places where backpackers in India hang out. I searched a bit and found it mentioned in a handful of blogs. The consensus seemed to be that once a guy from Israel asked for all the ingredients in this sundae  - only in huge amounts. He put it all together and gave it a grand name. Other travelers thought it looked pretty good and so it became a common request along the hiking circuit in India. As far as I could tell it always has a base of a broken up Digestive brand biscuit or a graham cracker square, followed by warm chocolate sauce, caramelized bananas, vanilla ice cream, and finished with whipped cream. I read that some include chocolate chips, nuts, and even marshmallows - so I think anything goes.  It's so easy kids can make it if an adult helped them with the caramelized bananas.  Below is a no frills recipe for caramelizing the bananas as well as the steps in assembling this super easy glorified banana split. P.S. This was the most visited post I ever had- it got over 10 thousand hits - Ha!

Easy Caramelized Bananas  

Place 1/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar and a couple bananas that have been cut in half and then lengthwise into a stick proof skillet. Gently give just a stir or two while the butter and sugar melt over medium high heat.  

Let the banana pieces sit undisturbed in the melted mixture for about 5 minutes a side or until they are lightly browned. Be careful when turning the banana piece over so it will stay together. 

Directions for Assembling Hello to the Queen:

Break up a Digestive biscuit or graham cracker square in the bottom of each serving bowl.

Drizzle one tablespoon of  warm chocolate sauce over the biscuit.

Add two caramelized banana slices to each bowl.

Set a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

                 

 

 Heap on the whipped cream.

Drizzle another tablespoon of chocolate sauce over the top and dig in!