On a cold Australian day inside Kirsten Tibballs’ household, there’s one comforting treat that warms everyone up – an indulgent, melting, .
“I make this dish at home for my son,” the Chocolate Queen tells SBS. “It’s a great breakfast alternative. There’s nothing better than to start the day with a little bit of chocolate.”
The chocolatier seems filled with joy when she thinks about the times she’s made the toastie for her boy. That’s because she’s a self-confessed “feeder”: someone who offers love to those close and near through the act of cooking. “I just love nurturing my son through food.”
Tibballs’ explains that her chocolate and banana toastie is a newer recipe designed to provide other ‘feeders’ throughout Australia with a sense of delight and eaters with a feeling of warmth. After all, the dish is made with chocolate and, as Tibballs says, “chocolate makes you happy”.
“Chocolate is a special treat, an indulgence, a ‘sometimes food’ that makes you feel good. It makes me happy to make things for people but it also makes me happy when I'm eating chocolate and other desserts as well.”
Chocolate, made easy
If chocolate has the power to inspire happiness, then Tibballs’ chocolate and banana toastie should generate a collective joy. The recipe is so simple that it’s accessible. Home cooks of all skills levels can make it and feel inner satisfaction.
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Chocolate toastie
“I like to make dishes that inspire people that are aspirational,” says the pastry chef. “But I also like to make dishes that are achievable. My chocolate and banana toastie is really quite easy to make. It’s a dish that any home cook can do and I love it when people recreate my recipes.”
I like to make dishes that inspire people that are aspirational. But I also like to make dishes that are achievable.
To whip up your own version of Tibballs’ toastie, all you need are a few basic ingredients: bread, eggs, salt, cinnamon, milk, condensed milk and banana.
“First, you have to make the coating mixture for the bread using eggs, salt, cinnamon, condensed milk and milk. Mix those together.
“Then, get your bread ready. It's better to use stale bread because it provides a crunchier taste. Soak your bread in the condensed milk mixture and then, toast the bread on both sides. The outside of the bread should end up being very crunchy and the inside will be quite tender.”
Finally, get your chocolate and banana slices ready. All that’s left to do is assemble the toastie while the bread is still hot. The Chocolate Queen recommends sprinkling chocolate buttons or shards on the bread so they melt with residual heat and then ooze down the side of the toast.
“I think there is a misconception that you need a lot of skill to attempt to make anything with chocolate. But in this scenario, all you're doing is sprinkling chocolate on hot bread. You're either taking a block of chocolate and chopping it up, or you're taking a bag of chocolate buttons and sprinkling them on bread. That’s all you have to do. It’s really that achievable."
Storage matters
Tibballs reminds cooks to always store chocolate correctly so their toastie peaks at maximum flavour.
“Chocolate absorbs moisture from the atmosphere, which then can make it challenging to melt. It also absorbs aromas. For example, if you have an open block of chocolate that’s sitting next to cinnamon, it will take on a cinnamon flavour. That’s why it’s really important to keep your chocolate packet well sealed.”
Once you’ve mastered Tibballs’ toastie, the chocolate-coated marshmallow sky is the limit. If you’d like to further develop your chocolatier skills, Tibballs recommends having regular practice and instruction.
“If you're very interested in knowing more, you can do a little bit of experimenting yourself.
"But if you have the opportunity to ever do a class or see a workshop in person, you'd be amazed at the sort of tips you'll pick up. Once you learn these tips, they’ll stick with you forever.”
Even if the cooking lessons you learn are simple, it all counts in the kitchen. Just like Tibballs' chocolate and banana toastie, it’s the simple things in life that often make all the difference.
You can see Kirsten Tibballs putting together these comforting toasties and more at this year's Good Food & Wine Show in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. You can find out about or enter .
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