Banana Cloud & Nutella {#chocolatelove}

It's February, so chocolate is a must have in the house. We have it all over: in a kitchen drawer (half a bar of white chocolate and a bar of Pomegranate Chocolate from Texas); in the fridge (local raw, vegan Martha's Vineyard chocolate bars that need refrigerating); on top of the bookshelf (one white solid chocolate oyster and a decade of Dylan's Candy chocolate bars); on the coffee table (a clear jar halfway filled with Hershey's Kisses). I kid you not, those are real places right now in our home that house chocolate.

So when Junia told me about the upcoming #chocolatelove, it was obvious that I was in. And then I made something that had not even 4% of the amount of chocolate in the house. Crazy no? Oh, and I forgot to mention the chocolate in the pantry: powdered cocoa, a jar of Nutella, a jar of Peanut Butter and Chocolate Spread, etc. 

Since it's all about #love, I wanted to combine my most loved ingredients: Bananas and Chocolate! This is probably the simplest and most flavorful banana dessert I've ever made. A quick blend of bananas, maple syrup and eggs makes this a velvety custard that when topped with rich Nutella, is an indulgent dessert that you won't feel guilty about. I call it a Banana Cloud because of the texture: fluffy, soft and custardy. Just like I'd imagine a cloud tasting like!

Banana Cloud & Nutella

Serves 2-4

2 extra ripe bananas

2 tablespoons organic maple syrup

2 medium sized eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 325F degrees.  Set out 2-4 ramekins on a baking sheet. (Amount of ramekin depends on size)
2. In a blender or using an immersion blender, whip all the ingredients together for 1 minute.
3. Pour banana cloud batter into greased ramekins and bake for 15-20 minutes or until it creates a small dome. Carefully test for doneness because this is a very delicate dessert.
4. Serve with a teaspoon of Nutella while warm.

What's your favorite way to garnish with chocolate? Do you grate chocolate on top? Swirl in a batter? Sprinkle on cupcakes? Such a versatile ingredient that can be either the main focus or a small detail in a dessert! One of my favorite chocolate cookbooks is Chocolates and Confections: Formula, Theory, and Technique for the Artisan Confectioner by Peter P. Greweling and The Culinary Institute of America, which I definitely recommend! 

February is #chocolatelove month!

Please join in on the #chocolatelove fun by linking up any chocolate recipe from the month of Februrary 2012.  Don't forget to link back to this post, so that your readers know to come stop by the #chocolatelove event!  The twitter hashtag is #chocolatelove.

Cohosted by: 

A Little Bit of Everything, Astig Vegan, Badger Girl Learns to Cook, Baker Street, Baking and Cooking A Tale of Two Loves, Baking Extravaganza, BigFatBaker, Bon a Croquer, CafeTerraBlog, Cake Duchess, Cakeballs Cookies and More, Cooking with Books, Creative Cooking Corner, Easily Good Eats, Elephant Eats, Georgie Cakes, Hobby and More, Java Cupcake, Kitchen Belleicious, Mike's Baking, Mis Pensamientos, No One Likes Crumbley Cookies, Oh Cake, Preheat the Oven, Rico sin Azucar, Savoring Every Bite, Simply Reem, Smart Food and Fit, Soni's Food for Thought, Sprint 2 the Table, Teaspoon of Spice, That Skinny Chick Can Bake!!!, The Dusty Baker, The More than Occasional Baker, The Spicy RD, The Wimpy Vegetarian, Vegan Yak Attack!, Vegetarian Mamma, You Made That?

Remember to enter to win Guylian Belgian Chocolates, Chocolate Oysters, Not Your Sugar Mamas Raw Chocolate from Martha's Vineyard and a #love treat from Inedible Jewelry over at my Foodie Giveaway Extravaganza!