You know there are some days when nothing but chocolate will do? Well, I’ve been having that a lot lately – it’s all about the chocolate, and the bananas. These weekend I’m migrating away from chocolate and banana porridge in favour of something a little more fancy looking. The past few weeks have been pretty hectic, which led to an impromptu week away from the blog, but it’s felt good to be back in the kitchen. Nothing says weekend like baking in your pajamas.

So it’s full steam ahead now, and this weekend I discovered an amazing baking tray liner that filo doesn’t stick to, after a string of sticking catastrophes every time I’ve cooked with filo. My boyfriend’s mum gave it to me a while ago but it had been tucked away in one of my boxes of stuff that won’t fit in the kitchen, and was brought down to battle with the terror that is filo-greaseproof adhesion, which, despite extensive googling, I’d never been able to solve. But here we go – the Lakeland silicone baking mat (available here in various colours) is magic. Not a hint of sticking. Didn’t even have to get a palate knife involved.

When I rolled the wrap, I’d totally forgotten that bananas kind of expand when baked…which resulted in a teeny bit of popping out the side of the wrap in a slightly Alien-esque manner. I’d definitely recommend a looser wrap if this bothers you (it doesn’t affect the taste!). They’re super easy to make and a great way of dealing with those pesky chocolate cravings without being too unhealthy. Win-win, really.

Banana & chocolate filo wraps

Serves 1 – 6pp

Ingredients
2 bananas
1 sheet filo pastry (45g), cut in half
Milk
22g Nutella

Method

Oven: preheated, 160C.

1) First, lay out your filo on a dry surface, and peel your bananas. It’s easier to wrap them if they don’t have the curve in them – cut them into pieces along the curve (the tighter the curve, the more pieces) and flip every other piece to make a straighter shape. Lay on one half of the filo, diagonally and so that the end of the banana just reach the sides of the pastry.
2) Fold over the corner to cover the banana, then use a pastry brush to brush milk over the corners of either end of the banana, and fold them over, creating a covered end.
3) Roll the banana up loosely and use a dab of milk at the end to secure. Repeat with the other banana. Place onto the baking tray, brush the tops with milk, and bake for around 20 minutes or until golden brown.
4) When cooked, melt the Nutella in a small bowl and pour over the top or use as a dip. Enjoy!