Banana and Creamed Cheese Fritters

If you're a banana lover, you'll adore these battered, deep-fried bananas with creamed-cheese filling. If you're on a weight-loss plan or obsessed with fitness and exercise, forget this recipe. This dessert will absolutely not fit into your calorie budget. Keep some bananas at the ready in an airtight container in the freezer. Try serving them mid-afternoon for a yummy treat with the kids, or share some with friends over morning coffee. The following recipe will make 6 desserts.

Ingredients:

6 small, ripe bananas, peeled and frozen

1 handful of raisins

1 package of softened Philly cheese

1/3 cup of sugar

2 tbs vanilla

1 egg

Preparing The Creamed Cheese Filling:

-Combine the Philly cheese, vanilla, sugar and egg and beat with an electric mixer for 3 minutes or until smooth and blended well. Set aside.

Assembly:

-Remove the bananas from the freezer, and roll each one into the cream cheese filling. Make sure they are coated all over

-Sprinkle raisins over the coated bananas so they stick onto the creamed cheese filling. Lay them on a tray and return them to the freezer for 30 minutes to allow the creamed cheese to stiffen

Batter:

1 cup of plain flour

1 tsp of baking powder

1 egg

1 cup of milk

2 tbs of vegetable oil

1/4 tsp of pumpkin pie spice, or alternatively, 1/8 tsp of cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg

-Combine all of the batter ingredients into a bowl and beat until smooth. Allow the mixture to sit for 30 minutes until the bananas have chilled

Frying Preparation:

-Pre heat a fresh batch of frying oil. Oil which has been used for cooking fries or other savory foods will contain flavors which will ruin the taste of your dessert

-Remove the bananas from the freezer and dip each one into the batter. Make sure they are completely battered all over. Drop each of them into the frying oil once the oil has begun to bubble and makes a slight hissing sound. You can test it is hot enough beforehand by dropping ½ tsp of batter into the oil. If it bubbles and floats to the top, the oil is ready to use

-Allow them to fry for at least 5 minutes, then gently roll each one over with a wooden spoon

-When the bananas are a golden to mid brown, remove them immediately. Or, you can also wait until you see tiny specks of the creamed cheese filling begin to pop through the batter. When this occurs, remove them quickly!

-Once removed from the oil, drain on a paper towel and roll each banana in powdered sugar.

One banana cooked this way is very satisfying. You may wish to cut them into halves. Do this before initially freezing your bananas to avoid a messy cleanup afterwards.

For that special occasion, try serving these with a chilled glass of Pinot Grigio. This superb wine is made by Yellow Tail of Australia. The grapes are grown in the famous wine growing district of the Riverina , New South Wales.

You can purchase Yellow Tail Wines by visiting the following link:

http://www.yellowtailwine.com/