Nutella Banana Cocoa Crumble Bars

I named these to bare all.  It kinda sounds like a catchy new cereal name.  I can tell you that all my taste testers agreed, that these were divine.  I have my sweet mojo flowing and this was another visionary recipe that just worked the way I wanted it to and exceeded expectations!  You can taste every ingredient in these bars and together they melt in your mouth as one chocolately hazelnut banana bite.  Their humble appearance masks a rich taste but they are not a sugary or buttery dessert.  As you can see the bananas and the Nutella are whipped together to form a luscious layer over a hazelnut shortbread.  I wanted to keep this more on the chocolate side so I decided to try out a cocoa crumble by simply adding unsweetened cocoa powder to a super crumble topping recipe I usually use.  These are not difficult to make, but do have three separate layers to prep for, so plan ahead and get organized.  By far, these are so worth the extra effort! 

Nutella Banana Cocoa Crumble Bars

Crust:  adapted from Dave Lieberman’s Chocolate Dipped Hazelnut Shortbread Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup husked hazelnuts , roasted for 10 minutes at 350, cool
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

1. Place hazelnuts in blender or food processor and pulse to coarse bits; set aside. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt to blend; set aside.

2. Beat butter and sugar together until smooth. Beat in egg. Add vanilla. Gradually beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Add ¾ cup chopped hazelnuts and mix until distributed evenly throughout.

3. Chilled dough for about 30 minutes.  Spread evenly in an 8x8 baking pan lined with parchment paper.
To make this easier, lay a piece of wax paper or saran wrap on top and use a small rolling pin or water glass to evenly spread the dough.  Prick the dough with a fork to prevent it from getting to puffy.
Bake until firm, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on rack.

Banana Nutella Filling:

3 large ripe bananas, peeled and sliced in ¼ inch rounds
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter cut into ½ inch cubes
3 T dark brown sugar
1T Frangelico or hazelnut liqueur ( dark rum could do)
½ t pineapple or banana rum (optional)
cinnamon (to taste)
1 cup of Nutella
1 egg, room temperature
3T heavy cream (whole milk or ½ and ½ will do)

1.  In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine butter and brown sugar.  Add the banana slices. When the mixture begins to simmer, add the booze and a tablespoon of the cream.  Turn heat down and sauté the bananas until they are soft and somewhat caramelized.   Remove from heat and transfer to a medium bowl.  2. After the mixture has slightly cooled, add ¼ cup of the Nutella to the bananas.  Using a hand blender or whisk, blend the two together.  Add the remaining Nutella, cream, and egg, whisk until smooth. Set aside.

Cocoa Crumble:
½ cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4c granulated sugar
1/4t salt
1t cinnamon
1/8t cayenne pepper
1/4c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 stick of unsalted butter, melted
1 1/4c all purposep flour
¼c chopped hazelnuts

1. In a medium bowl, sift the flour and the cocoa powder together.  In another bowl, combine sugars, salt, cinnamon.  Add the melted butter to the sugar mixture and stir until combined.  Fold in the flour and cocoa until they are absorbed.  Add the nuts and stir until distributed evenly.  The mixture will be similar to a dry, thick paste.  Let it set up for about 15-20 minutes stir and you will have big clumps of crumbs!

Assembling the bar:

1.  Spread the banana/Nutella mixture evenly over the top of the shortbread base.  Distribute the crumble evenly over the top.   Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the filling has set slightly and the nut have slightly toasty look.  Place on rack to cool.  Cut into desired size bar when still slightly warm.  When completely cooled, cover tightly and store in the refrigerator.  

Let sit at room temperature for about 15-20 minutes (if you can wait) to serve after refrigerating. 
Devour within 3 days.