Whoa! Homemade Banana Toaster Tarts with Nutella Frosting? Get out! Yet here they are. Fresh from the oven. And although I look back fondly on those legendary store-bought breakfast pastries of my youth – this has got them beaten hands down! The crust is buttery and flaky perfection. Not anything like I remember from childhood. And I stuffed all of that gorgeous crust full of this amazing Banana Jam. That’s right…Banana. Jam. I had no idea Banana Jam even existed! But it does and I am so delighted with it.
And as if that wasn’t enough, these little darlings are heavily drizzled with a luscious Nutella frosting. O.M.G. So I gotta ask….are there any Nutella fans out there? Cause let me tell you I love me some Nutella! I actually didn’t even know it existed until I was living in Ireland and my friend Theresa had a jar. I watched with amazement as she spread it over her toast. I was like “What! You can eat chocolate on toast!” I had no idea it was a thing. Yup, love at first bite. And putting two great tastes like Banana & Nutella together is a no brainer for sure.
It is not by chance that I’m blogging a recipe which features Nutella today. Today February 5th is World Nutella Day. This celebration of all things Nutella was started in 2007 by Sara at Ms. Adventures in Italy and Michelle at Bleeding Espresso as a day to celebrate, get creative with and most importantly, to EAT Nutella.
A couple of years ago, the founders have transferred Nutella Day to Ferrero the companywho owns that most beloved spread. Take a peek at their Facebook page and see how folks are celebrating the day! I love Nutella so I usually try to participate with a Nutella laden recipe every year. One of my favorite Nutella creations was this Nutella, Double Chocolate & Banana Tart which was quite stunning if I do say so myself.
Last year I baked this big ole Malted Nutella & Biscoff Brownie Torte
Then there was this gorgeous Nutella Star Bread:
And some amazing Nutella Chocolate Chip Babka:
And I don’t want to forget these irresistible Salted Peanut Butter & Nutella Sandwich Cookies – sweet salty bliss I tell you!
But let me get back to my featured recipe today: Banana Filled Toaster Tarts with Nutella Frosting. The Husband and I were pretty much rendered speechless at first bite.OMG! Seriously – you will be in Pop Tart heaven! The pastry is to die for. It just melts in your mouth. The ooey-gooey Banana Jam is completely out of this world and that Nutella Drizzle is just sheer perfection! I especially love that this Nutella frosting is a bit like royal frosting, in that it sets up after a few hours. So you can actually stack these Toaster Tarts for storage – as if you will have any left to store after your first bite!
This recipe is pretty easy to make. It does have a lot of steps, but they are worth it. I have included a link at the end of the recipe for an informative video by King Arthur Flour featuring Chef Joanne Chang of Flour Bakery. I highly recommend that you watch it before making the pastry crust. She demonstrates the frissage technique which will prevent you from overworking the dough and will result in those lovely flaky layers of pastry.
I also love this recipe because it is very customizable. Switch up the filling to cinnamon sugar or use any of your favorite jams if banana isn’t your thing. Let your imagination run wild! Whatever you choose, it will undoubtedly elevate the meager Pop Tart. Now don’t get me wrong, I certainly ate my fair share of Pop Tarts when I was a kid. I loved the cinnamon sugar variety and of course the Chocolate Fudge Frosted ones. The Husband and I even currently have a box of Pop Tarts on the top shelf in one of the kitchen cabinets. Though truth be told, they’ve been there untouched for about 12 years now. We call them the Apocalypse Tarts or Pop Tarts of Doom, because it would take that sort of a situation for us to be at all interested in eating them. I guess it is somewhat comforting to know that they are there. But believe me, I predict my Home-made version will not last through the day!
Come to think about it, those tarts from our childhood were not actually very tasty at all, by our grown self’s standards. The crust was kind of cardboard-y and the frosting a tad on the plastic side. Yet you can’t help but look back on them fondly. So these homemade Toaster Tarts will with their tender buttery crust, decadent banana filling and indulgent Nutella topping will put you completely over the moon. Time to enjoy some absolutely deliciously elevated childhood nostalgia. Happy Nutella Day everyone!
Homemade Banana Toaster Tarts with Nutella Frosting
recipe slightly adapted from: King Arthur Flour Nutella Frosting from: Sally’s Baking Addiction
Ingredients:
For the Crust:
- 2 cups (241 grams) All purpose Flour
- 1 tablespoon (11 grams) sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 16 tablespoons (227 grams) unsalted butter, cold, cut into pats
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons (28 grams) milk
For the Filling:
- 8 ounces of Banana Jam (info on where to buy it in links below or substitute in the jam of your choosing)
- 1 Tablespoon Corn Starch
- 1 Tablespoon Cold Water
Alternative Filling:
- 1/2 cup (106g) brown sugar, packed
- 4 teaspoons all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 egg, beaten – to brush over pastry before filling
For the Frosting:
- 1 cups (120 grams) confectioners’ sugar
- 2 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons (50 grams) Nutella
- 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) heavy cream or milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch salt
Directions:
For the dough:
Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Work in the butter until the mixture holds together when you squeeze it, with pecan-sized lumps of butter still visible. Mix the egg and milk, and add it to the dough, mixing just until everything is cohesive.
Divide the dough in half. Shape each half into a rough 3″ x 5″ rectangle, smoothing the edges. Wrap in plastic or waxed paper, and refrigerate for 30 minutes; this will relax the gluten and firm up the dough a bit, making it easier to roll. You can also refrigerate the dough for up to 2 days; let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes at room temperature before you roll it out.
For the Filling:
Combine 3/4 cup (8 ounces) Banana jam (or jam of your choice) with 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon cold water. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer, stirring, for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, and set aside to cool. Use to fill the pastry tarts.
For the cinnamon sugar filling:
Whisk together the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon.
Assembling the pastries:
Place one piece of the dough on a generously floured work surface, and roll it into a rectangle about 1/8″ thick, large enough that you can trim it to an even 9″ x 12″. Trim off the edges and set aside to use later. Place the 9″ x 12″ rectangle of dough aside as well on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Press the edge of a ruler into the dough you’ve just rolled, to gently score it in thirds lengthwise and width-wise; you’ll see nine 3″ x 4″ rectangles.
Beat the egg, and brush it over the entire surface of the dough. Place a heaping tablespoon of filling into the center of each marked rectangle. I used a cookie scoop to do this.
Roll the second piece of dough and trim, just as you did the first. Score it as yo did the first peice. Place it evenly over the first piece of dough and filling. Then, using your fingertips or a chopstick to press firmly around each pocket of filling, sealing the dough well on all sides.
Cut the dough evenly as you scored it, between the filling mounds to make nine tarts. Press the cut edges with your fingers to seal, then press with a fork or chopstick to seal again.
Gently place the tarts on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Prick the top of each tart multiple times with a fork; you want to make sure steam can escape, or the tarts will become billowy pillows rather than flat toaster pastries. Refrigerate them, uncovered, for 30 minutes. (if you are making the cinnamon sugar tarts you can sprinkle the tops lightly with the cinnamon sugar filling prior to refrigerating).
Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Remove the tarts from the fridge. Brush remaining egg wash over the tops of the tarts. Bake them for 30 to 35 minutes, until they’re a light golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and allow them to cool on the pan.
While the tarts are cooling, make the Nutella Frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, beat all of the ingredients together on medium speed until creamy and smooth. Place frosting in piping bag.
Once toaster tarts are completely cool, pipe drizzles of frosting over the top. The Nutella frosting will set at room temperature after 3 -4 hours. If you would like it to set sooner, just pop them into the fridge.
Enjoy!
Fun tip: Don’t throw the dough trimmings away! Instead, sprinkle them with cinnamon-sugar. While the tarts are chilling in the fridge, bake these trimmings for 13 -15 minutes, until they are golden brown. They make a delicious snack!
Here is that great video of Chef Joanne Chang making Toaster Tarts.
Links for helpful Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Homemade Banana Filled Toaster Tarts with Nutella Frosting:
Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer
Oxo Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale
Cuisinart Pro-Classic Food Processor
OXO Good Grips Medium Cookie Scoop
Eat This Yum – Banana Jam – This jam is so delicious! The family owned & operated company in Pennsylvania makes natural small batch jams and marmalades. Don’t miss out on their Bacon Jam as well. And with each jar sold they contribute 5% to local volunteer fire fighters!
Posted by liadh1 
Lea & Jay 