Posts tagged banana
Simplissime – Banana, caramel and rum pudding
Dec 10th
Simplissime – Pudding à la banane, caramel et rhum
If you are not a cook, nor a pastry chef, this would be for you…How a dessert can more simple? Besides, it’s quite light, so in my book all the attributes to be called a perfect dessert. I think as a “petite chose sucrée“, a little sweet thing to serve when you have unplanned guests and no time to prepare a more complex dessert. You can also eat this as a snack with tea, the cups are small, about 2 1/2 inches height so in a few spoonfuls, you’re done.
I believe that you should not skip on anything, not fat, not sugar, so obviously not dessert either but eat small portions. That is the key to maintain a healthy body, and keeping a weight down (and of course exercising). I don’t believe on those restrictive diets that will make you lose weight, make you moody and miserable, then gain all the weight back, due to uncontrollable cravings. Maybe that is my French background that is talking this way, but so far it has shown to be efficient.
Of course, there can be many variations, such as replacing the banana with pears, pineapple, or any other fruit you like. Also, instead of the caramel, you can use chocolate, since chocolate and banana have been made for each other. For the caramel, you can use the one you buy at the store, I found some delicious caramel à la fleur de sel in a small jar at the Rainbow Market, that added a nice touch to it.
This pudding will be classified in my “ à refaire souvent” (to be made often) category due to its easiness and deliciousness ratio. It’s creamy, flavorful and light…just the way I love my desserts.
Ingredients for 4
- 4 slices brioche
- 1 banana, peeled and sliced
- 4 tsp caramel
- 4 tbs raisins
- 3 eggs
- 3 tbs sugar
- 1/2 cream
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbs rum
Preparation
In a mixing container, combine eggs, sugar, milk, cream, rum and vanilla. Mix well to obtain a homogenous consistency. Using some small glasses (the ones than can be placed in the oven of course), start putting together the pudding. lay banana slices at the bottom of the glasses, then add raisins (previously soaked in rum), add brioche and proceed the same way with the other layer.
At the end of the process, you need to finish up with the brioche on top and not the banana. Pour the egg/milk mixture on top to cover the brioche.
Cook in a bain-marie (water bath) for about 25 minutes at 380F until the top is golden. Remove from the oven and let it cool, sprinkle with vanilla powder or powdered sugar and eat cold (not lukewarm) or at room temperature
Monday crisy crisp – Warm mango, banana and pineapple crisp with mascarpone cream
Feb 8th
Le petit croustillant du lundi – Croustillant chaud de mangue, banane et ananas, crème au mascarpone
I adore filo dough but never use it. Do you believe it? I can drool over appetizers and desserts made with filo dough but when it’s time to buy it, I always forget or buy something else. So people would say, then you just don’t adore it. It’s like saying I adore this friend but I never call her, then you don’t love her that much. In French we use the word adore quite often and is not as strong as its equivalent in English. It’s used as Americans would use “I love”. J’adore la nutella!!
It’s a shame not to use filo dough more often because it’s lighter than its cousin “Puff Pastry”. It has a very delicate crispy texture, and makes beautiful sweet and savory dishes. One sheet has 30 calories and I used about one sheet per crisp if you want to keep completely light, you can just omit the mascarpone cream, but I would not recommend it, it completes the crisp to perfection.
The particularity of this filo dough is that it’s wholewheat, so basically, you’ll get a light dessert, extremely tasty, warm and crispy that will satisfy any sweet cravings. My other “secret” ingredient is vanilla powder, which I adore, oui j’adore la poudre de vanille!!!! I almost use it in all my desserts. It’s vanilla bean ground that is perfect to replace the actual vanilla bean.
The combination of mango and banana’s textures complete one another, also pineapple adds a little extra exotic touch to the crisp. You need to select fruits that are not too ripe, or in the sauté process, especially the banana and mangoes will get mushy.
You can serve it warm at room temperature or lukewarm, then you need to serve it immediately or the cream will start melting.
Ingredients for 3 crisps
- 1/4 pineapple, cut in small sliced (1 inch size)
- 1 mango, peeled and cut in small slices (1 inch size)
- 1 banana, sliced
- 3 whole wheat filo dough sheets, cut in 6 squares
- 1 tbs sugar
- 2 tbs mascarpone
- 2.7 fl oz (or 80 ml) heavy cream
- vanilla powder
- 1 tsp powder sugar
- 1 tsp butter + 1 tsp melted for the filo dough
Preparation
Cut all the fruits, add sugar and saute in butter for about 5-7 minutes. remove from the pan.
Using a brush, apply melted butter in one filo dough sheet, then cut dough in 6 identical squares.
Place the 6 squares in a ramequin or small muffin trays (then insted of 3 crisp, you’ll make 6 due to the smaller size of the muffin trays). Divide fruits in each ramequin and cook in a pre-heated oven at 370F for about 15-20 minutes or until the filo dough is golden brown.
remove from the oven and let it cool.
Whip heavy cream and add powder sugar at the end, add mascarpone and keep beating a little more. Add vanilla bean powder.
Serve each crisp with one tsp of mascarpone cream on top.
Papillotes meli-melo – Mixed fruits with honey, raisins, pistachios and coconut in parchment paper
Oct 15th
Méli-mélo de papillotes – Pommes, poires et bananes au miel, raisins, pistaches et noix de coco en papillotes avec glace vanille
Des pommes, des poires et des….bananes!! I have been thinking about those papillottes for so long. I thought about them kept thinking about them, and always made something else…I kept doing that for weeks. Time to stick to the plan! They’re an express dessert and extremely delicious. We tend to forget that quick meals can be exquisite. Papillottes are so much fun to make and look great when you give one individually to your guests.
Fruit based desserts are light and cooked fruits go deliciously well with spices. Of course, if you like cinnamon, you can add some. I am a big vanilla fan and could use vanilla everywhere. The only place I don’t like vanilla is in perfume. I think it’s way too sweet as a scent but I could drink it! I brought from France some vanilla powder which is basically vanilla beans and pods ground, so the powder is brown like the bean and not white (I have seen it white here) , if you can’t find it, you can add 1 tsp of vanilla extract.
Those papillotes are perfect with apples and pears because they remain firm, and don’t get mushy like peaches or other summer fruits would. Fall just got here and we can enjoy the beautiful fruits it brings along.
Papillote has different meanings, but traditionally it refers to a chocolate candy wrapped in a golden or silver wrap with a personal message included in it. Supposedly it comes from Lyon and they’re consumed during Christmas.
Ingredients for 2 papillotes
- 1 golden apple, peeled and sliced
- 1 large pear, peeled and sliced
- 1 large banana, sliced
- 1 tbs unsalted pistachios
- 1.5 tbs golden raisins
- 1 tbs honey
- 1.5 tbs grated coconut
- 1 tsp vanilla powder
Preparation
In a mixing bowl, add all fruits together, then add honey, vanilla powder, raisins, coconut and pistachios. Mix well. Place in a parchment paper, wrap tightly so no air can get in and cook in the oven for about 20 minutes at 375F. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.
Small dessert for a Friday afternoon – Almond milk tapioca flan with coconut and banana
Jul 31st
Petit dessert pour un vendredi après-midi – Flan de tapioca au lait d’amandes, noix de coco et banane
Travels always leave you some special memories, flavors, and sensations…My trip to Japan left me with an incredible and delightful sweet sensation I will remember for the rest of my life…eventhough I prefer from far savory dishes than sweet ones, but desserts in Japan are probably like in the rest of Asian countries, light, fresh and not sweet, so for someone like myself, you’re in heaven. The thing is that you can barely taste the sugar in them and that’s exactly what I love most. In the US, everything is very sweet, in fact even the mouth fresheners are sweet. Isn’t it weird? probably because Americans have been used to sugar since their childhood.
The thing is after our western meals, it is almost impossible to eat traditional dessert pastries or cakes. I need to have a light meal to be able to enjoy my dessert. I think Japanese have understood this, and their traditional desserts have just the perfect light sweet touch you need to close a meal, it’s like the “THE END” after a movie.
Those beautiful pearls are what I tasted in Japan, they were served with a big green tea shaved ice huge bowl, and it was perfect for a hot and humid August summer in Tokyo.
I think we can accommodate those cute tapioca pearls with some exotic fruit compote. In France, weirdly enough, people used to eat those in soups I guess, it is somehow remained a “soup ingredient”.
I made a few times tapioca with raspberry purée a while ago, and it was excellent but I just wanted to try to get something that had the texture of a flan, and this is it.
Ingredients for 4 flans
- 5 tbs tapioca pearls
- 1 banana, pureed
- 2/3 cup coconut milk + 2 tbs
- 1 cup almond milk + 3 tbs
- 3 tbs light brown sugar + 2 tbs
- 2 eggs
Preparation
In a pot heat the cups of coconut milk and almond milk and 3 tbs of sugar, when the liquid is almons boiling, add tapioca. Stir at low heat for about 15 minutes.
In a mixing bowl, beat eggs with banana and the rest of the almond and coconut milks. Add the tapioca mixture and mix well.
Pour in silicon molds or individual ceramic molds previously buttered and cook in a preheated oven at 370F for about 20 minutes. Let cool and place in the refrigerator. Grill some slices of banana and decorate.
