Banana Pudding with Vanilla Wafer Crumble

 

 

"The first and greatest commandment is,
Don't let them scare you."

- Elmer Davis

 

 

I love bananas, I mean what's not to like? They're always in season. You can tell just by looking at them if they're ripe. They come in a smart little package. You can store them in the freezer to use later if they're about to go bad. They're also full of nutrition. And they're cheap to boot. What more could you ask for?

 

 

Whisking up the yolks, sugar and cornstarch. My yolks are bright orange since they come from my own free range chickens. This resulted in my pudding being bright yellow. If you use store bought eggs your pudding will be much lighter in color.

 

 I love the things, so we always have some on hand. When I saw this recipe on Food and Wine, I knew I needed to make it. I was attracted to the fact that unlike a traditional banana pudding served from a large dish, these can be made individually. I also loved the crumble to give a different texture. Pudding is such a great dessert to make for guests at a casual dinner party, since it needs to be made in advance.

This banana pudding is just scrumptious. Creamy and rich and not too sweet, topped with a crunchy vanilla wafer crumble. It's easy and simple to put together. A great dessert to have in your back pocket for any occasion.

Scraping the seeds from the vanilla bean. I buy vanilla beans in bulk from a vanilla company on EBay. The seeds are fresh, and much cheaper than from the grocery store.

I am having a dinner party soon and some of the guests are gluten free. This is a great gluten free dessert, if you use some gluten free cookies for the crumble, of course.

Spooning the pudding into individual vessels, makes serving at the end of dinner even easier. I used teacups, but if teacups aren't your thing, you can use some champagne glasses, or martini glasses. Or you could spoon them into little mason jars. 

If you own some demitasse or espresso cups, you could use them for the pudding on a dessert buffet. Their small size won't fill guests up, if there is more than one dessert option.

Crumble ready for toasting in the oven.

A heartwarming, comforting cup full of goodness.

 

Vintage teacups and pink tablecloth available at House of Lucien.

Banana Pudding with Vanilla Wafer Crumble


adapted from David Guas for Food and Wine

Makes 5 servings

Ingredients

For the pudding

5 large egg yolks

 

1/2 cup (100 g.) sugar

 

1/4 cup (32 g.) cornstarch

 

1/4 teaspoon salt

 

1 1/2 cups (355 ml) whole milk

 

3/4 cup (177 ml) heavy cream

 

1 vanilla bean, split in half and seeds scraped out, or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

 

3 ripe bananas, sliced

For the crumble

1 cup vanilla wafers (about 15 cookies) coarsely ground - If you are making this gluten free, make sure to use a type of cookie that is GF. You can use any type of vanilla cookie, or even animal crackers.

 

2 teaspoons sugar

 

Pinch salt

 

2 Tablespoon butter, melted

 

 

Directions

 

To make the pudding
 

Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside. Add the milk, cream and the vanilla bean seeds as well as the pod, to a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil. Remove from the heat and whisk a little at a time into the egg mixture. Once the bottom of the bowl is warm, slowly whisk in the remaining hot milk. Pour the mixture back into a clean medium saucepan (cleaning the saucepan prevents the pudding from scorching), whisk over medium-low heat until it thickens, about 2 minutes. Cook while constantly whisking until the pudding is glossy and quite thick, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes longer. Remove the vanilla bean pod (or if you are using vanilla extract, add it now.) Stir in the sliced bananas.Transfer the pudding to individual dishes. Press a piece of plastic wrap onto the surface of the puddings to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or overnight.         

 

To make the crumble:

 

While the pudding sets, heat the oven to 325 Fahrenheit, 160/170 Celsius Gas Mark 3.

 

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat mat, and set aside.Transfer the crumbs to a small bowl and stir in the sugar and salt. Use a spoon to evenly stir in the melted butter, transfer to the prepared baking sheet, and toast in the oven until brown and fragrant, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. (The crumbs can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days at room temperature or frozen for up to 2 months; re-crisp in a 325°F oven for 6 to 7 minutes if necessary.)

 

Just before serving, add crumbs to each portion and serve.

Eggnog Creme Brulee

"Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right."

-Oprah Winfrey

It's New Years Day. May this year I get it together enough to post recipes while they're still relevant.

This is dessert for our Christmas dinner every year. My husband and I both love creme brulee, and eggnog, so it's perfect. Delicious, creamy, rich, luxurious and elegant. All words that come to mind to describe this tasty dessert.

ready for the oven

 
Christmas dinner is just my husband and I, but this dessert is perfect to serve dinner guests.

1. You make it in advance. Just brulee the tops before serving.

2. And the most important:  I've never met anyone who didn't like creme brulee.

3. It's pretty darned easy too, and only calls for a few ingredients.

So if you have some egg nog left in the fridge, here's a great use for it!

Outside of Pike Place Market at Christmas

Here are a few photos I took at Pike Place Market in Seattle while my family was visiting. A great place to visit around the holidays, so festive.

Pike Place Market at Christmas

Do you want a real New Years recipe?

Cook yourself up some good luck with this hearty Black Eyed Pea Stew




Eggnog Creme Brulee

makes six 4-oz/120-ml ramekins

Ingredients

2 cups (473 ml.) store bought or homemade Eggnog
2 cups (473 ml.) heavy whipping cream
6 egg yolks
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/3 cup (62 mg.) sugar
6 tsp. sugar for topping

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit, 160/170 Celsius, or Gas Mark 3. And put a kettle of hot water on the stove.

Place the eggnog, the cream and the sugar into a medium saucepan, stir to dissolve sugar. Bring to just a simmer, don't boil it. Place the yolks into a large bowl and beat them a little. Ladle a little cream mixture into the yolks, whisking the whole time, then a little more while you keep whisking. Keep adding and whisking till you've added about half. Then add all of yolk mixture to the cream mixture and whisk till it's all incorporated. Add the fresh nutmeg. Pour the whole shebang through a fine mesh strainer placed over a large measuring cup with a spout for pouring.

Place 6 ramekins into a large (9x13 ish) sized pan. Pour hot water from your kettle half way up the sides of the ramekins. Pour the creme mixture into ramekins. Now cover the pan with foil.

Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes. Until the centers are set and a knife comes out clean when placed in the center. Tip- if the water is poured more than half way up the sides of the ramekins, it will take longer to bake.

Remove the ramekins from the pan using tongs. Put them into another 9x13 pan and cover with plastic. Place in the fridge until cold, or overnight. When ready to serve, using a paper towel, carefully pat the tops of the custards to remove moisture that accumulated in the fridge. Place 1 tsp of sugar in a thin layer over each custard. Make it as thin as you can, it may not take the whole teaspoon. Broil the top of the sugar with a torch until it's golden brown. Or if you don't have a torch, place them under the broiler until the sugar is golden. If you are doing it under the broiler, you need to watch it closely, this only takes moments. I would even leave the oven door open and watch it while it's happening. They can burn very quickly and that would be bad.

Let the custards sit a few minutes before serving so the sugar hardens.

Strawberry Cheesecake Mousse

"Strawberries are the angels of the earth, innocent and sweet with green leafy wings reaching heavenward."

~Terri Guillemets

 

 

Oh I love Spring. Strawberries are definitely my favorite spring time food, and this mousse is one of my favorite things to do with those lovely berries.

Years ago a friend of mine and I made this, and her boyfriend ate so much of it, it gave him a stomach ache. He immediately went to walk it off. I remember it so vividly because I had never heard of someone going to walk after over eating to help him stop feeling that way. It makes sense I guess. But for me the last thing I want to do after being stuffed, is walking, I'm a lay on the couch kind of girl. That's probably why I struggle with my weight. Maybe I need to take up the practice of "walking it off".

This is a cinch to make, I mean really easy. It's a no cook recipe, so it's perfect for warm weather.

Only 5 ingredients too!

yum

adding the whipped cream

after folding in the whipped cream

If you are making this for eating after dinner, make sure you make it at least a few hours ahead. It needs to get cold and set up completely.

And if you eat too much, go for a walk, I hear it helps.


Want another great, easy spring time pudding recipe?

Lemon Cream Pudding






Strawberry Cheesecake Mousse

makes 4 servings

Ingredients

8 oz (224 g.)  package cream cheese
10 oz. - 2 cups, ( 283 g.) fresh strawberries, stems removed, washed and sliced
1/2 cup (125 ml) 4 oz. heavy cream
1/2 cup (55g.) powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

more sweetened whipped cream for topping, if desired
more fresh strawberries for topping,  if desired

Directions

Place cream cheese, fresh strawberries, vanilla and powdered sugar in a food processor or blender. Puree them together until smooth. Then place the cream cheese mixture in a large bowl.

Whip the heavy cream just until stiff peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture.

Spoon the mousse into individual bowls, glasses or cups. Refrigerate a few hours before serving. Top the individual servings with sweetened whipped cream and a fresh strawberry.

Lemon Cream Pudding

"When life hands you melons, you know you're dyslexic."

I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. I have friends in California with the most amazing Meyer lemon tree.  This tree of theirs makes the sweetest juicy lemons I've ever had. When you cut into them they are spilling with juice. My sister and I are always raving about these gems, so I feel super fortunate to have in my possession a large bag of these babies. Thank you Charles and Michelle!

Think creme brulee, only lighter, and smoother, silkier. That's what this pudding is like. There are no eggs in this recipe, but the cream transforms into a perfect pudding texture.

It makes an elegant make ahead springtime dessert, fresh, bright and satisfying.

 It needs so little effort, it's almost embarrassing. Almost.

Meyer lemons are sweeter than traditional lemons. You can use one or the other in this recipe, I don't adjust the sugar either way because with Meyer lemons I just know to expect a sweeter end result.





Lemon Cream Pudding

This needs to be made at least 4 hours ahead, or overnight, so plan accordingly.

2 cups (500 ml) heavy cream
3/4 cup (192 g)  sugar
1/4 cup (60 ml) fresh lemon juice
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest-use a microplane, you need to get the zest very fine

In a medium size saucepan over medium high heat,  place cream and sugar, stir until dissolved. Bring to a boil stirring very frequently. You will need to be standing there monitoring it to make sure it doesn't boil over. Bring it to a boil and boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and add the lemon juice and zest. Stir and let it sit on the counter for 15-30 minutes. Stir it again, and pour it into ramekins, tea cups, martini glasses etc. Make sure the mixture is cool enough for the vessels you are pouring it into, for example you probably don't want to be pouring boiling hot liquid into a martini glass.

Refrigerate the puddings for 4-5 hours or overnight then serve cold. The pudding will firm up and set up, once cooled.

This makes about 5, 1/2 cup servings.