If you are wondering how to make your afternoon cozy and really delicious – I have the answer for you. What I like doing is having a light fruity dessert with a cup of coffee. I never say no to a dessert.
The desserts that I love preparing always have a creamy layer, a crunchy one (usually biscuits or crushed nuts), one with fresh fruits and usually it’s topped with chocolate.
Finding the perfect ingredients that work together in your mouth is the secret to success. You should always balance out the layers not to make it too sweet or too soft, or too crunchy. What I have for you today is banana pudding. My creamy layer is coconut milk with cornstarch, lime zest and vanilla. Here you have the strong taste of the lime with the soft coconut milk that is dancing around with a hint of vanilla and it’s the main character in today’s dessert – that’s a must have in a pudding. Then my fruity layer is fresh bananas, the crunchy one is crushed biscuits and of course I topped it with dark chocolate and some chopped raw hazelnuts. You can use walnuts if you prefer. It all works very well together. It’s best eaten when it has cooled down in the fridge for a couple of hours. That’s where the pudding thickens.
I was never into pastry making that much but every time I tried doing a dessert the result was astonishing! That keeps me trying again and again. Of course all of the desserts that I prepare are vegan and I want to prove to everyone that no ingredient in the world is irreplaceable. You can have super gooey chocolatey desserts without using any eggs, milk or butter. Finding the right ingredients such as pure cocoa, dairy free milks – my favourite one is coconut, using lots of seeds (chia and flax seeds are my choice) and nuts will give you mind blowing results every single time. People usually call these guilt-free desserts – because they are so much lower in calories and sugar that they are actually harmless, in normal quantities of course.
Let’s now talk through the simple and quick process of preparing my banana pudding. But first of all – have a look at it!
I will now give you the ingredients for 6-8 servings (depends on the size of the cups you’re using) of banana pudding with lime zest, dark chocolate and hazelnuts. The whole cooking process takes less than 5 minutes and you need only 2 minutes to prepare. Then the assembled puddings will go in the fridge to cool down and thicken for at least an hour.
Banana Pudding
Ingredients
For the pudding cream:
- 3 cups of coconut milk
- 4 tbsp of corn starch
- The zest of 1 lime
- 1 tsp of vanilla powder
For the crunchy part:
- 200 gr of crushed biscuits
- A handful of chopped hazelnuts
- Coconut flakes
- 50 gr dark chocolate
And for the fruity layer:
- 4 sliced bananas
Instructions
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Place the biscuits in a small plastic bag or a ziploc bag and crush them with something heavy (a wooden hammer if you have one) or just by using your hands.
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Now when you have your base ready, start with the pudding cream.
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In a saucepan add the coconut milk, cornstarch, lime zest and vanilla and cook on a medium heat, stirring constantly, until the cream thickens. This will take up to 3 minutes. When it’s done set it aside. This is the only cooking you will be doing for that recipe.
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Now you can start assembling the puddings in cups. Start with the biscuits, then a layer of bananas and chocolate, and then pour over some cream and then repeat until the cup is full.
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Top with chopped hazelnuts, shaved dark chocolate and coconut flakes. Enjoy!
STEP ONE – CRUSH THE BISCUITS
Using a small plastic bag or a ziploc bag, fill it up with biscuits and crush them using a wooden hammer or anything heavy you have in your kitchen. If you want to use your hands only – feel free to do so.
STEP TWO – PREPARE THE CREAM
In a saucepan add the coconut milk, lime zest, cornstarch and vanilla powder. Cook the pudding on a medium heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. It will take no more than 3-4 minutes. Set it aside and start with the assembling of your dessert cups.
STEP THREE – SLICE THE BANANAS
This is my favorite step – the easiest one. Slice up the bananas and start layering.
STEP FOUR – LAYER THE DESSERT CUPS
What I did with my layers is the following. I started with the crushed biscuits and then it goes like this: bananas, pudding, chocolate, biscuits, pudding, hazelnuts, dark chocolate and coconut flakes. Of course you can layer it the way you like. You can even do it in a tray or in a cake tin. You will have the same taste at the end. I just like when it’s served in individual portions – it looks nice and you can see different layers. You have to put it in the fridge for at least an hour so it cools down and thickens a bit further.
That’s my dessert for you today – as I promised very easy and quick. Not to talk about the taste and the look of it….
You can have it with your coffee in the late afternoon or with a cup of hot tea. It’s very light and a real show stopper. If you want to take it a step further you can prepare another layer of pudding with a different flavour. Instead of the lime zest you can use orange zest and some cocoa powder. It will give it a brown chocolate color and a nice citrusy flavour. Orange works quite good with dark chocolate. It will be much more attractive – just a bit more things to clean after you are all done.
What is your favourite afternoon snack or dessert – let us know in the comment section below.
Have a good day and see you soon!