Banana Cream Tart

If you like bananas, you will enjoy this dessert. It has a delicate flavor of banana combined with a hint of coconut. Bananas are one of the most nutritious fruits, high in potassium, magnesium and iron.

Equipment

Mixing bowl

Small saucepan

Wooden spoon

Blender

Glass or china bowl

20 to 23cm two piece tart pan, with removable bottom

serves 8-10

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius

 Pie crust

½ cup raw cashews, ground

1 cup almonds, ground

½ cup rolled oats

1 cup desiccated coconut

3 medjool dates, pitted*

1 tablespoon agave

½ teaspoon salt

Method

Blend rolled oats to a flour, mix with ground nuts, desiccated coconut and salt in a bowl. Soften dates in a ¼ cup of boiled water. Mash with fork, add to mixing bowl with other ingredients plus agave. Mix with a spoon until mixture comes together to form a soft dough. If mixture appears dry add a little more water.  Press dough into lightly greased tart pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from oven and cool.

Cream Filling

2 ½ cups soy milk

200g coconut cream

1 cup water

3 tablespoons agar flakes*

3 teaspoons vanilla

4 tablespoons agave*

1 teaspoon salt

5-6 medium bananas

1/3 cup lightly toasted coconut

Method

In a blender, place soy milk, coconut cream, vanilla, agave and salt. Blend to combine and set aside.  In a small saucepan, place water and agar flakes. Place over low heat, stirring liquid with a wooden spoon. Continue stirring gently allowing liquid to simmer 5 minutes until flakes are dissolved. Add dissolved agar to mixture in blender. Blend on high speed 1-2 minutes. Pour into a glass bowl and place in fridge until set - about 20 to 30 minutes.

To Assemble

Remove the cream filling from fridge. Into pre baked pie crust, spoon enough of the filling to cover the base. Peel and thinly slice banana & layer on top of cream filling. Add another layer of filling. Place back in fridge until ready to serve.

Before serving you may need a knife to gently separate the edges of the tart from the pan before removing the rim. Place tart on a serving plate. Decorate top of tart with sliced banana and toasted coconut.

Enjoy!

*Medjool dates: sometimes called the ‘king of dates’ are exceptionally large dates. They have a moist texture and are very sweet to taste. Maybe used as a sweetener to replace sugar in some recipes.

* Agar flakes : is a healthful alternative to animal gelatin. Made from various seaweed species. Its gelling capacity is 6-8 times that of animal gelatin. It is tasteless and used effectively as a thickener, emulsifier and stabilizer in foods. It is a good source of folic acid, magnesium and iron. Only sold in health food stores. Asian food stores sell it in the powdered form.

*Agave: comes from a plant belonging to the cactus family. Agave nectar is 1.4 to1.6 times sweeter than sugar. This means you use less to reach the same sweet point. Nectars are sold in light, amber, dark and raw varieties. Only sold in health food stores.

 Psalm 16:24    Pleasant words [are as] an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.  

Posted by Yiannoulla