Wholesome Baked Banana Custard

I am back in Brisbane and the weather has been damp, dreary and cloudy today, with only a couple of hours of sunshine. So I escaped while the sun was shining to the secondhand bookshop, to find an enthralling read for the week while I am down here, buy a good cup of coffee at Groove, my favourite spot at Annerley, and of course check out the local supermarket. A highlight at Groove were the blueberry pikelets which are now on my list to make and I think the blueberries were the main sweetening agent, they were delicious and not too sweet.

This weather is sending out the call for some nice comforting desserts, which unfortunately generally means sweetened with sugar, but I am searching for a healthy alternative to sugar, minus the calories. I went searching for Agave syrup at Woolworths, none to be found on the shelf so I came home with Stevia sweet liquid instead. It appears the jury is still out in Paleo land as to whether these sweet plants when processed and packaged are acceptable and healthy  alternatives for sugar. I'll continue to do more reading on this.

Last night however we made a comforting baked banana custard dessert, lactose, gluten and sugar free, just using dates and vanilla as sweetening agents. a recipe adapted from WholefoodsSimply website. Such a nice change to banana cake and bread. The pudding was delicious and could be further sweetened if desired with honey or real maple syrup. The recipe fills four cup size ramekins perfectly. For those that are egg intolerant, I'm sure chia seeds could be used as a substitute. This is a very adaptable recipe, where cooked apple or even cooked pumpkin could be substituted for the banana.

BAKED BANANA CUSTARD

2 (300 grams) ripe bananas
4 medjool or organic dates, seeds removed
270ml (1 cup) of full fat coconut milk
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt

Place the ingredients in the order listed in your food processor and blend at a high speed until well combined.
Place four ramekins onto an oven tray, and pour the mixture carefully and evenly into the ramekins allowing just enough room for the mixture to rise whilst cooking.
Place the tray of ramekins into your oven and cook for 35 to 40 minutes or until the custards are cooked and golden.

Enjoy for dessert or for breakfast with yoghurt, hot or cold.

This recipe is adapted from Wholefood Simply Baked Banana Custard.