Easy Thai Banana Coconut Custard
by Erin Fletter
Photo by Bowonpat Sakaew/Shutterstock.com
prep time
5 minutes
cook time
18 minutes
makes
4-6 servings
Easy Thai Banana Coconut Custard
This custard is an easy Thai dessert to quickly whip up with a blender, mixer, or food processor. In Thailand, it is usually steamed, but baking it in the oven is just as good and less messy. It’s a perfect way to use up overripe bananas, and the prep takes less than 10 minutes. Served warm, cold, or at room temperature, this creamy, tropical-tasting dessert also happens to be low in fat and calories.
Happy & Healthy Cooking,
Chef Erin, Food-Geek-in-Chief
Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills
- bake :
to cook food with dry heat, as in an oven.
- blend :
to stir together two or more ingredients until just combined; blending is a gentler process than mixing.
- preheat :
to set an oven to the desired temperature for a few minutes or heat a pan for a few seconds before cooking, so it reaches the correct temperature by the time you place the food in it.
Equipment Checklist
- Oven
- Muffin pan
- Paper cupcake liners
- Can opener
- Blender (or pitcher + immersion blender)
- Liquid measuring cup
- Dry measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
scale
1X
2X
3X
4X
5X
6X
7X
Ingredients
Easy Thai Banana Coconut Custard
- 1 C canned coconut milk
- 1/3 to 1/2 C brown sugar, depending on desired sweetness
- 2 eggs **(for EGG ALLERGY sub 1 C silken tofu if no soy allergy present)**
- 1 ripe banana
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract **(for GLUTEN ALLERGY use certified gluten-free pure vanilla extract, not imitation vanilla flavor—check label)**
- vegetable oil ** to grease pan
- sweetened or unsweetened dried shredded coconut, optional
Food Allergen Substitutions
Easy Thai Banana Coconut Custard
- Egg: For 2 eggs, substitute 1 C silken tofu if no soy allergy present.
- Gluten/Wheat: Use certified gluten-free pure vanilla extract, not imitation vanilla flavor.
- Soy: Substitute canola oil or other nut-free high-smoking point oil (can heat to a higher temperature without smoking) for vegetable oil.
Instructions
Easy Thai Banana Coconut Custard
1.
preheat + line
Preheat your oven to 350 F. Have kids fill the muffin pan wells with paper liners.
2.
measure + blend + bake
Into your blender (or pitcher for use with an immersion blender), have kids measure 1 cup canned coconut milk, 1/3 to 1/2 cup brown sugar, depending on desired sweetness, 2 eggs, 1 very ripe banana, 1 pinch of salt, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Blend for about 30 seconds. Pour the mixture into the paper-lined muffin pan, filling each well 3/4 full. Bake the custard for 14 to 18 minutes or until the custard has set and is firm.
3.
sprinkle + serve
Use a spoon to get the custards out. They will be a little messy and very delicious! Serve them warm, room temperature, or cold. If desired, sprinkle with dried shredded coconut, sweetened or unsweetened. That's how we like it! Enjoy!
Photo by Daria Lixovetckay/Shutterstock.com
Hi! I'm Banana!
“I'm such an 'a-peeling' fruit, I'm just going to have to tell you a little about myself! Bananas are very popular. We're long and curved, and we typically have a yellow outer layer (like some raincoats!) called a peel or skin. After peeling a banana, you can eat it whole; slice it into cereal, salads, or desserts; and mash it and put us on toast or add us to pancake or banana bread batter. Be careful not to throw your banana peel on the floor, or someone might slip on it!"
History
- The Latin scientific name for banana is "musa sapientum," or "fruit of the wise men."
- The first recorded mention of bananas is from the 6th century BCE. They were represented in Egyptian hieroglyphs.
- Bananas may have been Earth's first fruit and the first fruit cultivated by people. The first banana farms were in southeast Asia.
- The phrase "going bananas" came about because monkeys love bananas!
- India produces over 26 percent of the world's bananas. In the United States, Hawaii grows the most bananas.
- There are a few cultures, especially Japan's, where the fiber from the banana plant is used to make fabric and sometimes even paper.
- The world's record for the longest banana split is 4.97 miles. In March 2017, Innisfail, Australia, residents made it using 40,000 bananas, 660 gallons of ice cream, and 528 gallons of topping. It took hundreds of volunteers 12 hours to prepare the banana split.
- People like their bananas! Worldwide we eat more than 100 billion bananas each year! Of those, Americans annually eat about 27 pounds of bananas per person. But we don't eat as many bananas as the Ugandan people. Their average consumption each year is 500 pounds per person!
Anatomy & Etymology
- What appears to be a banana tree is actually an herbaceous flowering plant (the world's largest).
- A banana plant can grow an inch or more while you sleep at night, eventually growing from 10 to 25 feet high.
- Botanically, a banana is a berry.
- Since commercially-grown bananas do not contain seeds, you cannot grow a banana from seed unless you can find someone who sells seeds from the wild fruit. Otherwise, new plants are grown from offshoots or suckers of the banana plant.
- A single banana fruit is called a finger, and a cluster of fruit is called a hand. There are 10 to 20 fingers on each hand.
- About 75 percent of a banana's weight is water.
- Because bananas are less dense than water, they are able to float.
- Wild banana varieties include bubblegum pink bananas with fuzzy skins, green-and-white striped bananas with orange sherbet-colored flesh, and bananas that taste like strawberries when cooked.
- The word "banana" may have come from the West African Wolof word "banaana," through late 16th century Portuguese or Spanish. However, it could have come from the Arab word "banan," meaning finger.
How to Pick, Buy, & Eat
- Bananas ripen best if growers pick them when they are still green.
- Don't separate a banana from the bunch if you want it to ripen more quickly.
- Putting bananas in a sealed container, like a brown paper bag, will hasten them to ripen, especially if you add another type of fruit to the bag.
- You may have noticed that organic bananas often come with plastic wrap around the top stems of a bunch, but you can also wrap yours at home. Tightly wrapped stems will help bananas last three to five days longer.
- Try peeling a banana from the bottom up toward the stem to avoid dislodging the stringy vascular tissue running down the length of the fruit inside. Those strings are called "phloem" (pronounced "flom").
- Banana peels are actually edible if cooked.
- Once you peel a banana and it comes in contact with air, it can begin to turn brown. Sprinkling lemon or pineapple juice on a cut banana will prevent this.
- Don't be surprised that the banana peel turns brown or black after being refrigerated—it won't affect the fruit inside. This darkening happens because the cold breaks down the skin's cell walls and causes compounds in it to oxidize.
- You can put ripe or overripe bananas in the freezer and then add a frozen banana to your blender when making a smoothie instead of ice. You can also insert a popsicle stick into one end of a banana, freeze the banana, then dip the frozen banana in chocolate melted with a little oil. If desired, roll the coated banana in toppings like nuts, coconut flakes, or sprinkles, then refreeze for a chocolaty, nutritious frozen dessert.
Nutrition
- Bananas contain vitamin C, potassium, fiber, and vitamin B6.
- Bananas have 31 percent of the daily value of vitamin B6! This vitamin strengthens your nervous and immune systems. It also is needed for your body to make serotonin, a hormone that elevates mood.
- About half of all people allergic to latex may also be allergic to bananas.
History of Custard!
Photo by CGissemann/Shutterstock.com
- Custards baked in pastry were popular during the Middle Ages. The word "custard" comes from the late Middle English "custarde and "crustarde," indicating a pie with a sauce made from eggs and milk, from the Old French "cruste" (crust).
- Today, custard is a dessert, not necessarily with a crust, or it may be a sweet sauce. Custard is made with eggs, milk, and sugar, with varying consistencies.
- When custard is a thin pouring sauce, it is called "crème anglaise." It is a base for or is poured over cake, fruit, or meringue (floating island).
- Eggnog is a type of custard you can drink. It is served primarily during the Christmas season.
- It can also be a thick mixture called "crème pâtissière" or "pastry cream." It is often used in pastries made with "pâte à choux," a dough that puffs when baked and creates a hollow area in the center that can be filled with pastry cream. These include cream puffs and éclairs. Pastry cream is also used in cakes (Boston cream pie), doughnuts, fruit tarts, and a French puff pastry dessert called "mille-feuille."
- Sweet custard can also become several similar desserts, including crème brûlée, crème caramel, and flan. Custard is also added to a particularly British dessert, the "trifle."
- Frozen custard is similar to ice cream except for one additional ingredient. Ice cream is generally made with milk, cream, and a sweetener, usually sugar. Frozen custard consists of those same ingredients and egg yolks, making it richer and thicker than ice cream.
Let's Learn About Thailand!
Photo by anek.soowannaphoom/Shutterstock.com (traditional floating market)
- Thailand is a country in Southeast Asia and is officially called the Kingdom of Thailand.
- The country's previous name was Siam. In 1949 it was changed to Thailand, which means "Land of the Free."
- Thailand is a constitutional monarchy with a king, prime minister, and national assembly, the legislative body.
- Thailand's population is more than 69 million people. The official and national language is Thai. It is broken down into four vernaculars (languages spoken by ordinary people): Central Thai, the official and majority language, Isan (or Northeastern Thai), Northern Thai, and Southern Thai. Other spoken languages are Lao, Chinese, Malay, and Khmer.
- Bangkok is the capital and the largest city in Thailand. According to different websites, it's either the first most-visited or second most-visited city in the world, right up there with London and Paris.
- Thailand has over 1400 islands and is at the center of the Indochinese Peninsula.
- Thailand is home to the world's most enormous gold Buddha, the largest crocodile farm, the biggest restaurant, the tallest hotel, and the longest single-span suspension bridge!
- Thailand is known for its fantastically delicious street food. You can eat pad thai (noodles, vegetables, and meat stir-fried together), green papaya salad, meat skewers, and even grilled scorpions at street carts everywhere in Thailand!
- A hundred years ago, there were more than 100,000 elephants in Thailand, and about 20,000 of them were wild. Today, there are about 5,000 elephants, less than half of them untamed.
- Thailand is known for its orchids. In fact, over 1,500 different orchid species grow in the wild in Thailand.
- Kitti's hog-nosed bat—thought to be the world's smallest mammal—is found in Thailand. It weighs just two grams! This is the same weight as a small pebble or a pile of feathers.
- One of the country's most unique festivals is the annual Monkey Buffet, held in front of the Phra Prang Sam Yot temple in Lopburi province. Thousands of local macaques dine on a buffet of over two tons of grilled sausage, fresh fruit, ice cream, and other treats. Local people view the festival as a thank you to the monkeys, which live in the village and bring in thousands of tourists each year.
- The Mekong River, along part of the eastern border of Thailand, contains over 1,300 fish species. Giant freshwater fish, including a 10-foot-long, 660-pound catfish, can be found in the river.
- The mudskipper is one of Thailand's strangest creatures. This fish-out-of-the-water walks on land using its fins, and it can even climb trees. It absorbs oxygen through its skin and mouth. It's a fish that likes to spend most of its time out of the water, eating the algae in tidal pools.
- The world's longest snake, the reticulated python, makes its home in Thailand. The largest one ever found measured over 33 feet from end to end.
- Siamese cats are native to Thailand. In Thai, their name is "wichien maat," meaning "moon diamond" or "diamond gold." A 14th-century book of Thai poems describes 23 types of Siamese cats; today, there are only six breeds. The Si Sawat or Korat cat is another breed of Thai cat, similar to the Siamese, and initially thought to be a blue Siamese cat. They are given to newlyweds to bring good luck to the marriage.
What's It Like to Be a Kid in Thailand?
- The school year goes from May to March, and both public and private schools require students to wear uniforms.
- Families and children are important in Thailand. Parents expect their kids to help with household chores and farm chores if they live in a rural area.
- Soccer, tennis, swimming, and badminton are popular sports for kids. "Muay Thai," or Thai boxing, is the national sport of Thailand, and some kids may start learning it as early as five years old. It is a type of martial art accompanied by traditional music called "Sarama."
- Rice, especially Jasmine rice, is a staple in Thailand, and it's usually served at every meal. For breakfast, Thai kids may eat "Jok" (rice porridge) or "Khao tom" (sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves), "Kai jiew" (an omelet served with rice), or grilled meat or fish, and fruit. For lunch, they may have soup and a rice or noodle dish with meat and vegetables. Family dinners may include "Khao pad" (Thai fried rice), "Pad Thai" (stir-fried rice noodle dish), and various soups. Typical sweets that kids like are mango sticky rice, coconut ice cream, Thai jelly, and "luk chup," which are candies made from mung beans, coconut milk, and sugar.
That's Berry Funny
Where does bad dessert go?
Into custard-y!
Lettuce Joke Around
Where do intergalactic coconuts grab a drink?
At the Milky Way!
Lettuce Joke Around
Why are bananas never lonely?
Because they hang around in bunches!
THYME for a Laugh
What did one coconut say to the other?
"Got milk?"
That's Berry Funny
What would you call two banana skins?
A pair of slippers.
Lettuce Joke Around
"Knock, knock!"
"Who’s there?"
"Ben and Anna."
"Ben and Anna who?"
(no answer—Ben and Anna (banana) split)
