Banana pudding

If you have ever seen Sex and the City then you know that the ladies buy their cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery in New York. The bakery´s classic “Banana pudding”, modestly placed in a small cardboard box, is worthy of all superlatives when it comes to taste. When one of my friends came home from there completely in love with it I thought I needed to try to make a vegan version of it. I can now honestly say that this is THE dessert, that proved to me that I, a real sweet-toothed foodie, actually CAN be vegan. Hallelujah! PS. My friend, she is not vegan, but she is a real expert foodie who approved this version with delight. 

Time 1.5 – 2 hours Please note! Has to be prepared at least 24 hours before the serving

Banana pudding – Magnolia Bakery-style
Ingredients for 4-6 portions

Vanilla cookies
0.5 tbsp. egg replacer
1 tbsp. water
1 dl sugar
1 tsp. vanilla powder
0.5 tsp. baking soda
35 g melted vegan margarine or coconut butter
0.25 dl plant-based milk
0.5 dl plant-based vanilla yoghurt
1.75 dl white flour

Vanilla pudding
2 dl vegan vanilla sauce
2.5 tsp. vanilla sugar
0.5 bag of vegegel (3.125 g)
4 tbsp. caramel sauce
2 tbsp. plant-based whipped cream

Caramel Sauce
80 g vegan margarine or coconut butter
1.5 dl brown cane sugar
1.5 dl plant-based cream
1 dl plant-based vanilla yoghurt

2 dl plant-based cream
Bourbon vanilla from the grinder (about 40 turns)
1 banana

Method of preparing: 
Set the oven to 170° degrees. Whisk the egg replacer with water in a bowl until well mixed. Add the sugar, vanilla sugar and bicarbonate. Melt the margarine/coconut butter in a saucepan and add the plant-based milk and the plant-based yoghurt. After this add the flour and mix well.
Pipe the cookies onto a silicone mat (alternatively onto a baking tray with a few baking papers on top) and bake in the middle of the oven for about 15-20 minutes. Let it cool. 

Then prepare the vanilla pudding base by whisking the vanilla sauce with the vanilla sugar and the vegegel. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. 

Melt the margarine/coconut butter in a saucepan on high heat while you add the cane sugar. Stir continuously while adding the cane sugar. Let it simmer while stirring for about 2 minutes. Add then the plant-based cream and let it cook on low heat for about 10 minutes. Take it away from the stove and stir the plant-based yoghurt in. Let it cool down and put about 1 deciliter into a separate container. 

Whisk the plant-based cream and add about 40 turns of the bourbon vanilla grinder. Slice the banana in millimeter thin-slices and put the slices in the container with the caramel sauce. 

Take the vanilla pudding out of the fridge and add two real tablespoons of whisked plant-based cream and four tablespoons of caramel sauce. Stir together until the mixture is smooth and homogenous.

Layer the ingredients of the pudding in two sets in the following order in the container that you wish to use for the serving: 

1. Vanilla pudding 2. Cookies (whole) 3. Banana slices dipped in the caramel sauce 4. Cream. Cover the container with the foil and put it in the fridge for about 24 hours before the serving. 

TIP! Even though it is called banana pudding you have to be careful with the amount of banana and cookies. One banana is more than enough and depending on the size of it, it is possible that you have a bit left from the banana. There must be a bit of room between the banana slices and the cookies should neither be positioned too tightly. 

TIP! Make the double amount of caramel sauce and cookies if you are anyway are doing them. The cookies can be frozen for the next time and the caramel sauce can be kept in the fridge for a few weeks (according to the expiry dates on the plant-based yoghurt- and the margarine packaging). If you do not want to make more banana pudding you can use the caramel sauce with ice cream, pancakes or other desserts and eat the cookies with a tea or coffee.