I'm so ready for spring! The cold weather has been loosening up a bit lately, and last week was gorgeously sunny. Having warm sunshine on my face makes me feel like anything is possible.
This week, I had a bunch of bananas ripening faster than I could eat them, so I decided to try whipping up some miniature banana cream pies. I was inspired by the adorable 'Pie-ettes' on this blog, but wanted to make mine as low-fat as possible. For the crust, I referred to an oatmeal cookie crust recipe from the 'Fat Free Vegan Kitchen.' Since it was fatfree, it didn't come out flaky or cripsy like regular pie crust. Instead, it was more similar to soft oatmeal bread. Whatever, it was still good. :) Then for the banana cream filling, I went with this 'Banana Dream Pie' recipe, except with a few changes. Here's my modified recipe:
{ Ingredients }
- pie crust baked in mini muffin tins
- 1/3 cup agave syrup
- 1/2 tsp stevia powder
- 4 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 cups soymilk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 pound firm tofu
- 3 ripe bananas
- a few drops of yellow food coloring (optional)
1. Whisk agave syrup, stevia, and cornstarch in a small pot, over med heat. Then add soymilk, salt, and vanilla extract, and continue stirring until it begins to thicken.
2. In a separate bowl, blend up the tofu and one banana. Then add the thickened soymilk/constarch mixture, and yellow food coloring (if using). Blend again til nice and smooth.
3. Slice up the other two bananas. Place a dollop of the cream filling into each mini pie crust, add a banana slice, then cover it with more of the filling. Finally, top it all off with another banana wedge for good measure. Let cool in fridge before serving.
I thought the cream filling would firm-up more than it actually did. Perhaps I didn't add enough cornstarch, as it was more like custard in an edible cup. :) I guess this recipe needs a little work and practice... but they were still thoroughly enjoyed. They're guilt-free and can satisfy your craving for a little banana sunshine. Don't you think they would be absolutely perfect for a spring picnic or something? They remind me of newly-hatched chicks. :)
My favorite part of these mini pies was the banana cream filling. After topping off all the crusts, I had some leftover filling which I just ended up eating by the spoonful. So good! You could totally make a delicious pudding out of it with layers of vegan wafers and fresh fruit.
*chomp*
Btw, I think it's best to eat these pretty quickly, as the bananas will begin to turn brown after a few hours. Otherwise, you could try to drizzle some lemon juice over the sliced bananas to help them last longer. That could also add a nice little tang!