Lucy Wang’s Banana Brulee

Total Time Prep: 15 min. + standing Cook: 15 min.
Yield 12 servings
We had a bunch of overly ripe bananas and at first I thought of banana bread, but then I made this banana brulee instead and it's so much better! The mildly sweet custard is perfect as a pudding, or pipe it into dinner rolls for a bakery-level pastry. —Lucy Wang, Los Angeles, California

Ingredients

  • BANANA MILK:
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 mashed very ripe banana
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • CUSTARD:
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 12 dinner rolls
  • 1 tablespoon butter, melted
  • 8 tablespoons sugar

Directions

  1. In a small saucepan, heat the milk over medium heat. Add the mashed banana and vanilla extract and stir until well mixed. Cook until slightly thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and let stand 15 minutes.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch. Gradually add the banana milk, whisking until smooth. Strain back into the saucepan and discard the solids.
  3. Cook the mixture over medium-low heat until thickened. Remove from the heat. Add 1 tablespoon butter and salt. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and cover the surface with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.
  4. Pipe the cooled custard into the center of 12 dinner rolls. Brush the tops with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.
  5. Heat the filled rolls with a kitchen torch or broil 4 inches from the heat until the sugar is lightly browned. Serve immediately.
Do you have a toddler that asks for 1 single thing then when you give it to them they refuse to eat it? We have a bunch of sad bananas with flimsy blackened skin laying around and initially I thought we could make banana bread, but then I made this and this is so much better. Skip the banana bread and make a banana brulee instead. This mildly sweet custard is perfect as is like a pudding, or fill it up in your favorite dinner roll and make a bakery-level pastry!
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