Description
This vegan banana pudding trifle layers thick homemade custard, just-ripe bananas, and soft biscuits for an easy, no-bake dessert that’s great for make-ahead entertaining.
Ingredients
Vegan Custard Cream:
- 4 cups / 875mls plant milk (soy or almond, ideally a white milk), divided
- ½ cup / 60g cornstarch
- ½ cup / 100g cane sugar
- 1 cup / 240g coconut cream, thick cream part only (or full-fat coconut milk)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder* (for color, you won’t taste it)
- 11.25 ounces / 320g oat condensed milk (or coconut condensed milk)
- 1½ cups / 340ml vegan whipping cream*
- 2 teaspoons cane sugar
Assembly:
- 365g / 12.87 ounces – 24 digestive biscuits
- 3-4 medium just-ripe bananas, sliced
Serving: (optional)
- ½ cup / 115ml vegan whipping cream*
- 2 teaspoons cane sugar
- Extra digestive biscuits (2-3 biscuits)
- ½ – 1 medium just-ripe banana, sliced
Instructions
Before you begin this recipe, I would suggest that you take a look at the step-by-step images earlier in this post so you know what visual cues to look out for when making the custard and cream.
- Make the custard: Add half of the plant milk to a medium saucepan and heat over medium-high heat until it reaches a gentle simmer.
- Prepare custard mixture: In the meantime, to a bowl, whisk together the remaining milk, cornstarch (½ cup), sugar (½ cup), coconut cream (1 cup), vanilla extract (2 teaspoons), and turmeric (¼ teaspoon) until completely smooth with no lumps.
- Cook the custard: Once the milk in the saucepan is simmering, pour in the custard mixture and whisk continuously for 4-5 minutes until it thickens and starts to stick to the bottom of the pan. Reduce the heat to low and cook for an additional 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Cool custard: Remove from heat and let the custard cool completely by transferring it to a bowl, placing cling film on the pudding surface, so it doesn’t form a skin, before placing it in the fridge. It can take 2-3 hours for it to cool completely. The custard will continue to thicken as it cools. If it appears lumpy once cooled, whisk with a hand mixer until smooth.
- Add condensed milk mixture: Once the custard is completely cool, mix in the oat condensed milk (11.25 ounces / 320g) until well combined. Set aside.
- Whip the cream: In a separate deep bowl, whip the vegan cream (1½ cups) with sugar (2 teaspoons), by starting the speed on low, and increasing it to high over time. Whip until stiff peaks form. A good indicator is tipping the bowl upside down and it staying in its place. Just be careful not to overwhip!
- Combine mixtures: Gently fold the whipped cream into the custard and condensed milk mixture until just combined. This should be thick, but light and airy.
- Prepare bananas: Slice bananas into ¼-inch rounds. Choose bananas that are just ripe – they should not have green tips but feel firm to the touch.
- Layer the pudding: In a large glass trifle bowl or 9×13 dish, create layers in this order:
- Layer of digestive biscuits
- Layer of custard cream – a quarter of the mix (only one layer will be like this before adding banana, so that the bottom biscuits can soak up the cream)
- Layer of digestive biscuits
- Layer of banana slices
- Layer of custard cream – a quarter of the mix
- Then repeat biscuit, banana, and custard cream until you have used it all up, finishing with custard cream.
- Chill: Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.
- Serve: You can whip a little more cream (½ cup) and sugar (2 teaspoons) to finish it off, and garnish with extra banana slices and crushed biscuits just before serving. Serve within 8 hours after garnishing for the best appearance. It will, however, keep for 3-4 days, covered well in the fridge.
Notes
Turmeric powder: Use a yellow turmeric powder. Some can be more brown, which will impact the final appearance of the pudding.
Whipping cream: I used Flora Plant Cream here in Australia. Silk, or Country Crock, are great options in the US. Keep in mind that some brands you can overwhip, and others you can’t.
Homemade custard control: Making custard from scratch gives you complete control over the consistency and flavor, ensuring the perfect thickness for beautiful layers. If you feel that after you have folded in the cream, it’s still not thick enough, place it in the fridge for a couple of hours before using to assemble the pudding.
Custard consistency: Finding the perfect custard consistency is crucial for this recipe. You don’t want the custard to be too thin (this will cause the layers to disappear), but you also don’t want it too thick, as you won’t be able to fold in the whipped cream properly. If the custard is too heavy, you’ll lose all the air that you’ve created by whipping the cream. The ideal consistency should be thick enough to hold its shape but still pourable and light enough to fold cream into without deflating it.
Banana selection: Use bananas that are just ripe with yellow tips. They should feel firm. This prevents them from becoming too soft and browning quickly.
Serving options: You can serve this in individual cups, a large glass bowl, or, for a real show-stopper, use a trifle dish.
Best served: Within 8 hours for optimal banana appearance, though flavor remains excellent for several days.
