Caramelized Rum Bananas with Amaretti Vanilla Yogurt
Summer calls for cold desserts. There is always gelato to refresh us but sometimes, a simple dessert like this can end our meals well. This dessert didn't take me more than 15 minutes to prepare. The bananas didn't need too much cooking so it can be done even during the hottest days. It's very refreshing when you eat it after it cools in the fridge.
When I was preparing this, I was regretting why I was making it in the first place. I forgot that my husband evades amaretti & bananas as much as he can, whereas I am not a "hurray, it's yogurt person" because of its proximity to milk. To top it all, the kids don't like their fruit cooked. This is one dessert wasted. Just the same, I continued.
After putting the last kid to bed, my husband and I sat down in the kitchen while we enwrapped ourselves with the silence after a very long day. Sometimes, this is the best time of the day after spending a whole day with hyperactive kids. And in silence comes the only chance to taste what we are eating. Eating with two kids can be major chaotic. One wants this, the other one wants that, then the shrieking starts and the other one takes on the cue. Sometimes even our dog joins in the whining. Whew! Just writing it down sends me back to stressful meal land. We are the restaurant-mates you would not want to sit close to. Well, unless your idea of a romantic dinner is served with a background music of all the sounds that children are capable of emitting. With all this mess, we adults, just shove our food in our mouths without even tasting what we are eating. "Huh, what? Didn't we have chicken for dinner? No it was fish. Even if you feed me watermelons for dinner, I wouldn't notice it anyhow."
As I took out these bananas from the fridge, I already forewarned my husbands about the ingredients. He was willing to try it. Heck, I was going to try it too, yogurt or not. We both finished our bowls up to the point of almost licking them clean. They were delicious. The blending of all the ingredients went very well that they came out as one surprisingly pleasant eating experience. And yes, we did taste everything this time.
Caramelized Rum Bananas with Amaretti Vanilla Yogurt
Ingredients:Serves 2
- 2 bananas (one for each person), round slices
- 8 small amaretti biscuits, crushed
- 2 small amaretti biscuits for decorating
- 150 ml. vanilla yogurt or plain
- vanilla extract (optional)
- dash of rum
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- Put the sliced bananas in a non-stick saucepan. Toast both sides for about 5 minutes.
- Add the sugar. When the sugar melts, add the rum. Cook for about 3 minutes or until the alcohol evaporates. Set aside & let cool.
- Wrap the amaretti biscuits in a kitchen paper towel. Use a kitchen mallet or anything heavy to pound on the biscuits. Make sure the paper towel doesn't tear.
- Transfer the crushed biscuits to a bowl. Set aside some for sprinkling on top. Mix in the vanilla yogurt. If you only have plain yogurt and would like to flavor it, just add a few drops of vanilla extract and mix or just use the plain one.
- Transfer yogurt mixture to individual bowls. Add the bananas. Sprinkle crushed amaretti on top and put one whole biscuit in the middle.
- Refrigerate. Serve cold.
