ROASTED BANANA CREAM MOUSSE

This has been a week for using up food that is nearing the end of its life, repurposing leftovers, and cleaning out the fridge to prepare for the upcoming holidays. Lots of new dishes but nothing spectacular and definitely nothing to write about.

That is until this happened…

We had a couple of bunches of bananas and I really needed to do something with them. One can only eat so much banana bread or drink so many banana smoothies, you know? Being that I’m not a baker, banana cream pie nor banana pudding were an option. What else can you do with bananas?

This is SO simple to make and requires no baking. That ranks really high when it comes to me and desserts.
INGREDIENTS
4 large bananas
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon coconut rum (use whatever rum you have and increase the amount if desired)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
nutmeg, freshly grated

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Place bananas (in their peels) directly on center rack of the oven. Put a roasting on the rack below to catch the juice that will exude.
3. Roast for 15 minutes or until the bananas are very soft. Remove carefully to a wire rack to cool.
4. Peel the bananas and place in a food processor. Puree until smooth.
5. Add the sugar, rum, and vanilla, and process until well incorporated.
6. Add the heavy whipping cream and process for 1 minute.
7. Divide the mixture into 4 medium ramekins and refrigerate until cool.
8. To serve, top with whipped cream and sprinkle with freshly grated nutmeg.

The beloved loved these. He said they tasted like banana pudding on steroids. (I will add that banana pudding is one of his favorites.)