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Romain Avril

🍌 Banana Crème Brûlée

Bananas are already nature’s custard.
Soft. Sweet. Almost creamy when perfectly ripe.
So instead of baking them into bread or folding them into cake, I treated them with classic French technique — transforming them into a rich banana crème pâtissière, piping it back into their own shells, and finishing them with a thin, glassy layer of brûléed sugar.
This recipe is about contrast.
Cold, silky banana cream.Warm, bitter caramel.Soft fruit.Sharp crack.It’s playful, but grounded in technique.
Familiar, but unexpected. This is the first recipe in my series Everything Deserves a Brûlée — where classic crème brûlée meets unconventional ingredients.
And yes… the banana absolutely deserved it.
Imprimer la recette Recette d'Ă©pingle
Temps de préparation 10 minutes
Temps de cuisson 15 minutes
Chilling time 2 heures
Temps total 2 heures 25 minutes
Portions: 6 portions
Type de plat: Petit-déjeuner, Desserts
Cuisine: Français
Calories: 290
Ingrédients Équipement Méthode Remarques

Ingrédients
  

  • 3 ripe bananas
  • 450 ml whole milk 1 â…ž cups
  • 1 vanilla pod split and scraped
  • 4 jaunes d'Ĺ“uf
  • 110 g granulated sugar ½ cup + 1 tbsp
  • 25 g cornstarch 3 tbsp
  • 35 g unsalted butter 2 ½ tbsp
  • 3 g fine salt ½ tsp + a pinch
  • 3 Ă  soupe sugar for brĂ»lĂ©e

Équipement

  • Medium saucepan
  • Whisk
  • Stick blender
  • Mixing bowl
  • Fine sieve
  • Rubber spatula
  • Piping bag + round tip
  • Blow torch
  • Large measuring cup or cylinder

MĂ©thode
 

1) Prepare the bananas
  1. Split the bananas in half trying to keep the shape as much as possible since the peel will be the vessel, remove the flesh and slice it thin.
2) Infuse the milk
  1. Combine milk, sliced bananas and vanilla pod (seeds + pod) into a large measuring cup and blitz using a stick blender until smooth.
  2. Pour into a medium size saucepan.
  3. Heat gently until steaming but not boiling.
  4. Turn off heat and let infuse 10 minutes.
3) Make the base
  1. In a bowl, whisk together:
  2. Egg yolks, sugar until thick and pale.
  3. Add the cornstarch and mix until combined.
4) Temper
  1. Remove vanilla pod from milk.
  2. Slowly pour warm milk into yolk mixture while whisking constantly.
  3. Return everything to the saucepan.
5) Cook the pastry cream
  1. Cook over medium heat, whisking continuously.
  2. Once it thickens and begins to bubble, continue whisking for 45 seconds to fully cook out the starch.
  3. The texture should be thick, glossy, and pipeable but still smooth.
  4. Remove from heat and whisk in butter and salt until fully incorporated.
6) Finish the pastry cream
  1. For ultra-smooth texture, pass through a fine sieve.
  2. Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface.
  3. Chill at least 2 hours until fully cold.
7) Prepare the shells
  1. Pipe chilled banana pastry cream generously into each half.
  2. Smooth the surface.
8) Brûlée
  1. Sprinkle a thin, even layer of sugar.
  2. Torch until deep amber and glassy.
  3. Let sit 60–90 seconds to harden.
  4. Tap. Crack. Serve immediately.

Remarques

• Use ripe but firm bananas — structure matters.
• Whisk chilled pastry cream briefly before piping to restore silkiness.
• Thin sugar layers create better crack and prevent bitterness.
• A tiny pinch of fleur de sel after torching elevates the caramel.
Texture & Balance
Silky interior
Natural banana intensity
Balanced sweetness
Buttery finish
Sharp caramel crunch