straight up veg

Happy Chinese New Year! It is the year of the monkey, so obviously, I decided to highlight bananas this week.

Two of my all time favourite desserts are banana cream pie and crepes. I decided to marry them and create something creamy, light and delicious.

**Feel free to click on the red links for photo references**

Recipe makes approx. 8 medium crepes 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 packet instant vanilla pudding (you could also use instant banana flavour pudding)
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 1/4 tsp banana flavour extract
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sparkling water
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp melted butter (plus extra for cooking)
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1-2 bananas, sliced.
• 8 nilla wafers(optional) 
• mint for garnish (optional) 
• Powdered sugar (optional) 

1. Mix together 1 packet of instant pudding with 2 cups of milk (or follow instructions on the box). Add banana extract to the mixture. Let the pudding set.
2. Using an electric whisk (or by hand if you’re glutton for punishment), whisk heavy cream, 1/2 tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract until it reaches a stiff peak. Fill a piping bag or ziplock bag with the whipped cream.
3. In a bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 cup of milk, sparkling water, eggs, 1/2 tbsp sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and 2 tbsp melted butter until smooth. This crepe batter should be thin. In a non-stick pan on medium heat, add 1/2 tsp of butter, and  1/3 cup of crepe batter. Swirl around the crepe batter until it creates a thin round crepe. Cook each side for just under a minute, until lightly brown, but not crispy.
4. Spread a couple tablespoons of pudding over 1 side of the crepe, then fill with the whipped cream and sliced bananas. Fold into thirds.
5. Serve with nilla wafers (for some crunch/texture) and garnish with extra bananas, whipped cream, powdered sugar and mint. Enjoy 🙂