Kuchnia

Banana Coconut Cream Parfaits
Parfaits
May 16th, 2013YIELD: 8 servingsPREP TIME: 25 minutes plus chill time
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
1 cup of fat free cottage cheese
4 oz Neufchatel cheese, slightly softened
2/3 cup of canned coconut milk (see note below)
1/2 cup of confectioner’s sugar (plus more if needed)
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 large bananas, sliced into 24 slices each
1/2 cup of sweetened, shredded coconut, toasted
15 vanilla wafers, crushed into crumbs
DIRECTIONS:
1. To the bowl of a food processor, add ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, Neufchatel cheese and thick coconut milk. Process on high, until mixture is very smooth (could take up to 2 minutes). Add confectioner’s sugar and vanilla and pulse until incorporated. Taste filling and add a bit more confectioner’s sugar to adjust to your taste (optional).

2. Have all of your ingredients out so that you can assemble the parfaits easily. Gather 8 parfait containers. I used ½ pint mason jars because I love having lids for each parfait, but feel free to use any 6-8oz dishes you like.

3. Line the bottom of each parfait dish with 3 banana slices. Spoon about 2 Tablespoons of cream filling mixture over the banana slices and top cream mixture with 1 tablespoon of cookie crumbs and ½ Tablespoon of toasted coconut. Repeat the layering with 3 banana slices, 2 Tablespoons of cream filling mixture, 2 Tablespoons of cookie crumbs and ½ Tablespoon of toasted coconut. This layer should finish the remaining ingredients.

4. Place lids on the jars (or cover dishes with plastic wrap) and chill for about 3 hours or overnight. This allows the cookie crumbs to soften and the flavors to blend together. Leftover parfaits can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Enjoy!

NOTES:
Be sure to use full fat canned coconut milk. To help separate the thickest part of the coconut milk (the cream) place the can in the fridge for an hour or so to help the cream thicken and rise to the top. Open the can carefully as to not disturb the cream. Use a spoon to scoop out 2/3 a cup of the thickest part of the canned milk. It’s okay if a bit of the thin stuff gets in. It helps keeps the filling thick and rich if you can use mostly the thick coconut cream.