Banana–Coconut Pastry Cups With Bourbon Sauce
These banana-coconut filled pastry cups, drizzled with brown sugar bourbon sauce, are easy to make and delicious. Puff pastry is crunchier when it is warm; so, this dish is better served warm. You can bake the dessert cups ahead of time. They reheat well in the oven or in an air fryer.
Bananas that are not overripe worked better for this dessert. I used Pepperidge farm puff pastry sheets, with one sheet yielding 12 pastry cups.
For the sauce, you could use coconut milk or cream. Bourbon or rum is optional in the sauce, but this dessert tastes better with a touch of alcohol, in my opinion. Inspiration for the sauce came from the ‘Bourbon-brown sugar sauce’ recipe from America’s Test Kitchen website.
Cooking time: 1 hour
Yield: 12 pastry cups
“Hi, I’m Aswathy! Cooking has always been a passion of mine, and I love exploring new recipes from different corners of the world. While I can’t say I enjoy the cleaning up as much, the joy of creating and sharing delicious dishes makes it all worthwhile. On this blog, you’ll find a collection of recipes, stories, and flavors that inspire me—and I hope they inspire you too! Feel free to try out the recipes, share your thoughts in the comments, and let me know how they turn out in your kitchen.”
Ingredients and Instructions
- Bananas 2
- Fresh coconut 0.5 cup
- Dark brown sugar 3 tbsp, packed
- Cardamom powder 0.25 tsp
- Salt one pinch
- Lemon juice 1 tsp
Heat oven to 400 degrees and place rack in the middle. Peel bananas and cut into four quarters. Chop these into quarter inch pieces and toss with lemon juice. This will prevent bananas from turning brown. Add coconut, brown sugar, cardamom powder and salt. Mix gently, making sure not to mash the banana pieces. Set aside.
- Walnut, chopped 0.5 cup
- Puff pastry sheet 1
Use Pepperidge farm or similar puff pastry sheet. Thaw pastry sheet according to the directions on the box and keep it chilled until ready to assemble.
Chop walnut into small pieces.
Unfold pastry on lightly floured surface. Cut into twelve equal size rectangles. Place each piece of dough into the well of a small cupcake pan. Press to cover the entire well.
Place one tablespoon of banana-coconut mixture into each cupcake well and sprinkle with chopped walnuts. Depending on the size of the bananas there may be some filling left over. If the pastry gets too soft to the touch, return it to the refrigerator to chill for 10 minutes before baking.
Bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until golden. Remove and cool on wire rack.
Bourbon sauce
- Light brown sugar 0.25 cup
- Coconut milk or cream 3 tbsp
- Unsalted butter 1 tbsp
- Bourbon or rum 2 tsp
Whisk brown sugar with cream or coconut milk in a small saucepan on medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Add butter and bring it back to boil. Remove from heat and whisk in bourbon or rum, if using, and set aside. Drizzle each pastry cup with about a teaspoon of warm sauce and serve.
