This is the dessert to have up your sleeve for when you want to make something easy but VERY special. Butterscotch, Coconut Banana Parfait is the dessert
Tui seemed a nice enough lady and there was no reason for us not to stay here. The batak house was cool inside, the tall pitched roof allowed a lot of the heat to rise and the wooden shuttered windows (portholes) encouraged a gentle breeze to flow through from the lake. The Spartan interior seemed almost welcoming at first glance after some of the other hotels we experienced on the road to Samosir Island in Sumatra. A couple of lumpy mattresses and the lack of a bathroom within the confines of the “hut” did not yet matter.
Samosir Island, Lake Toba went on to become the next “it” place for travellers looking for a party island, but for now, it was untouched and underdeveloped and this was one of the only places to stay, so there really was no trading up to a 5 star resort…..this was it. We were about to find out how many stars it really had…… Tui, vaguely pointed towards the back of her own Batak house, “toy-let”, OK?. I have since heard other travellers toilet adventure stories, and there are plain dirty stories and then there is this one.
Banana, coconut and butterscotch parfait
Picture from travel Indonesia
Behind her house there was a fenced enclosure, of about 50sq metres. The fence was made from palm fronds and branches and bits of wood, standard issue an an island.To the right of the enclosure and closest to where we stood there was a , sort of a bungalow, the kind you might find in Thailand on the beach, it was raised on stilts and stood above the height of the fence, a five step ladderesque staircase rising up to the door, which was right there and open for access on the fence line. The roof was securely thatched with coconut palm and the floor was solid wooden plank and as the only building behind the house, there was no mistaking, this was the toilet. There was little inside save for a bucket of water and a plastic scoop for splashing water around and a round hole sawed in the floor. Below the opening was the dirt of the enclosure and nothing else. I encouraged her to go first, as a good big sister does, my blonde tall beautiful sister, travel wiry with untamed hair, and not long from a city job.
Sliced bananas ready for caramelizing
Toffeed bananas
As she scaled the stairs to the bungalow, toilet paper tucked securely under her arm, the pigs raised their snouts and sniffed the air. By the time she was inside and the door closed behind her, they had traversed the distance between shade on the other side of the enclosure and bungalow on our side. There was a shuffling on the floor inside, as she positioned her feet on either side of the hole. Then the hungry piggies jostled for positions as they ran towards that bungalow snouts in the air, and converged in a frenzied pack underneath the bungalow mouths open and looking upwards, while my sister simultaneously started screaming. Why had it taken so long to dawn on me?
Have you ever tried to go while being watched ?
We had not yet even found the shower, and it would be a big spectacle when we did…………..
Butterscotch, Coconut, Banana Parfait & Sumatra
Ingredients
Crunchy base
- 100 gm coconut biscuits ( I used Krispies but you could use any biscuit containing coconut or even a gluten free ones
- 50 gm coconut, toasted desiccated unsweetened, (1/2 cup
- 50 gm butter, unsalted, melted
Parfait
- 375 ml coconut evaporated milk nestle, 1 can, very well chilled
- 150 gm brown sugar 3/4 cup
- 2 whole egg whites
- 150 ml thickened cream 3/4 cup
- 2 whole bananas
- 80 gm caster sugar 1/4 cup
Instructions
- Us a loaf tin. mine is approx 23 x 10 cm ( 9 in x 4 in). Grease it and line with baking paper,
- Put the biscuits in a food processor and break up, without making them too fine. (or smash in a bag with a rolling pin) . Pour into a bowl and add the coconut and butter and mix well. Press into the base of a paper lined loaf tin. Make sure the paper comes up over the lip of the tin so that it can be pulled out easily. Pop in the freezer till the ice cream is ready to be added
- First beat the cream until soft peak or till firm and thick. Put into the fridge.
- Clean the bowl and beat the evaporated milk and sugar until very thick and creamy ( see picture- the colder the milk the more volume you will get). Pour into a large bowl and set aside while you beat the whites.
- Clean the bowl and whisk of all grease then beat the whites till soft and fluffy. Now you have 3 whipped elements that need to be folded together. With a very gentle folding motion add the cream first and fold it into the milk and sugar until almost incorporated . Add 1/2 of the whites and fold till almost incorporated before adding the rest. When there are no lumps ( if you can see any you can either break them up by squashing with a fork or dig them out and discard.) The lighter the mixture now the lighter it will be when finished
- Pour the ice cream mixture into your mould. Cover with cling wrap or baking paper and freeze overnight or about 6 hours. ( you may have a little too much pour into another container with a lid)
Before getting the ice cream out of the freezer.
- Slice 1-2 bananas and line them on a tray, as they will go onto the top of the ice cream, in lines. Sprinkle generously with sugar and use a brulee torch or put under the grill on high, very close to the element, till they are candied.
- Let them sit for a couple of minutes to cool down. Meanwhile take out the ice cream and using a pallet knife put the bananas on top before cutting or serving. i also used a salted caramel sauce .
Notes
use plain evaporated milk if you can't find the coconut one
If you have an issue with egg white you can skip them, note though that the parfait will not be as light
Toilet and desserts cannot go hand in hand, my friend 😀
Nonetheless, this recipe is deliciously tropical!
Oh that coconut base! I could eat it by itself 😀 everything about this sounds and looks delicious!
thanks for hopping! This looks sensAAAtional.
I could not have stayed there!
I laughed so much reading your post! And this dessert is pure heaven, a bliss 🙂
The parfait looks absouloutly stunning.
I have had many shared toilet situations through Asia, I find that most want to watch because I am white and have blond hair. Yes, I do squat just like you, but my bum is very white, Love travel stories.
Oh my goodness that was funny! Oh dear, those piggies :S And I will come back to the recipe part-I just couldn’t go straight from that imagery to the recipe 😛
Oh my goodness what a crazy story – I can’t even imagine the shower!! Love the idea of this dessert – especially the crunchy base/topping!
Wait till you hear about the shower !!
I thought my Nan’s old backyard dunny bucket was bad enough. I still remember the excitement of getting an indoor toilet plumbed in, as I was the littlest I got to christen it 🙂
What a horrible, horrible experience indeed!
I’m glad you left us with happy thoughts of your amazing dessert, it looks and sounds delicious. I remember beating evaporated milk- what a great idea to use it like this. Yummo!
Hey Rebecca thanks
What an extremely decadent dessert!
Butterscotch? Coconut? Bananas? LET ME AT IT 😀
Love the flavours in this recipe, Tania. Just gorgeous.
What an amazing dessert! Decadent but it could almost be called healthy because of the banana 😉
Everything in this dessert sounds incredible, from the crunchy base through the coconutty middle to the caramelized bananas on top. Yum!
Thanks I do love a caramelized banana
I must say I have met some mighty strange toilets on my travels, including having unexpected onlookers, but pigs? That sounds truly disgusting.
Yeah it doesnt bare thinking about
Hahah this story reminded me a bit of the toilets (if you could call them that) in the Philippines in my Mum’s home village. Actually, I’ve blocked out the memories due to trauma, lol..
But that business aside, this parfait looks so soo good, especially love the tropical flavours and the caramelised banana, YUM!
Yes I can understand you blocking them out!. Visiting a place like that while you are little has even more impact
Yes I would block it out too ….if I could
Another heavenly dessert, Tania. Love the tropical flavour.
I love the flavour combination! Thanks! I will try this out!
That is terrible. It reminds me of that toilet in Slum Dog Millionaire. But the image of the pigs below waiting for a treat is just too much! Lovely looking dessert – the bananas and caramel look delicious xx
I can’t remember the Toilet in slum dog millionaire …did they show one?
Thanks Jennifer, hope you do and let me know
Thanks Angie
Oh Tania I’m nearly crying in laughter. It would be hard enough to squat over a hole but to look down and suddenly see pigs just below your bottom… oh it’s priceless!
Your parfait looks like quite the treat. I bet you didn’t get anything like it on your travels.
Nothing like it at all , Claire Im afraid.