I liked this dessert because it's relatively healthy, in that it doesn't have too much fat or sugar. It's also rather tasty, and my oldest one liked it a lot (the youngest one didn't - but she's never really liked mushy foods). While it's easy to make, it's relatively laborious, so I think I'd only make it when I was looking for something somewhat healthy to serve.

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Banana and Almond Cream

Ingredients

1/4 cup almonds

2 cups plus 2 Tbsp. milk

pinch of salt

peel of 1 / 2 lemon

1 cinnamon stick

3 Tbsp. cornstarch

2 bananas

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

2 eggs

1/3 cup sugar

Instructions

Blanch the almonds. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 350F for about 5 minutes. Let cool, then grind.

Meanwhile, put 2 cups of milk into a small bowl. Add the salt, lemon peel and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes. Remove and discard the lemon peel and cinnamon stick.

Meanwhile, mash the bananas and sprinkle with lemon juice. In a small bowl mix the cornstarch with 2 Tbsp. of milk.

Whisk together the bananas, cornstarch, eggs and sugar and put in a medium bowl. Add the hot milk and mix well. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and pour into 6 smallish ramekins.

Adapted from Delicioso! The Regional Cooking of Spain - by Penelope Casas. 1996: Knopf