Banana Flan

This makes (2)  9 1/2" tarts.  If you have a deeper pan or make it more like a pie, you may be able to fit it all into one pan.



For the pastry:
2/3 c. sugar
3/4 c. vegan butter, such as Earth Balance
1 c. vegan butter flavored shortening
1/2 mashed banana
1 t. vanilla extract
3 2/3 c. all purpose flour



For the filling:
19 oz. soft tofu, drained and patted dry
1 13.5 oz. can full-fat coconut milk
3/4 c. sugar
3 T. vanilla (yes, Tablespoons, not teaspoons, so you don't have an overpowering coconut or tofu taste)
1/4 c. cornstarch
pinch of salt
1 T. softened vegan butter



For the topping:
8 ripe bananas
1 10 oz. jar apricot jelly



Prepare the pastry:

In a food processor, combine the banana, sugar, butter, shortening, and vanilla. Pulse until smooth, and then add the flour. Tip out onto a floured surface and mix to form a smooth dough.  Divide dough into 2 roughly equal balls and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Ideally, you would now roll the dough into two perfect circles and be able to pick them up carefully and place them in your tart pans.  But this is not an ideal world.  I have found it much easier to avoid the heartbreak (and swearing) of broken crusts by placing each ball of dough into a tart pan and pressing them with your hands into a nice, even, flat crust.  Press the edges up into the fluted rim of the tart pan and get on with your life.  If you are a perfectionist, by all means, attempt to roll the dough into 1/4" and lay it into the tart pan beautifully.  But you are a better pastry chef master than I!

At any rate, once you have your beautiful crusts in your tart pans, stick them back in the refrigerator for another 45 minutes.  Pre-heat your oven during this break to 350, and when the 45 minutes are up, poke several air holes in your crusts using a fork and blind bake for 30-40 minutes, until light golden brown.  What's that?  You don't know what blind baking is?  Well, if you're a really dedicated baker, you probably already have what's known as blind baking beans, or some fancy weights you got from an even fancier kitchen store that were made for this purpose.  The point is to keep your lovely crusts flat and even, so that when you pour your filling in later, there will be room for the filling.  Otherwise, the crust will tend to rise up while baking and not be very crust-like at all when they are done.  If you don't have blind baking beans (which are essentially dried beans, lentils, or any other type of legume that you use for this purpose only) or fancy baking weights, you can improvise.  The first time I made this recipe, I put a sheet of wax paper over the crust, set a 9" pie plate on top of that, and weighted it with canned goods.  I think that was a bit more than was required, and the next time I made this, I literally left the crusts empty and just smacked them with a spatula every ten minutes or so of baking.  I think I'll try getting some beans next time.

When your crusts are done baking, remove them from the oven to cool, and prepare the filling:

  

In a food processor, pulse the tofu until it is smooth and creamy.  Add the rest of the ingredients, processing until well combined. Pour the filling into a heavy sauce pan and heat.  Whisk constantly until the pastry cream thickens (about 4 minutes), and then remove from the heat.  Spoon the filling into the crusts, then stick the tarts back in the fridge.

A few minutes before serving, remove the well-chilled tarts from the fridge and cover them with sliced bananas.  Heat the apricot jelly until it is liquid, and brush the jelly over the banana slices.