Name: Banana Bread Ras Malai Mousse
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 2 cups whole milk organic grass-fed; 2 pinches of saffron; 1 tbsp cashews chopped; 1 tbsp almonds chopped; 3 tbsp sugar; 1/2 tsp ground cardamom; 1 cup heavy whipping cream or heavy cream; prepared whipped cream; 1 cup ras malai liquid divided; few strands saffron; 1/2 tbsp sugar more or less if need be; 2 nilla wafers (at the bottom); 3 banana slices; 1 large spoonful of ras malai mousse (more or less); 2 nilla wafers; 3-4 banana slices; 1 large spoonful of ras malai mousse (more or less)

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5 from 2 votes

When Banana Bread Pudding meets Ras Malai, and this is how Banana Bread Ras Malai Mousse was born. A tale of two desserts! This dessert is a delicious twist on two classics, you'll win both the western and eastern palettes.

What is Banana Bread Ras Malai Mousse?

I'm sure you're all familiar with the famed Magnolia Bakery that was made popular by the show Sex and the City! Magnolia's world-famous Banana Bread Pudding is easily one of the best desserts to have when visiting (or hanging in) NYC.

Ras Malai tops my three favorite Indian desserts. It's milky, creamy, flavored with cardamom, saffron, and nuts. It's absolutely delicious.

Essentially, this recipe was inspired by Magnolia Bakery's Banana Bread Pudding and an Indian classic - Ras Malai. Combining the two recipes made sense as they are both creamy, fluffy, light & airy.

Is this dessert Eggless?

Yes! You don't need any thickeners to make Banana Bread Ras Malai Mousse. Using heavy whipping cream is key in obtaining the right texture in this dessert.

Can I use Heavy Cream in place of Heavy Whipping Cream?

Yes! Heavy cream and heavy whipping cream can be used interchangeably. I used Heavy Whipping Cream from Trader Joe's, but feel free to use heavy cream as well.

Note: you cannot use light cream or half n half in this recipe because it does not contain enough fat to make whipped cream.

Can I make Banana Bread Ras Malai Mousse ahead of time?

YES! This is one of those desserts you can actually make ahead of time. The mousse mixture needs to be refrigerated for at least 6 hours before serving to help ensure the Nilla Wafers get nice and soft and form a cake-like texture.

You can even make this dessert up to one day in advance.

Ideas on how to serve!

You can make individual servings of this mousse and serve it in these short glasses I purchased from Crate & Barrel. Alternatively, you may use these cute little plastic wine goblet glasses. This recipe makes 8 individual portions.
The other option is to serve this dessert as a trifle. So get yourself a trifle bowl and assemble as follows - Nilla Wafers, banana slices, mousse. Repeat one more time. You can certainly try to repeat a third time if you have enough mousse leftover. Garnish.

Tips on making Banana Bread Ras Malai Mousse:

Prepare the liquid portion of the Ras Malai. The 'ras' (juice) should reduce to half the amount and you should see malai (cream) bits floating around. This takes 15 minutes.
Allow the Ras Malai portion to cool for 30 minutes and refrigerate for at least an hour. The mixture will thicken up slightly.
Prepare the whipped cream. Make sure you use heavy cream and stiff peaks have formed. If you overbeat the heavy cream, you will end up with butter. Whipped cream should be light and fluffy. This takes 5-6 minutes.
Add the Ras Malai to the whipped cream in small batches. Mix with an electric mixer for 1 minute each time, again do not overmix, but make sure the mix is slightly thick and light. This takes 5 minutes.
Assemble starting with layers of Nilla wafers at the bottom followed by sliced banana slices. Then top with Ras Malai Mousse. Repeat - nilla cookies, banana slices, ras malai mousse. Then garnish.
Garnish with Nilla wafers, banana slices, and vrak (Indian silver foil).

Ras Malai Mousse is:

Scrumptious
Light & Airy
Fluffy
Creamy
Tastes like Magnolia's Banana Bread Pudding
Indian Fusion
Eggless Dessert
Gluten-Free

How to make Ras Malai Mousse recipe step by step?

Prepare the liquid part of the Ras Malai

1. Begin by heating whole milk on medium heat in a nonstick pot. I love Ballarini PFOA-FREE.
2. The milk should be boiling 5 minutes later.
3. At this time add a few strands of saffron. Stir and cook for 5 minutes.
4. In the meantime, chop almonds and cashews.
5. Add the almonds and cashews to the milk.
6. Stir and gently scrape the sides of the pan to ensure the 'malai' cream is not wasted.

7. Immediately add sugar. I added 3 tablespoon which was enough for me, you can add a little more if you wish. Boil for 5 minutes.
8. Stir occasionally. Notice little bits of 'malai' forming in the milk. Allow this mixture to thicken up for another 5 minutes.
9. Add ground cardamom.
10. Stir. Notice the milk mixture has reduced to half. Scrape the sides to make sure none of the malai is wasted.
11. Transfer Ras Malai mixture to a bowl. Let it cool for 30 minutes, then place into the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Prepare the Whipped Cream

1. Place the mixing bowl into the refrigerator for 30 minutes before starting. Add cold heavy whipping cream to the cold mixing bowl.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat the whipping cream on low-medium speed, and slowly increase. This is what you should have 2 minutes later.
3. Two minutes later you'll notice the cream mixture starting to thicken up.
4. Another minute or two later, you should have whipped cream. Make sure stiff peaks have formed. DO NOT OVERMIX ELSE YOU WILL END UP WITH BUTTER.

Blend it all - Make Ras Malai Mousse

1. Add ½ cup of the ras malai mixture to the whipped cream.
2. Beat with an electric mixer for a minute max.
3. Add another ½ cup of the ras malai mixture. There should be no more mixture left or very little leftover.
4. Beat for another minute ensuring the mousse stays light and airy, but does not turn into butter.

5. Add a few strands of saffron for color and flavor.
6. I also added ½ tablespoon of sugar for a little more sweetness, you can add none or a little more.
7. Mix well. This is the desired texture. It should look like whipped mousse, not super light like whipped cream, but slightly thick and creamy.
8. This is Ras Malai Mousse (without the banana bread part). You can serve as is.

Assemble

1. You'll need Nilla Wafers and a banana that is not too ripe.
2. Slice the banana into quarter-inch slices.
3. Line up your dessert cups.

4. Place 2 nilla wafers at the bottom.
5. Followed by 3 banana slices.
6. Top with a big spoonful of the ras malai mousse.
7. Place 2 more nilla wafers over the mousse.
8. Add 3-4 banana slices.
9. Top with more mousse.

10. Cover with plastic wrap and place the Banana Bread Ras Malai Mousse in the fridge for at least 6 hours before eating.

Garnish

1. Garnish with crumbs of Nilla Wafers, a sliced banana, and vrak (Indian silver foil). Place in the fridge until the mousse thickens up some more. Serve cold!