Khanom Kluai

Pailin Chongchitnant’s selected khanom kluai is a steamed Thai banana-and-coconut dessert with a soft, fudgy texture. Her recipe uses ripe regular North American bananas, while the accompanying account describes namwa bananas as the traditional Thai choice.

The bananas are mashed with a fork and left slightly chunky. Rice flour, tapioca starch, granulated sugar and salt are mixed with coconut milk before most of the selected dried coconut is added.

The smooth coconut batter joins the mashed banana. A selected optional touch of lime juice brightens the mixture, and the remaining coconut is held back for the topping.

A little hot water drawn from the steamer moistens the reserved coconut. The batter fills small heatproof cups with room for expansion, receives its coconut topping and steams over boiling water.

The cakes cool before they are eaten warm or at room temperature, allowing their soft structure to settle. This selected steamed dessert is closer to banana-coconut fudge than a fluffy baked banana cake.