Coffee House Parfaits

Remember my Coffee House Cake recipe?  This is what I did with some of the leftover cake.

Parfaits are a wonderful way to use up leftover cake or to stretch a small amount of cake into more servings.  They make a pretty presentation, wonderful for company. 

Here’s how I made my Coffee House Parfaits.  For two generous servings you’ll need: 

• 2 two-inch squares of leftover Coffee House Cake (There are 3 in the picture because I wasn't sure how much cake I'd need.)
• 2 cups milk
• 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 banana
• Whipped cream (not pictured)

Whisk the milk, cornstarch, brown sugar, and salt together in a saucepan.  Heat the mixture over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until it comes to a boil and thickens.  Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

Pour the pudding into a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap.  Make sure the plastic is sitting directly on the surface of the pudding.  It will help to prevent a skin from forming on the top of the pudding.

Allow the pudding to cool to room temperature, then put it in the fridge to cool completely.

When the pudding is cold, assemble the parfaits.  (You’ll want to wait until shortly before service to do this.  If the assembled parfaits sit too long, the banana will turn brown.)

• Crumble some cake into the bottom of each glass. 
• Spoon in some pudding on top of the cake. 
• Slice the banana and make a layer of slices on top of the pudding in each glass. 
• Crumble in some more cake. 
• Make another layer of pudding. 
• Pipe on a top layer of whipped cream (or spoon on a dollop instead).  

I garnished the whipped cream with a sprinkle of nutmeg.  Cinnamon or cardamom would work well too.
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