The banana and chocolate triangles are vegan treats I made almost at the start of my blog following a recipe from the Weight Watchers site, but then I forgot them in the drafts of my recipes. I also remade them a few times hoping to get two better shots but nothing… So today I present them to you like this, a bit too golden but still very indulgent. Obviously I used my beloved phyllo pastry to make them.
Phyllo pastry is typically vegan, made mainly with flour and water, without leavening, and then rolled into very thin sheets. Used with light ingredients it is perfect for a diet because it is very versatile, suitable for sweet and savory preparations, and its calorie contribution is very low. Practically it’s used like puff pastry so you can also fold it into a pouch, triangles or however you prefer.
Here I used two simple and wholesome ingredients: chocolate and banana. Banana is zero Weight Watchers points and I don’t deprive myself of chocolate even on a diet, otherwise I would get too depressed. Just use dark chocolate with less sugar and voilà! Let’s see how I made them because I’m starting to digress…
You can find some other recipes with phyllo pastry here:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Low cost
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 10 pieces
- Cooking methods: Oven, Air fryer
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 3 bananas (small or 2 large)
- 5 sheets phyllo pastry (thawed, about 8 x 9.5 in. About 3.9 oz total)
- 10 g vegan butter (light, or about 2 teaspoons of oil)
- 60 g dark chocolate (vegan)
- Points for 1 triangle = 2 WW points
Tools
- Small bowl
- Knife
- Parchment paper
- Baking sheet
- Brush
- Air fryer parchment paper
- Air fryer
- Cooling rack
Steps
First, prepare all the ingredients: peel the bananas and cut them into small pieces, dividing them into 10 equal portions. Also cut or grate the chocolate and divide it into 10 equal portions.
Phyllo pastry tends to dry out a lot and should be brushed with melted butter before baking. To avoid too many calories I discovered that it’s also fine to use just a little oil and thin it with some hot water. The effect is the same but the calories or WW points are thus drastically reduced.
So put the vegan butter in a small bowl and melt it in the microwave then add a little water to about double the volume. You can also use 2 teaspoons of oil mixed with a little water. Mix well: this liquid will be used to moisten the phyllo pastry.
Open the phyllo pastry package and take the first sheet. While working on one sheet cover the rest of the phyllo with cling film or a dish towel to prevent it from drying out.
Brush the entire sheet well with the water and butter/oil mix and cut it lengthwise in half with a sharp knife to obtain 2 rectangles.
For each rectangle, place the portion of banana and dark chocolate prepared earlier at one end. Then, as shown in the photo, fold to form a triangle. At the end brush again with a little of the water and butter/oil mix.
Repeat this operation to form all the triangles.
Place the triangles on the baking tray lined with parchment paper or a silicone sheet, as I did. With the remaining water and butter/oil mix brush the edges of all the triangles gently.
Preheat the oven to 356°F (a little less if your oven is fan-assisted) and bake for about 10 minutes in the center of the oven.
When they are nicely golden, but not too much as I did
, remove the triangles from the oven and let them cool for a few minutes on a rack.
You can also cook them in an air fryer, always placing them on suitable parchment paper, at 320°F for about 7-8 minutes, checking often that they don’t get too dark and turning them halfway through cooking.
When golden, remove the triangles from the air fryer and let them cool for a few minutes on a rack.
And here our banana and chocolate triangles are ready to be enjoyed! Will we manage to let them cool?
If you like, you can also dust them with a couple of teaspoons of powdered sugar without changing the WW points. I must say they were well received here even though every time I make them I leave them in the oven a few minutes too long.
In fact, my son, seeing that I’m writing the recipe, told me: when will you make them again? Right, I must do it as soon as possible! Let me know if you liked them by leaving a comment below or on Facebook.
Enjoy!
by Giovanna Buono
Storage
You can prepare this sweet in advance because phyllo pastry, unlike puff pastry, tends to remain crunchy longer. I know for sure that if prepared the day before they remain crunchy the next day when kept at room temperature (I usually leave them on a plate in the oven). They never lasted longer than that for me!
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
Where can I find phyllo pastry?
Phyllo pastry is sold in various sizes. In this recipe I indicated the size of the sheets I normally find frozen here in the Netherlands, but if you find larger sheets it’s very easy to cut them into smaller rectangles, or if you find smaller ones you can join several pieces together overlapping them by a few millimeters: in the end you need 10 reasonably long rectangles! If you can’t find phyllo pastry you can try looking for brick pastry in ethnic stores.
Can I use other fruit?
Honestly I think fruit that releases too much water might not work well and that’s why I used banana. But I think a pear that is not too ripe could definitely work… maybe with well-drained ricotta instead of chocolate and a nice dusting of cinnamon! If you try it, let me know.
