If you grew up in a Balkan household, then you’re familiar with the humble Keks delicacy. Known as tea biscuits in English-speaking countries, this humble sweet cracker was a staple of my childhood. It was often served (and enjoyed!) by older members of my family because in their younger days it was a special treat, in a time when sugar was expensive, rare, and enjoyed sparingly. My grandma used to tell us the story of the time she went on a school trip to the sugar factory and they all received sugar to take home, one of the highlights of her childhood. This recipe uses those simple, humble crackers to make Keks Kocke sa Bananama, a Balkan version of the classic… Banana Pudding!

Keks in my family is eaten “kada nema ništa drugo“, when sick, and are used in many many desserts. There are many varieties of these crackers though. There’s Plazma Keks, an absolute staple in the Balkans, Turkish Keks (sometimes filled with chocolate), and lastly, another Balkan staple, Petit Beurre. Any and all of these are used for cookies, cakes, and can also all be enjoyed on their own.

This recipe for Keks Kocke is probably one the simplest recipes on this blog. No waiting for the pudding to cool, no whipping the butter/margarine, no nothing. It’s truly a one-pot dessert. Is there such a thing….one-pot dessert? Well, there is now! In this recipe, I strayed slightly away from traditional, American-style banana pudding by incorporating a few nontraditional ingredients. But let me tell you…. it makes this to die for! While the dessert sets, the Keks softens due to the moisture in the pudding and it ends up being a creamy, dreamy experience that is perfect for a hot summer day.

If you’d rather leave out the extras and make it plain and simple, that’s totally up to you and it’s just as delicious. Now that I’ve named a few types of Keks, you’re probably wondering which is best to use. For this recipe, I like to use Plazma Keks or Lane as it’s branded for the US. In this particular version though, I only had Petit Beurre on hand so i used that instead. But anything you like to eat on its own will of course work here. If using Turkish style Keks that contain a filling, be aware that it will change the color of the filling. Which can be awesome or frustrating depending on your outlook on life LOL.

Give this super simple, quick, and easy recipe a try soon. It doesn’t get easier than this.

Looking for more dessert ideas? Check out the dessert section!

Keks Kocke sa Bananama/Balkan Banana Pudding Squares

Recipe by The Balkan HostessCourse: DessertCuisine: Balkan, Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Chill time

1.5

hours

Super simple summer dessert, perfect for warm days!

Ingredients

1 1/2 sleeves of Petit Beurre crackers or 2 sleeves of Plazma (300 g), broken up into medium pieces
3 vanilla flavored pudding packets
4 cups (1 L) milk
1 cup (200 g) sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla sugar (1 kesica)
1/2 teaspoon (3 ml) vanilla extract
2 sticks (226 g) butter or margarine
Zest of 1 lemon
3 heaping tablespoons cream cheese or Greek yogurt (3 dobre kašike)
Whipped cream for decorating (2 cups) / Šlag Krem – 1 kesica

Directions

In a medium-sized pot, add in 2/3 of the milk, reserving 1/3 in a bowl. Turn the heat to medium-high and slowly bring to a low boil.
While the milk is heating up, pour the remaining 1/3 of the milk into a bowl and to it add the sugar, vanilla sugar, vanilla extract, and pudding powder. Whisk everything well to combine and ensure there are no lumps. Set aside.
When the milk begins to boil, slowly pour in the pudding mixture and begin to whisk quickly. After pouring in the pudding mixture, reduce the heat to low. Continue whisking until the mixture thickens and there are no longer any foamy bubbles on the surface of the pudding. Once the pudding thickens, cook for another 2 minutes stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
To the hot pudding add the butter or margarine and whisk until melted. Next, add in the lemon zest and cream cheese. Whisk to combine until the cream cheese melts completely. Lastly, add in the keks and switch to a spatula or wooden spoon. Mix to cover all the keks in the pudding mixture, ensuring there are no “dry spots.
Grease the bottom and sides of the baking pan you will be using with a little bit of butter, margarine, or oil. (I just rub the paper the butter/margarine was wrapped in and it’s just enough)
Pour half of the mixture into the baking pan and spread it out evenly. Peel your bananas and slice them in half lengthwise. Place each half cut side down onto the pudding mixture and cover the entire surface with bananas. You can also slice them into circles if you wish. Then, pour the remaining keks and pudding on top and again spread evenly.
Refrigerate until set, about 1 hour. Then cover with whipped cream, chill for another 30 minutes and enjoy!

Notes

I use a standard size baking dish (9×13 in) so my pieces are slightly taller. The bigger your baking dish the shorter your pieces will be.
You can also cut the bananas into circles and mix them in with the keks and pudding if you don’t want to layer it.
Use greek yogurt instead of cream cheese for a tangy refreshing kick!
Use your hands to break up the keks into smallish pieces. Not too small, though, 2-3 pieces from 1 square keks is small enough.

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