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My stance is that the first month isn't complete without a sweet treat. At a time often characterised by grey skies, a spark of joy goes a long way. Granted, I'm not after dense confections, but something like this light yoghurt panna cotta fits the bill perfectly. If you glance quickly, it resembles a special morning parfait.

Yoghurt Panna Cotta with Banana and Tahini Crumble

This recipe yields a generous amount of topping for this dessert. Keep the leftovers in an tightly-closed tub as a ready-made crispy treat for future use.

Prep: 5 minutes
Chill: 2 hours minimum
Cook: 50 minutes
Serves: 4

For the Panna Cotta

• 2 sheets of gelatine
• 300g of whipping cream
• 60g of honey
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste
• A pinch of salt
• 300g of Greek yoghurt

For the Tahini Crumble

• 80g of jumbo oats
• 50g of plain flour
• 40g of light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds
• A pinch of flaky sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 50g of melted unsalted butter
• 30g of tahini
• 2½ tablespoons of honey
• 2 small bananas, sliced

Method

First, place the gelatine sheets in a ramekin of chilled water. Let them sit for 5 minutes or so, until they are soft. Next, pour off the water and press out any excess liquid. Put them to one side.

In a small saucepan, add the cream with the honey, vanilla paste, and salt. Cook on a low heat until steaming taking care not to boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the prepared gelatine until it is completely dissolved. Then, mix in the Greek yoghurt thoroughly. Divide the custard into serving pots and chill in the fridge for several hours, until solid.

While that chills, make the crumble. Preheat your oven to 190°C (170°C fan)/375°F/gas 5. Line a small baking tray with baking paper. Combine in a bowl the oats, flour, sugar, sesame seeds, salt, and cinnamon. Toss to blend. Incorporate the melted butter and tahini, then mix thoroughly so everything is evenly coated. Pour it onto the baking tray and cook for 18 to 22 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven, allow to cool fully, then crumble it up into rustic chunks.

For the bananas: place in a pot, gently heat the honey with two tablespoons of water. Put in the bananas and cook until they soften slightly and the syrup thickens like a glaze. Remove from the heat and let it cool a bit.

To serve, top each panna cotta on top of the custards. Sprinkle over the tahini crumble and dig in.