Banoffee Pie - so wrong it’s right.

Banoffee Pie was a staple of 70s / 80s dinner parties (After Dinner Mint anyone?), and for some of us (well, me anyway…) it has a special place in our hearts, and rightly so - this stuff is the bees-knees of deliciousness.

My mum used to make the caramel for her Banoffee Pie by boiling an unopened tin of sweetened condensed milk for about 3 hrs - this sounds to me like a receipe for an explosion followed by a trip to A & E - none of us need that right now, so I’ve plumped for a less risky version of the recipe…

Banoffee Pie

INGREDIENTS:

For the crust

• 125 g salted butter

• 250 g digestive biscuits or granita biscuits (crushed)

For the filling

• 110 g butter

• 110 g dark brown soft sugar

• 400 g canned condensed milk

• 350 ml double cream (lightly whipped)

• 2 small ripe bananas

• 2 squares dark chocolate (finely grated)

METHOD:

To make the base:

1. Heat the butter in a saucepan over low heat until melted. 

2. Put the biscuits into a large, resealable/Ziploc bag. Crush the biscuits with a rolling pin to create a fine sand-like texture.

3. Tip the crumbs into a mixing bowl, pour over the melted butter and stir well to make sure all the crumbs are coated. 

4. Grease a 20cm loose-bottomed tart tin with a little butter. Using the back of a tablespoon, press the biscuit crumb/butter mixture into and up the sides of the tin to create an even, level pie base. Put the tin into the fridge to chill while you make the filling. 

To make the filling:

1. Cut the butter into small cubes, pop into a saucepan, add the sugar and over a low heat cook through until the sugar has melted, stirring constantly. 

2. Raise the heat, add the condensed milk and bring to a boil for 5 minutes, ensuring the mixture does not burn.

3. Remove the pan from the heat and leave this caramel sauce to cool down (if you pour the sauce onto the biscuit base without cooling, it will melt the crust and make a right old mess).

4. Stir the sauce from time to time as it cools. 

5. While the sauce is cooling, whip the cream to light peaks, put to one side. 

To assemble the pie:

1. Once the sauce is cooled, pour over the chilled biscuit base, return to the fridge to chill for at least a couple of hours.

2. When ready to serve, slice the bananas and pile them onto the caramel, then cover with the whipped cream. Grate over a little chocolate for decoration. Keep chilled until serving.