Most people make egg nest crispy cakes at Easter - this year, I made Banoffee Pie.
We were at my mum's boyfriend's house with his 5 and 7 year old kids and I needed to make something that wouldn't be too difficult or time consuming as I was needed to bounce on the trampoline, help find eggs in the garden and play hide and seek. The Banoffee Pie worked perfectly as I made the base before they arrived, leaving it to set in the fridge most of the evening and then just had to whip out the topping just before we ate. I have some alternatives for you as well as I've made it a few different ways now to suit different situations.
No oven necessary - hob and fridge needed
You will need:
What to do:
To make the base - Crush the biscuits, adding the melted butter as you go to help them stick. You can add a few drops of milk if they need some extra sticking power.
Place in the bottom of the dish - should be approx 1/4 of the dish height - and place in the fridge to set.
To make the caramel - grab your non-stick pan and wooden spoon: bung your butter and sugar in the pan on a low heat (important - don't want it to burn!) stirring continuously until all melted and mixed together and the sugar has dissolved.
Add your condensed milk, stir continuously on a low heat until the mixture thickens. This can take quite a while, hang in there, it will thicken eventually! Don't turn the heat up too much or the mixture won't churn and thicken in the same way and will just bubble - patience is a virtue.
(TIP: if you use the full 410ml, just add a few extra grams of butter and sugar on the previous step)
Once thick, place evenly over the base in the dish (together should fill approx 1/2 the dish) then place back in the fridge to set.
From here, you can leave it to set as long as you like (or need if you're on trampoline duty!). The longer it has to set, the firmer the caramel will be. Ideally, it should be left a minimum of an hour though.
To make the topping - slice your bananas side ways to make round banana slices and place them in a layer all over the dish. I personally only usually do one layer, making sure it's completely covered but if you're a banana lover, go crazy!
Next, grab a glass deep bowl and pour the cream in, grab your whisk and start wipping - your banoffee will taste all the better for your hard work! Whisk until the cream has thickened. This should take about five minutes or so. Use a metal spoon to spread it over the banana layer: easiest way is to dollop it on and then spread from dollop to dollop so you don't disturb the bananas.
You can either pop it back in the fridge to chill and set a bit more or go straight on to finish.
Melt the chocolate in a pan on a low until runny then drizzle across the top of your pie. I usually put it back in the fridge for 5 minutes to set the chocolate but if you're desperate to dig in, it's ready to eat!
(TIP: Use a cocktail stick, or something slim to drizzle the chocolate on top. You'll end up with much smoother lines - unlike the Banoffee Pie pictured - I was making this at mum's boyfriend's house and so I had to use a spoon. As you can see, a spoon makes it quite splodgey, not particularly delicate! - Probably also didn't help that I left mum in charge of the chocolate for a moment and she managed to nearly burn it!)
Alternatives:
You can melt chocolate into the caramel as well giving it a bit of a different flavour. You'll need a full bar of dark chocolate in this case - put about half to one side to decorate and use 1/3 to 1/2 the bar with in the caramel. Make sure you melt the chocolate first, then add the butter and sugar and follow the recipe the same from there.
I much prefer Mini Banoffees or Banoffee Cups (below). I find them much easier to eat for one thing but also I like the presentation better than a Banoffee Pie. The process is exactly the same, just you make four (or however many you need) mini ones instead. The recipe above should make about six Banoffee Cups.
Banoffee Cups also look lovely in tea cups - great for a kid's birthday party or after dinner!
Sorry for the shoddy photography here, it was taken in a rush on my phone as my housemates wanted to eat!
We were at my mum's boyfriend's house with his 5 and 7 year old kids and I needed to make something that wouldn't be too difficult or time consuming as I was needed to bounce on the trampoline, help find eggs in the garden and play hide and seek. The Banoffee Pie worked perfectly as I made the base before they arrived, leaving it to set in the fridge most of the evening and then just had to whip out the topping just before we ate. I have some alternatives for you as well as I've made it a few different ways now to suit different situations.
No oven necessary - hob and fridge needed
You will need:
- scales, pestle (or other crushing object) and deep bowl, a non-stick pan, a wooden spoon, a hand whisk, a metal spoon, a chopping board and a knife.
- 100g melted butter
- 200-250g plain digestive biscuits (depends on the size of your dish to be honest)
- milk (maybe)
- 100g butter
- 100g demerara or golden caster sugar (do not use granulated)
- 1 large can of condensed milk (usually approx 390-410ml)
- 2 large bananas (though this is more preference based than prescriptive)
- 1 large pot of double cream (usually approx 300ml - again, how much cream is preference based)
- 1/2 bar of dark chocolate
What to do:
To make the base - Crush the biscuits, adding the melted butter as you go to help them stick. You can add a few drops of milk if they need some extra sticking power.
Place in the bottom of the dish - should be approx 1/4 of the dish height - and place in the fridge to set.
To make the caramel - grab your non-stick pan and wooden spoon: bung your butter and sugar in the pan on a low heat (important - don't want it to burn!) stirring continuously until all melted and mixed together and the sugar has dissolved.
Add your condensed milk, stir continuously on a low heat until the mixture thickens. This can take quite a while, hang in there, it will thicken eventually! Don't turn the heat up too much or the mixture won't churn and thicken in the same way and will just bubble - patience is a virtue.
(TIP: if you use the full 410ml, just add a few extra grams of butter and sugar on the previous step)
Once thick, place evenly over the base in the dish (together should fill approx 1/2 the dish) then place back in the fridge to set.
From here, you can leave it to set as long as you like (or need if you're on trampoline duty!). The longer it has to set, the firmer the caramel will be. Ideally, it should be left a minimum of an hour though.
To make the topping - slice your bananas side ways to make round banana slices and place them in a layer all over the dish. I personally only usually do one layer, making sure it's completely covered but if you're a banana lover, go crazy!
Next, grab a glass deep bowl and pour the cream in, grab your whisk and start wipping - your banoffee will taste all the better for your hard work! Whisk until the cream has thickened. This should take about five minutes or so. Use a metal spoon to spread it over the banana layer: easiest way is to dollop it on and then spread from dollop to dollop so you don't disturb the bananas.
You can either pop it back in the fridge to chill and set a bit more or go straight on to finish.
Melt the chocolate in a pan on a low until runny then drizzle across the top of your pie. I usually put it back in the fridge for 5 minutes to set the chocolate but if you're desperate to dig in, it's ready to eat!
(TIP: Use a cocktail stick, or something slim to drizzle the chocolate on top. You'll end up with much smoother lines - unlike the Banoffee Pie pictured - I was making this at mum's boyfriend's house and so I had to use a spoon. As you can see, a spoon makes it quite splodgey, not particularly delicate! - Probably also didn't help that I left mum in charge of the chocolate for a moment and she managed to nearly burn it!)
Alternatives:
You can melt chocolate into the caramel as well giving it a bit of a different flavour. You'll need a full bar of dark chocolate in this case - put about half to one side to decorate and use 1/3 to 1/2 the bar with in the caramel. Make sure you melt the chocolate first, then add the butter and sugar and follow the recipe the same from there.
I much prefer Mini Banoffees or Banoffee Cups (below). I find them much easier to eat for one thing but also I like the presentation better than a Banoffee Pie. The process is exactly the same, just you make four (or however many you need) mini ones instead. The recipe above should make about six Banoffee Cups.
Banoffee Cups also look lovely in tea cups - great for a kid's birthday party or after dinner!
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