The Billowy Banoffee Pie 🥧

Guess who turned 2yrs??????

What better way to kick start Sakethebake’s 2nd Blogversary(that too which falls on a numerical palindrome day 02.02.2020) than with the luscious decadence of a billowy Banoffee pie ??!!!!

There’s no denying how alluring a well made Banoffee pie is !

A crunchy salted crust, a creamy Dulce de Leche, a layer of bananas made three ways lightly drizzled with caramel and a cloud of billowy boozy whipped cream topped with chocolate shavings,drizzle of Dulce de Leche and cocoa. Don’t let my description make it seem it’s a load of work, it is ridiculously easy 😈!!!

The classic English dessert from the 1970’s is a portmanteau (blend) of the words Banana + Toffee = Banoffee. One of the best ones I have had is in Santorini but I keep thinking I can better everything I have tasted, so here’s my twist to this classic by treating the banana’s three ways, dotting it with caramel and adding some Kahlua to the whipped bliss !

I hope you love it … happy cooking ♥️

Ingredients :

For the base :

Digestive biscuits – 120gm

Cold cubed salted butter – 60gm

Granulated sugar – 1 tbsp

Filling :

Dulce de Leche – 1 1/4 cup (keep 1tbsp aside for garnishing)

Sliced Bananas – 6 medium sized nos.

Caramelised sugar – 1 tbsp (optional)

Topping :

Whipped cream – 1 cup

Confectioner’s sugar – 2 tablespoons

Kahlua – 1 tbsp (optional)

Garnish :

Chocolate shavings – 1/2 cup

Cocoa powder to dust – 2 tbsp

Dulce de Leche – 1 tbsp to drizzle

Method :

If you are using homemade Dulce de Leche (pronounced dool-seh-del-LEH-cheh), I recommend making it the previous night as it absolutely simplifies the whole process.

Homemade Dulce de Leche (DDL) ( Makes 1 1/4 cups ):

In Spanish DDL means “ sweet (made) of milk”. It is essentially a confection from Latin America prepared by heating sweetened milk to create a substance that derives its flavour from the Maillard Reaction (a chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugar that gives browned food it’s distinctive flavour).

There are two ways to make this delicious caramel spread :

The classic method of reducing milk and sugar for hours is something for the text book and not for the impatient like me.

The second method is more suitable for lazy cooks like me, it’s using sweetened condensed milk in a pressure cooker.

Since safety is paramount, do read the steps carefully and prepare it OVERNIGHT and don’t tell my father I recommend this method 😬!!

Step 1

Ensure the 400g condensed milk tin can is sealed and not punctured.

Step 2

If the can has a paper label, remove it. If it’s printed on, it’s fine.

Step 3

Place the can horizontally in a medium sized pressure cooker. Fill the cooker half way or as required with tap water to just cover the tin.

Step 4

Place the whistle of the pressure cooker, and shut the cooker tight. Place on a high flame, (from

now you DO NOT TOUCH the pressure cooker until next morning ) when the first whistle blows, reduce to the lowest flame and set a timer for 20 mins. Switch off the flame. “DO NOT TOUCH” the pressure cooker even to change it to another burner. (It is called a “pressure”cooker for a reason). Leave it to cool overnight.

Step 5

Next morning, once it’s totally cool to the touch, take off the whistle and open the cooker lid. Take the can from the water and open the tin .. and there you have the most creamy goodness of toffee to slather onto anything your heart desires 😋.

To make the crunchy biscuit base :

Preheat the oven to 175 C.

Crush the biscuits coarsely using a rolling pin. In a bowl add the biscuit mixture, sugar and cubed butter. With the help of your finger tips, rub the fat into the biscuit mixture.

Put the mixture into a 9 inch cheesecake tin or round tin, ideally with a loose base. Use the bottom of a glass or your finger tips to press down the biscuit mixture firmly to the base of the tin and 1/4 inch up the sides of the tin.

Bake for 8 mins until golden brown and set aside to cool.

Assembling :

Once the base is cooled, spread out the DDL (keeping 1 Tbsp away) evenly onto the biscuit base. If you want to get a more spreadable consistency, heat the DDL on a low flame for 2 mins.

Layer with sliced banana.

Dot it with caramelised sugar, if using.

Topping :

Beat the whipped cream to soft peaks, add the confectioners sugar and a splash of Kahlua and beat again.

Top the pie with whipped cream, drizzled with Dulce de Leche, chocolate shavings and dusted with cocoa powder.

Add a pinch of love ♥️:

I did the banana’s 3 ways, two I left it as freshly sliced, two sliced banana’s I sautéed in caramelised sugar, the other two I baked along with the base with the peel on and once it cooled I peeled it and sliced it. I did it this to get different textures and flavour of the banana.

I loved dotting it with caramelised sugar.

While garnishing it, add a drizzle of chocolate sauce and dust with some coffee powder to amp up the flavours.

xoxo,

Sareeka ♥️