Banoffee

Long time no see, friends! I hope you are all well and that you are ready for some sweetness in your life.

I had some ripe bananas at home, per usual, so I thought I will make something else than a banana bread this time. This recipe is for a banana pie/tart from scratch! It may seem overwhelming at first, as it has few layers, but each component is not too difficult. If you want to prepare some of them in advance, you could definitely bake off the base and make the caramel sauce day ahead, just be sure to cling film the tin with the base to keep it fresh and store the caramel sauce in the fridge. If the caramel sauce solidifies a bit too much in the fridge to spread on the base, you can just warm it up in a hot water bath. I wouldn't recommend preparing bananas, ganache or the cream in advance.

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Recipe is for a 21 cm tin (8-10 slices).

Ingredients :

BASE

200 g plain flour

130 g butter

65 g icing sugar

small pinch of salt

40 g egg (or just the egg yolk)

CARAMEL SAUCE (Violet Bakery recipe)

83 g dbl cream

1 tsp vanilla

155 g caster sugar

3 tbsp water

2 tbsp unsalted butter

pinch of fine sea salt

1 tsp lemon juice

BUTTER FRIED BANANAS

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp sugar

2 big bananas (use ripe or overripe bananas for stronger flavour)

GANACHE

130 g dark chocolate (50-60% cocoa solids)

65 g dbl cream

WHIPPED CREAM

200 g dbl cream

2 tsp caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

TOPPINGS (optional)

60 g toasted peanuts (finely chopped)

1 tbsp grated chocolate or chocolate shavings

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Line the base of a 21 cm round springform tin (or fluted tin with removable base) with parchment paper.

Method :

1. To make the base, cut the butter into small cubes and place it in a bowl with the flour, sugar and salt. Mix it with a paddle attachment or a hand mixer for few minutes, until it has a loose and crumbly texture. Add the egg and continue mixing just until the dough comes together. Place the dough on the counter and shape into a disc. Roll it out into a circle and place it in the tin. Make sure the dough lays perfectly in the "corners" and be careful not to stretch it. Cut off the excess, in the springform tin make the sides about 3-4 cm tall. Prick the base with a fork on it's whole surface. Place your base in the freezer for about 30-40 minutes or until the base if frozen solid. Preheat the oven to 170'C (fan) while you wait for the base to chill.

2. Bake the base in 170'C (fan) for 12-15 minutes, we want it to be pale golden brown. You can bake it with the baking beans for first 7 minutes and then remove them until the end of baking time or without, but check it whalfway the baking time to be sure it didn't rise anywhere, prick it gently with a fork if it did. When the base is desired colour place it on the side to fully cool down.

1. To make the caramel sauce you will need one small/medium pot and a small/medium saucepan. Place the double cream and vanilla in a saucepan. Place sugar and water in the pot. Place both over medium - low heat. Watch the cream as it will heat up quickly and turn off the heat when it's warm/hot. Sugar will take some time to turn into the caramel, but keep an eye on it and don't rush it. It's best not to stir the sugar and if you feel like there is a par that didn't caramelise with the rest then lightly move the pot to incorporate it back to the caramel part. Turn off the heat when the caramel has an amber colour ( like a darker liquid honey ), but before it's brown and smokes. Then take a whisk and very slowly stir in the warm cream into the caramel WARNING it will be going really foamy and wild, and it's really hot, so it's important that you do the caramel in the pot.

2. When the cream is incorporated add the butter, salt and lemon juice. Whisk it until the butter is fully melted and you have a beautiful caramel sauce. Keep the caramel on the side until it cools down, do not try to taste it until you are sure it's cold enough (yes, I did burn my tongue this way few times and it really hurts).

1. To make the banana filling, place the butter of a pan and when its melted add the sugar. Let it cook/caramelise for couple minutes and add sliced bananas. If you want to make it a creamy consistency, then cut it into small pieces. If you want to have pieces of the banana in it after it's done, then slice it into thick slices. Fry the bananas for few minutes until they catch a bit of colour and are soft. Place them on the side to cool down.

1. To make the chocolate ganache, place the chocolate and cream in a bowl and place over a pot with a some water. Place it over medium-low heat, until chocolate is fully melted. Then stir it with a spatula to turn it into a creamy and shiny ganache. NOTE : Be careful not to overheat the cream or chocolate and do not stir it until its fully melted, as it will most likely split.

1. For the whipped cream, place the cream, sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Beat it on a slow-medium speed until it has a desired consistency. I think it looks and tastes better when the consistency is more on the loose side.

2. For the toppings, you can toast some peanuts and then chop them finely.

3. To make the banoffee pie, you will need to place a good amount of room temperature caramel on the base and spread it. You can use 1/4 of the caramel you made, 1/2 or even all of it. Then spread the fried bananas on top of it. Third layer should be the chocolate ganache, which I sprinkled with some of the peanuts too. Then the fourth layer is whipped cream. To finish it off, sprinkle peanuts and grated chocolate on the top.

Enjoy!