Banoffolicious

I’m not really much of a dessert person. By the time I have finished a meal I rarely have room for something sweet. I don’t bake, partly because I don’t like measuring out ingredients to precise quantities and I don’t have the patience. But at times, I do like to try my hand at something a little less taxing at the same time as producing something pretty tasty — I’m lazy like that.

A couple of months ago I was wasting away my work day by browsing my friends’ status messages on Facebook and I came across one of my friends who I went to school with in England, it read “KT is baking her famous £20 banoffee pie!”

OMG.

I was taken back to my favourite childhood dessert, banoffee pie. So amazing. So easy. But it can test your skill of making pastry, making caramel and keeping fruit from going a gooey brown colour.

Now, I know what you’re asking, what the hell is a banoffee pie?

Simply, a banoffee pie is a British pudding consisting of bananas, cream, condensed milk and sugar on a pastry or crust base. However, research has told me that there are many variations of this pudding. I opted for the more simplified version, details below.

Pre-made crust base (I was being super lazy)
8 tbsp butter
2 oz light muscavado sugar
4 tbsp milk
220 g can condensed milk
6 medium bananas
1 1/4 cups double cream
2 oz golden caster sugar
juice of half a lemon

Slice four of the bananas and layer them in the crust base, two layers should be enough.

For the fudge sauce place 6 tbsp butter and the muscavado sugar in a pan, bring to the boil and continue heating until the sugar dissolves. Turn off the heat and add 2 tbsp milk and condensed milk. Return to the heat and boil, stirring briskly for a few minutes or until the mixture turns to a cream. Pour the fudge sauce over the bananas, then chill for about an hour.

Once the pie has chilled, whip the cream until stiff and scoop (unevenly) on top of the pie and chill for an additional hour.

Slice the remaining two bananas and place these in a bowl. Mix in the juice of half the lemon, layer once on top of the cream.

Melt the remaining butter in a pan and add the caster sugar. Melt on low heat. Add 2 tbsp of milk and cook for one minute or until the sugar turns into a caramel colour and thickens. Sprinkle this over the pie and serve warm or chilled.