Banoffee Pie

I recently had a little poll on facebook, asking all of my friends which out of the following should I bake next and post on my blog; Cherry Loaf, Banoffee Pie or Milk Chocolate Fudge. Banoffee Pie won hands down and I was secretly very happy!! I LOVE Banoffee Pie...there is something magical about the combination of bananas and toffee...it tastes heavenly!! One of the most luxurious and self indulgent desserts ever.....not one for those who are calorie counting, that's for sure!

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Ingredients

(Fits a 10inch Tart Tin - Serves 8)

For the Filling                                                          For the Pastry Base
3 Bananas                                                                    300g Plain Flour
115g Butter (diced)                                                  230g Butter (diced)
1 tin Condensed Milk                                                 100g Caster Sugar
115g Soft Brown Sugar
2tbsp Golden Syrup
Lemon Juice
1 pot of Double Cream
Some Milk Chocolate to grate on the top

1. Start by Preheating the oven to 160degreesC.

2. Place the flour and butter into a large mixing bowl and crumble with your finger tips. Pour in the sugar and form a very soft and pliable dough. (Do NOT roll it out with a rolling pin - it is too soft and will break.) Massage it into the tart tin so that it covers the tin and there are no gaps/holes. Try to make the pastry as evenly spread as possibly. Bake in the oven for 1 hour.

3. Remove the pastry from the oven and allow to cool.

4. Meanwhile, put the butter, sugar, syrup and condensed milk into a large saucepan and heat slowly, stirring constantly. Work up to the boil and then reduce the heat and cook for 10mins. Make sure you stir throughout the cooking process otherwise the sugar will burn. You will see the caramel/toffee change colour and increase in thickness. 

5. Pour the caramel/toffee sauce over the cooled pastry base and allow to set and cool for at least 1hour.

6. Slice the bananas and drip the lemon juice on top of them (this will stop them going brown and mushy) and place them on top of the the toffee, over lapping in a pretty pattern.

7. Whip the double cream in a bowl and when firm, spread over the top of the bananas relatively evenly. Grate the milk chocolate on top of the cream and chill in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

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This is a pretty spectacular pudding! I would definitely recommend baking this for a dinner party or if you are spending time with some family. Make sure you have plenty of room in the fridge, to keep it chilled, or that you are baking it for people with rather large appetites!! I would happily have a Banoffee Pie instead of a birthday cake any day! I really hope that you give this recipe a go, it's rather time consuming, but soooo worth the effort! Please let me know how it goes and feel free to post a picture or any improvements that you would recommend.

Bon Appetit!!

    

Caramel Shortbread

So, the weather has quickly changed and we have gone from having 'summer suppers' to 'winter warmers' and nothing satisfies you more when you are tucked up indoors, with the rain thumping on the windows than a nice cup of tea and biscuits to follow. A biscuit that will never disappoint and will go with any hot drink is probably the most fattening biscuit of them all...caramel shortbread. 

Before trying this recipe I had never had a home made caramel shortbread, but it's always been one of my favourites. I just can't stand it when you try a shop bought piece and it's made with that cheap and tacky chocolate. This is the full fat, full pleasure version...no skimping goes on here!!

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Ingredients

(Recipe for a 24cm x 24cm tin - makes 25 individual squares)

Caramel                                                              Shortbread

2x 397g tins Sweetened Condensed Milk           170g Butter

240g Butter                                                        60g Caster Sugar

150g Brown Sugar                                              300g Plain Flour

60g Golden Syrup                                               400g milk chocolate

1. Start by lining and greasing your tin and pre heating your oven to 180degreesC.

2. To make the shortbread, cream the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until soft and fluffy. Sift in the flour and fold together until all ingredients are combined. Roll together in your hands and spread the dough as evenly as possible into the base of the tin. Place in the oven and bake for 30mins or until golden and firm to the touch.

3. Remove the shortbread from the oven and allow to cool. Place the butter, brown sugar, golden syrup and condensed milk into a saucepan and cook over a medium heat until all of the sugar has dissolved - MAKE SURE TO STIR CONTINUOUSLY or lumps of uncooked sugar will form and begin to burn making the caramel bitter. Once the sugar has dissolved turn the temperature up and allow to boil (STIRRING CONTINUOUSLY) then lower the heat right down and simmer for 4-5mins or until the caramel has increased in thickness and volume. BE CAREFUL as the caramel will be SCOLDINGLY hot...if you do burn yourself (like I did) make sure to bathe your hand in cold water.

4. Once the caramel has thickened, pour the caramel over the shortbread and using the back of a spoon, spread evenly over the base. Allow to set overnight in the fridge (if there is room) if not, set at room temp. The longer you leave it to set, the better! (I only let it set for a few hours and it was VERY messy to eat!)

5. Only when the caramel has set and is hard to the touch, melt the chocolate in a bain marie. Spread the melted chocolate over the caramel and put in the fridge to set. Make sure to cut the shortbread into squares before it has completely set otherwise it will be IMPOSSIBLE to cut and you will have a slab of yummy caramel shortbread.

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This recipe is pretty simple to follow, but don't make the mistake I did....I was too excited to get tucked right in, so I didn't let the caramel set for long enough so it was perhaps the messiest thing to eat!! The caramel splurged out everywhere and was very sticky! Needless to say, it was bloooooooming gorgeous!!!!! The biscuit is perfectly crumbly, and the chocolate is thick and chunky. Great for rainy days when all you want is tea and cuddles!

Bon Appetit!!