banoffee pie

Bananas, cream, caramel and chocolate.  Need I say more.

Ingredients

(makes 8 small tarts)

8 all-butter pre-made tartlet cases (chocolate or plain)

(You can of course make your own)

or some pre-made chocolate cups.

A can of sweetened condensed milk

2 bananas, sliced

1/2cup mascarpone

1 cup double cream

1/2 tsp vanilla

Chocolate for chocolate curls

cocoa powder for dusting

Remove the label from the can of the condensed milk and put it in the pot completely submerged in water.  Bring to a boil and continue cooking for 1.5-2 hours. Keep checking it to make sure the can is completely covered in water through the duration of cooking or it will explode.  Cool until it’s ready to use. When you open it you will discover that your condensed milk has turned into delicious caramel!  

This step could be done well in advance - up to a couple of weeks beforehand. Just leave the tin unopened.

If you are making your own tart bases, make a batch of pastry, roll it out, cut into rounds and put it in the tart tins.  Put a piece of baking paper on top of the pastry and put in some baking weights or uncooked rice.  Bake for 10 mins at 180 C (160 C in a fan forced oven), then remove the weights and the baking paper and brush with a little beaten egg.  Put the tart shells back in the oven for another 3 minutes to finish baking and then put on a wire rack to cool.

Whip mascarpone with double cream and vanilla until it’s thick.

Spread your caramel equally among 8 tartlets, and top with sliced bananas. Top with cream mixture and chocolate (either grated or curled - see below) and dust with cocoa powder.

For Chocolate Curls:

Melt the chocolate in the microwave and spread it thinly on a baking tray, pop it in the fridge for 3 minutes to set. Take it out and let it stand for a couple of minutes to soften a bit. Drag a knife or a cheese slicer like I did  along the surface of the chocolate to make the curls. When you have enough curls, put them back in the fridge for a couple of minutes to harden.  Dust with cocoa powder.