Banoffee pie

I made this banoffee pie for a big family lunch we had last Sunday, to celebrate my sister visiting from London. It's supposed to have toffee drizzled over the top as well, but due to a misunderstanding said toffee ended up a black, solid mass on the stove-top instead! Still, the pie was delicious and really easy to make. It was my first effort at a banoffee pie, and in fact the first time I'd eaten one, but as I suspected it was pretty much a dream come true for me - toffee, cream, banana and biscuit all in one - what more could I ask for? James also made his signature apple pie, which was extremely delicious, and both were very well received!

The recipe I used is from the June issue of Delicious magazine. The thing I was most worried about was that the crust would fall apart when I took it out of the pan, but it actually held together really well, even after being transported to my mum's house! I would recommend making sure it's nice and thick and even, though, because it's not strong like pastry and doesn't need to cook so it doesn't matter if it's a bit thick. I also found that the amount of cream in the recipe wasn't really enough - as you can see from the picture, my cream doesn't come right up to the top of the sides as it should, so I'd recommend using a bit more. Also, my toffee was probably a bit runny, likely because I took it off the heat a bit early - I was just so worried about burning it! (and after what happened with the toffee sauce, can you blame me?!)

Anyway, here is the recipe. I really recommend trying it - the combination of flavours is so delicious, and the pie looks very impressive despite being very easy, which is always what I aim for!

Banoffee pie

255g packet digestive biscuits (I used Arnotts Granitas, which actually come in a 250g pack so I threw in a few extra)
160g unsalted butter, melted
300mL thickened cream
5 small ripe bananas

Toffee sauce:
1/2 firmly packed cup (100g) brown sugar
395g can sweetened condensed milk
160g unsalted butter

To make the crust, line the base and sides of a 22cm springform pan with baking paper. Chop the digestive biscuits in a food processor until they are finely ground. Pour the melted butter over the crumbs and process to blend well. The crumbs should stick together when pressed. Use your fingers to press the crumb mixture over the bottom and 3cm up the sides of the springform pan. Chill in the fridge until needed.

For the toffee sauce, combine sugar and 3 tablespoons water in a heavy-based saucepan. Stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium-high and boil without stirring, occasionally swirling the pan and brushing down the sides with a pastry brush dipped in water, for about 3-5 minutes until the syrup is a deep amber colour. Reduce heat to medium-low, then whisk in the condesnsed milk and butter. Continue whisking for 5-8 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly.

Remove the sauce from the heat, cool slightly, then spread 1 1/2 cups of sauce over the prepared crust. Chill for about 1 hour or until toffee is semi-firm. Keep remaining sauce at room temperature. [This isn't in the recipe, but at this point you should carefully remove the pie from the springform pan]

Using an electric miver, beat the cream in a large bowl until thick and very soft billowy peaks form. Slice 3 of the bananas into very thin discs. Fold sliced bananas into the softly whipped cream, and spoon the filling into the prepared pie crust.

Slice the remaining 2 bananas, and arrange the slices decoratively over the pie. Rewarm the remaining toffee sauce gently over low heat. [This is where we went wrong!] Drizzle some of the sauce decorateively over the pie. (If the sauce has thickened too much to drizzle, stir a few tablespoons of milk into it.) Cut the pie into wedges, and transfer them to plates. Drizzle each pie wedge with more sauce, and serve.