banoffee pie / recipe corner

Mm, banoffee pie - don't you just love it? I've gone a bit crazy for it recently and so thought I'd share my banoffee pie recipe with you. It's a bit embarrassing, but up until a few months ago I always thought that banoffee pie was banana and coffee - which I hate - and which meant that I never even tried it. When I found a recipe and saw that instead of coffee, the magic ingredient was toffee, I knew I had to make it... and I'm glad I did! It's delicious (even if I do say so myself)!

Want to have a go at making it? Here's my easy recipe - and do let me know how you get on with it if you have a go!

To make banoffee pie, you'll need...

• 300g / 10oz butter




• 250g / 8oz digestive biscuits




• 175g / 6oz caster sugar




• 425g / 14oz can condensed milk




• 2 bananas




• 1 tablespoon lemon juice




• 150ml (1/4 pint) whipping cream




• 25g / 1oz dark chocolate, grated

And here's how you go about making the pie...

1. Start by making the crumb case. Weigh out the digestive biscuits and crush them with a rolling pin to make them into crumbs. Next, melt 125g / 4oz butter in a saucepan and stir in the crumbs.

2. Press the crumbs into the base of a 20cm (8 inch) round flan tin, and put it in the fridge until it firms - roughly for about an hour.

3. Next, the filling. Put the rest of the butter and the caster sugar in a saucepan and heat it gently, stirring it, until the butter's melted. Stir in the condensed milk and bring it to the boil; then let it simmer for around 10 minutes until the mixture's a deep caramel colour.

4. Pour the caramel into the basea and leave it to cool, then chill until it's set.

5. Slice the bananas and toss them in the lemon juice. Put a quarter of the bananas aside for decorating the pie, and spread the rest over the filling.

6. Whip the cream and spread it over the top; then decorate with the rest of the bananas and sprinkle with chocolate.

And you're done! Cut a slice of the pie, tuck in, and enjoy...