Creamy, decadent banoffee pie

What is not to love about a decadent treat of banana, cream and caramel, teamed perfectly in a pie, with chocolate shavings sprinkled on top?

This recipe’s combination of condensed milk toffee, chantilly cream, sliced bananas, chocolate and digestive biscuit base is an irresistible and incredibly satisfying dessert that I’m sure you will love as much as I do.

Serves 1 large pie.

Ingredients

• 2 cans of sweetened condensed milk, 295g can
• 180g unsalted butter, chopped
• 375g digestive biscuits
• 60ml thickened cream
• 2 vanilla beans, seeds scraped out (or vanilla essence)
• 75g icing sugar, sifted
• 4 bananas [well ripened – if they’ve got brown spots on the skin, all the better]
  30g dark chocolate, finely grated

Method

1. Place cans of condensed milk in a large saucepan of water and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 2 hours, adding water if necessary to ensure cans remain covered [if the pan dries out, they’ll explode]. Remove cans and cool in the fridge for a couple of hours.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter in a small saucepan, and then cool slightly. Using a food processor, crush biscuits to fine crumbs, add the butter and process briefly to combine. Press crumb mixture over the base of a greased 28cm loose-based tin, then refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm the base.
3. Open cooled cans of condensed milk and spoon caramel evenly over the biscuit base and refrigerate overnight to firm.
4. To assemble pie: Using an electric mixer, whisk cream, vanilla bean seeds and sugar to stiff peaks [you can also do this by hand if you want to develop great biceps and shoulders]. Cut bananas into thin slices. Remove pie from tin and loosen base and place on a plate. Spoon or pipe half the whipped cream over the caramel filling, then place bananas in an overlapping circle, working from the outside in. Top with the remaining cream and sprinkle with grated chocolate.
5. Cut into slices with a hot, dry knife and serve immediately.

Tip: To stop the noise of the cans rattling in the saucepan, place a folded tea towel in the base of the pan before adding the water.