The Secrets to a GREAT Banoffee Pie!

Like a lovers first kiss, I fully remember the first time I succumbed to  Banoffee Pie. Its decadent toffee flavour seduced me at first bite and whispered sweet tropical nothings in my ear. What clever wizardry is this that four basic ingredients can taste so fantastic together?  The simplicity of this dish has always astounded me. How could something so simple as Banoffee Pie, taste so right? In a culinary world  where we are bombarded with multiple layers, exotic flavour combinations and gastronomic contortions, it’s so wonderfully comforting to know that simple still works deliciously.

Banoffee pie is a blend of words or portmanteau being  1 part banana to 2 parts toffee otherwise known as the “Banoffee” A biscuit base is processed and then pushed into a fluted tart mould, chilled and then covered in fabulous toffee, sliced banana and whipped sweetened cream. It couldn’t be easier and more effective. A dessert invented in the 1970’s in Sussex England, it has stood the test of time with its abilities to raise heart felt “ooohhhs and aahhhs” whenever it is served.

A fine example of Banoffee Pie can be found at the chic and ever so cool Cafe Sopra at Fratelli Fresh in Sydney, where I once indulged after a salad of white sardines and heirloom tomatoes with vincotto. As I was dining with 3 lunch companions we stupidly chose to share a banoffee pie between the four of us , something I vow to never do again!

When invited to attend the Electrolux Cooking School at  Fratelli Fresh for a  hands on cooking class  in Sydney’s Food destination of Danks Street, Waterloo,  I jumped at the chance and was enchanted to see that the three course menu we were to put together did in fact have the Fratelli Banoffee Pie as its sweet course. The chefs at Fratelli did all the hard work for us, which was the boiling and cooking of the cans of condensed milk which forms the toffee or dulce de leche, but I  have seen jars of pre- made toffee in delis for those wishing to short cut this process.

Chef Andy Bunn from Cafe Sopra at Fratelli gently guided us through the Banoffee Pie assembly process, to which we all got the opportunity to step back on to our individual cooking stations and whip up a treat with a chilled glass of Pinot Grigio’s firmly in hand!

The Banoffee Pie Secret

The secret to their Banoffee Pie success Andy said, was the use of ripe bananas so the flavour is sweet and starchy. You also need to assemble this dessert only moments before you intend to serve it as the bananas will go black if left to oxidize. I have to say that there was no fear of this dessert being left to go brown as we were happy to whip into it as soon as it was ceremoniously unmolded from its metal confines.

I did  get to take some home  in a little takeaway container for a late night snack in front of the refrigerator, along with a basket full of wonderful produce from Fratellis own warehouse style produce and deli market.  This was only possible thanks to the wonderful spread that was put on by Andy the team at Fratelli once our class was over.  A special thanks to Andy  for sharing his luscious Banoffee Pie recipe.

How to Make Banoffee Pie

Recipe by Andy Bunn, Cafe Sopra at Fratelli  Fresh

Serves 12

Ingredients

2 x 395g cans of sweetened condensed milk

180g unsalted butter, chopped

375g digestive biscuits, halved

60ml thickened cream

2 vanilla beans, seeds scraped out

75g icing sugar, sifted

4 bananas

30g dark chocolate, finely grated

Method

• Place cans of the condensed milk in a large saucepan of water and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 2 hours adding water if necessary to ensure cans remain covered, remove cans and cool in the fridge for a couple of hours.
• Meanwhile melt butter in a small saucepan, and then cool slightly. Using a food processor crush biscuits into fine crumbs, add the butter and process briefly to combine. Pres crumb mixture over the base of a greased 28cm loose based tin, then refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm the base.
• Open cooled cans of condensed milk and spoon caramel evenly over the biscuit base and refrigerate overnight until firm.
• To assemble pie: Using electric mixer whisk cream, vanilla bean seeds and sugar to stiff peaks. Cut bananas into thin slices. Remove pie from the 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 remaining cream and sprinkle with grated chocolate.
• Cut into slices with a hot dry knife and serve immediately.

Tips: To stop noise of the cans rattling in the saucepan, place a folded tea towel in the base before adding the water. Enjoy your Banoffee Pie!

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Photo by powerbooktrance

The Wonder Breakfast When Your on the GO!

Sweet nothings  can deny me  my favourite way to start the day… OK my SECOND favourite way to start the day ~ wink wink nudge nudge, nuff said.

I’m consciously aware of the importance of a hearty breakfast in our daily diet, but up until this point it has  eluded me in the physical sense. I’m either to busy, to lethargic  or too busy being lethargic .

I craved something tangible … I quick fix.

Something that was swift to prepare and easy to digest, would fill me up and was light and SUPER tasty.

The day that my Banana and Manuka Honey Smoothie slid into my life is a day I will never forget. It sums up breakfast on the go for me like toast and marmalade  could never do.

And did I mention the health benefits???

So here comes the wavier first.  Though I’m no doctor, the ingredients that make up this smoothie are good for your heart, kidney’s and bones that will help to enhance your mood if your feeling a little flat.

Along with the wonders of the Banana as mentioned above, you also have the added benefits of calcium rich yogurt with its benefical bacteria and your favourite super food and mine ~ Manuka honey.

Manuka honey is fabulously exclusive, thanks to it  being produced by bees that collect pollen from the Manuka trees that grow on the East coast of New Zealand.

This particular honey has all the benefits of normal honey plus the added bonus of being antibacterial and antiviral. In fact, Manuka honey is medical grade honey ~ great for wound healing, burns, wrinkles, acne and a myrid of other ailments.

For those of you similar to myself who like the idea of drinking your yogurt and bananas rather than chewing them ~ this is the Breakfast treat for you!

Banana and Manuka Honey Smoothie

~makes enough for 1 large glass

1 Banana ~ ripe and smooth, best to avoid unripe bananas  in a smoothie as it wont be as creamy

2 Tbs Greek yogurt

2 tsp Manuka honey

350mls of chilled apple juice

Place all ingredients into a blender and whizz until nicely combined and oh so smooth ~ie.

Crepes by Bridget

I weighed. I tested. I tasted. I rejected.

My thirst for finding the best crepe recipe was unquenchable.

I was living life on the boulevard of broken dreams, having been let down by so many crepe recipes that had been unable to deliver their promised thin pancake goodness. I was feeling desperate, a  fugitive without her crepe sucrees.

My luck was about to change, as I finally happened upon on a recipe that would alter my crepe making destiny.

It was the day after Bastille Day, Le Quatorze Juillet…Viva La France! and I had just finished watching Julia Child’s “The French Chef” re runs on You Tube. I was feeling somewhat nostalgic with the words of Julia Child ringing sweetly in my ears… “In cooking you’ve got to have a WHAT THE HELL attitude…”

What the hell…I decided to give my crepe search one last ditch attempt by picking through a few cookbooks that have been lurking unceremoniously  in a pile under my bedside table.

I was reunited with some dear old friends like Philip Johnson’s Ecco 2 and The Two Fat Ladies Ride Again before I came across a tender favourite from years gone by. Encased in the pages of Charlie Trotters white hardcover dessert cookbook was what I had been looking for.

Here was a recipe for crepes that was decisively different and richer sounding than any other recipe I had previously stumbled across. Voila!

So a few dummy runs, a couple tweaks and some minor adjustments later,  I have come up with a glorious crepe recipe that produces rich and silky pancakes with good chew and a soft interior.

Combined with fresh lady finger bananas, oh so sweet and starchy. Crunchy toasted pecan nuts, lightly crumbled to perfection and a très agréable salted caramel sauce makes for a decadent and simple dessert.

A dessert reminiscent of dinner party delights that Julia might have whipped up for husband Paul and any friends lucky enough to have been invited for tea  by the “Queen of the ladle”.

Banana and Salted Caramel Crepes with Toasted Pecans

Serves 4

Ingredients for the Crepes

125gms  butter- melted

1  1/4 cups  organic flour

3 Tablespoons of caster sugar

Pinch of salt

4 large free range eggs

2 large free range egg yolks

1  1/2 cups of milk – warm

1/2  cup of cream -warm

1 teaspoon vanilla paste

Ingredients for the crepe filling

4 Lady finger banana’s

1/4 cup brown sugar

25 gms butter

1/4 cup of cream

sea salt flakes

toasted pecans

Don’t be put off with the long list of ingredients. To make the crepe mixture is as easy as banging all the ingredients into a blender and whizzing for 1 minute on high. Done.

Now rest the batter in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour before using. This allows the gluten in the flour time to relax and  will help to keep the crepes soft and light rather than gluey.

To cook the crepes

Heat a crepe pan or small fry pan on a medium heat with a good spray of nonstick cooking oil. Using a small 120mls/ 4oz ladle, place the mixture into the pan and swirl to distribute.

Once the edge of the crepe begins to brown-approximately 40 seconds- carefully slide a thin spatula underneath the crepe and gently flip the crepe over to cook on its reverse side for a further 30 seconds.

Shake the crepe from the pan onto a large plate and repeat the crepe making process until all the mixture is used up.  You should end up with a stack of 9-10 crepes. Your own mille crepe.

Cover your stack with foil to help keep them warm while you prepare the ingredients for the filling- but not to worry, this will only take a second.

To prepare the filling

Make the caramel sauce by melting the brown sugar in a small pan on medium heat, stirring continuously. This will only take a minute so best not to walk away or answer the phone as the sugar can burn very easily.

Once the sugar has liquefied, remove from the heat and drop in the butter, mixing until well incorporated.

Place back onto a low heat and pour in the cream. It will spit at you a bit, but don’t be afraid, it wont overflow. Beat the heck out of it until its glossy and smooth and set aside off the heat.

To assemble the crepes

Place a few slices of banana and a sprinkling of pecan nuts on to the crepe and then fold into a triangle.

Use 2 to 3 crepes per person and drizzle well with the caramel sauce.

Finish your crepe plate with a light sprinkling of sea salt flakes over the caramel sauce and serve.

Bon appétit!