Delia Smith Banoffee Pie Food

BANOFFEE CHEESECAKE WITH TOFFEE PECAN SAUCE

Steps:

• Begin by toasting all the pecan nuts. Place them on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 7 minutes until lightly toasted or, if you watch them like a hawk, you can toast them under a grill. You can also watch how to roast nuts in our Cookery School Video. Then chop them quite small. Put the biscuits in a polythene bag, lay them flat and then roll them with a rolling pin to crush them coarsely. Then tip them into a bowl and add the melted butter and half the nuts. Mix them well then press all this into the bottom of the cake tin and pre-bake the base in the oven for 10 minutes. Then lower the temperature to gas mark 2, 300ºF (150ºC). For the filling, first blend the 3 bananas and lemon juice in a food processor until smooth, then simply add all the rest of the filling ingredients. Blend again then pour it all over the biscuit base and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 1 hour. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake inside to cool slowly until completely cold; this slow cooling will stop the cheesecake cracking. To make the sauce, place the butter, sugars and syrup in a saucepan and, over a very low heat, allow everything to dissolve completely. Let it cook for about 5 minutes. Pour in the cream and vanilla extract and stir until everything is smooth, then add the rest of the chopped pecan nuts. Remove it from the heat and allow it to cool completely before pouring it into a jug ready for serving. When you are ready to assemble the cheesecake put the 2 tablespoons of lemon juice into a bowl. Slice the remaining bananas at an oblique angle into ¼ inch (5 mm) slices, and gently toss them around to get an even coating of juice. If you like you can spoon a small circle of sauce into the centre, then layer the bananas in overlapping circles all round it. Serve the cheesecake cut into slices with the rest of the sauce handed round separately.

EASY BANOFFEE PIE

Steps:

• Crush the digestive biscuits, either by hand using a wooden spoon, or in a food processor, until you get fine crumbs, tip into a bowl. Mix the crushed biscuits with the melted butter until fully combined. Tip the mixture into a 23cm loose bottomed fluted tart tin and cover the tin, including the sides, with the biscuit in an even layer. Push down with the back of a spoon to smooth the surface and chill for 1 hr, or overnight.
• Beat the caramel to loosen and spoon it over the bottom of the biscuit base. Spread it out evenly using the back of a spoon or palette knife. Gently push the chopped banana into the top of the caramel until the base is covered. Put in the fridge.
• Whip the cream with the icing sugar until billowy and thick. Take the pie out of the fridge and spoon the whipped cream on top of the bananas. Grate the dark chocolate over the cream, if you like, and serve.

BEST-EVER BANOFFEE PIE

Steps:

• To make the base, melt the butter in a small saucepan. Break the biscuits into chunky pieces and put in a food processor. Blend into crumbs, then add the melted butter and, with the motor running, blend well. Alternatively, put the biscuits in a strong polythene food bag and bash with a rolling pin. Tip into a bowl and stir in the melted butter.
• Tip the crumbs into the centre of a deep, 23cm/9in fluted loose-based tart tin or quiche dish and press firmly into the base and sides. Make sure it is evenly distributed, especially where the base meets the sides. Cover and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes, or until set.
• To make the filling, melt the butter in a medium saucepan, then stir in the sugar. Cook over a low heat, stirring constantly, until the butter and sugar look smooth and no oil floats to the surface. Add the condensed milk and bring to a gentle simmer, stirring constantly. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring, until the mixture turns a deep, creamy caramel brown.
• Pour the toffee gently onto the biscuit base and quickly smooth the surface. Leave to chill for 1 hour (or up to 8 hours).
• Just before serving, lightly whip the cream in a bowl. It should stand in soft peaks, any thicker and it will look over-whipped when mixed with the bananas. Peel and diagonally slice four bananas and scatter half of them over the toffee. Fold the rest lightly into the cream and spoon gently on top.
• Peel and slice the remaining banana and put it in a bowl. Pour the lemon juice over and gently toss (this will stop the banana turning brown). Decorate the top with the lemony banana, poking into the cream randomly, and sprinkle the pie with grated chocolate or decorate with chocolate curls. Serve in fairly thin slices as it is very rich.

BANOFFEE PIE

Steps:

• Start by making the pastry case. Put the butter and flour in a food processor and pulse until it resembles fresh breadcrumbs. Add the yolk of the egg and the sugar and pulse again until mixed through then, add a tbsp at a time of very cold water pulsing the processor after each addition. Stop adding water as soon as the dough starts to come together as one piece.
• Remove the dough from the processor and continue to bring together by kneading gently with your hands. Once you have a smooth ball of dough wrap it tightly in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30mins.
• Heat oven to 190C/170C/gas 4 and grease a 23cm loose bottomed fluted tart tin. Roll out the chilled pastry on a lightly floured surface and use it to line the tin. Leave about half a cm of pastry proud of the edge of the tin - snipping it to length with kitchen scissors.
• Line the base with a piece of baking parchment and weigh it down with baking beans or uncooked rice. Bake for 15 mins then remove the paper and beans and brush the pastry surface with beaten egg white. Return to the oven for a further 15-20 mins or until crisp, golden and cooked through. Leave to cool completely (can be done a day ahead).
• Spread half of the caramel on the case of the pastry case and layer the sliced bananas on top. Cover with the rest of the caramel and place in the fridge.
• Whip the cream until billowy thick and spoon it over the top of the tart. To serve finely grate over a 1-2 pieces of dark chocolate to garnish.