Treat yourself to a little decadence; Chocolate Banoffee Pie

If you are in the mood for something rich sweet and decadent then these little pies are for you. A take on the traditional Banoffee pie, this decadent desert has a crumbly chocolate and pecan biscuit base, filled with a dulce de leche  and banana filling, topped with a light delicate meringue. I make my own dulce de leche (a South American Carmel) and it is so easy. It takes just a little time but it’s well worth it. I found a great recipe for both the traditional method and also the quick method (using condensed milk) on this blog http://www.laylita.com/recipes. I used the quick method for my recipe, as did the creator of the banoffee pie (Ian Dowding, chef at The Hungry Monk restaurant in East Sussex,where he created this desert in 1972).

So if you feel like blowing off the calories for a day and spoiling yourself then give this sweet treat a go. 🙂

RECIPE:

• 190G plain chocolate biscuits ( I used chocolate ripple by arrnotts)
• 90g pecans
• 75g unsalted melted butter
• 1 large or 2 small mashed bananas
• 6 Tsp thickened cream
• 150ml dulce de leche
• cocoa powder to dust

MERINGUE:

• 6 eggwhites
• 300g caster sugar
• 11/2 tsp cream of tartar
• 11/2 tsp white vinegar

METHOD:

1. Lightly grease 6 small round loose bottomed tart pans
2. Place biscuits and pecans in food processor and pulse until resembles fine bread crumbs
3. Add butter and and mix to combine
4. Press firmly in the base and sides of tart pans
5. chill for 15 minutes or until firm
6. preheat oven to 180º
7. Place banana, cream, dulce de leche  and a pinch of salt flakes in a bowl and stir till well combined
8. Spread filling in pie shells and bake for 15 minutes, remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes, reduce oven to 150º

FOR MERINGUE:

1. whisk egg whites with electric beater until frothy
2. whisking continuously on high speed gradually add sugar, whisk to stiff peaks
3. Add cream of tartar and vinegar, and whisk until just combined
4. Place meringue into a piping bag fitted with a small star shaped nozzle
5. Pipe over pies
6. Bake for 10-15 minutes until meringue is golden
7. Cool pies completely in pans, remove dust with cocoa and serve

Adapted from the original recipe of Katie Quinn Davies