I couldn’t pin down what it was that made me lust for this pie like a crazed woman and I tried to whip up my version of it , but there was something missing!  Most times I will just get right down to replicating any dish I have fancied from restaurant  and not even bother to google  ingredients.  Had I done that when I was going bananas over banoffee then I would’ve figured out some tricks to it.

This English pastry would seem so basic with not much ingredients to it, but the trick comes with the toffee. It’s where I got stumped. I couldn’t figure out how to end up with that toffee taste and creamy texture.  Unfortunately, my brain was in the wrong place at the time when I endlessly tried to make my own banoffee pie.

The name of the dish comes from the ingredients of the pastry itself. The combination of banana and toffee. Reading through it’s origin, the men behind this delectable pie borrowed its concept from the American dish called Blum’s Coffee Toffee pie which is made up of smooth toffee and coffee flavoured whipped cream.

They adapted the same toffee filling into their own version by boiling a can of condensed milk and adding a layer of bananas. Hence, they named their own dish as a Banoffee pie because of that mouth watering combination of  bananas and creamy toffee. You can opt to make a cookie crumb crust and add some chocolate ganache in the pie itself for a little more sinful indulgence.

Banoffee Pie

Ingredients:

1 cup(s) graham cracker cookie crumbles
.5 cup(s) pecans , toasted, finely chopped
4 tablespoon(s) unsalted butter , melted
2 tablespoon(s) packed brown sugar
2 can(s) (13.4 ounces each) dulce de leche (caramelized sweetened condensed milk)
4 large bananas
1 cup(s) heavy cream
1 tablespoon(s) confectioners’ sugar
.25 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In bowl, mix crumbs, pecans, butter, and brown sugar. With back of spoon, press onto bottom and 1 inch up sides of 9 1/2-inch springform pan. Bake 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack.
2. Filling: Spoon dulce de leche into cooled crust and spread evenly. Peel and slice 3 bananas. Arrange over filling. In bowl, beat cream, sugar, and vanilla just until stiff; spread over bananas. Refrigerate 2 hours.
3. To serve, peel and slice remaining banana. Arrange over cream. You may choose to drizzle some gooey chocolate syrup over the pie and sprinkle some slivered almonds or chopped walnuts. If you’re feeling a little more indulgent, why not make some chocolate caraque or thickly shave some chocolate swirls for a full on guilty splurge since you’re already at it.

Photo Credit: dichohecho

Photo Credit: Allerina & Glen MacLarty

Photo Credit: mio_pls

Leche flan is a Filipino caramel custard. It is also known as caramel custard or Creme caramel. It is a delicious dessert often served in parties and social gatherings. There are many varieties of this dish in different parts of the world- dulce de leche (Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Uruguay), flan de Cuba (Cuba), banh caramel or banh flan (Vietnam), purin (Japan). All are creamy egg and milk based desserts served in different ways.

Ingredients:

1 can (390g) evaporated milk

1 can (390g) condensed milk

10 egg yolks

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or lemon essence

1 teaspoon lemon or key lime rind

For the caramel:

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup water

In a saucepan under medium heat, combine the water and the sugar. Bring it to a boil for 10-15 minutes. Simmer it after under low heat. Let the sugar caramelize, but be careful not to burn it because it will become bitter. Pour the caramelized mixture into aluminum or glass molds. Set it aside to cool.

In a big bowl, mix the evaporated milk, condensed milk, egg yolks, vanilla extract and lemon rind until all the ingredients blend together. You may use a mixer or do it by hand.

Once the caramel has settled and isn’t soft, gently pour the milk mixture into the molds. The mixture should fill up 1 – 1 1/2 inches of the mold.

Cover the molds with foil and steam it for 20 minutes.

If you want to bake it, preheat the oven at 370 degrees. Place the molds in a big baking pan half filled with hot water.  Bake it for 45 minutes. Let it cool after and then refrigerate for 2 hours or more.

With a knife, loosen the edges of the flan. Place a platter on top of the mold and flip it, so that the caramel is on top. Serve chilled.

Photo Courtesy Of: luchrupan

Here’s an easy caramel recipe you can prepare anytime. It is also something you can bring for parties. You can also become creative about the crust by using wafers or chocolate biscuits.

Ingredients:

500g cream cheese, at room temperature

300ml thickened/whipping cream

3 tsp gelatine, dissolved in 3 tablespoons of warm water

250g soft caramels

1/4 cup milk

250g sweet biscuits

80g butter, melted

To prepare the crust, crush the biscuits or process it in a food processor. If you can find readymade crushed biscuits, it is fine as well. Combine it with butter and mix well until the biscuit crumbs become moist. Transfer it to a springform cheesecake pan. Press the biscuit mixture onto the base and refrigerate it.

In a medium saucepan over low heat, pour in milk and melt the caramel. Stir occasionally for 5-8 minutes or until it melts. Set it aside and let it cool for 5 minutes.

In a bowl, combine the cream cheese, whipped cream and gelatine. Use an electric mixer to mix these ingredients until it becomes smooth. Next, fold in 3/4 of the melted caramel.

Get your prepared pie crust and pour in the cheesecake filling. Smoothen it with a spatula. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours or until it becomes firm.

Decorate the cheesecake with the remaining caramel before serving. Serve chilled.

Photo Courtesy Of: joyosity

Those of you who love the divine combination of salty and sweet can rejoice: this frosting, which is rich yet light and sweet yet not cloyingly so, is what you’ve been looking for. It’s Swiss Meringue Buttercream, delicious all on its own, but made amazing with some salted caramel.

The latter adds a new dimension to the frosting, and for that reason I suggest pairing the buttercream with a cake of a simple flavor. Our favorite Vanilla Cupcake recipe, for example- or, if you’re feeling particularly decadent, a dark and dense Chocolate Cake. It works well on cupcakes, but is just as lovely to fill and frost a regular 2-layer cake (which is about how much this recipe makes).

Salty-Sweet Salted Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Think the name is a mouthful? Wait until you try this buttercream.
First, you want to make the salted caramel, which might be daunting if you’ve never made caramel sauce before. But don’t fear. Check out my past post on making perfect caramel, and apply the same technique.

Salted Caramel
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup heavy cream
generous pinch of sea salt

Combine water and sugar in a small saucepan. Over low heat, swirl the pan gently (don’t mix, don’t touch with a spoon or implement of any kind). You just want the sugar dissolved. Once its dissolved, bring the heat up to about medium, and continue swirling every once in a while until it reaches a dark amber. Remove from heat, and slowly pour in the cream, stirring with a whisk. The mixture will spatter, but just be careful and all will come together beautifully. Add sea salt. Set aside until cooled and gorgeous… while you make the

Swiss Meringue Buttercream
3 large egg whites
1/4 cup white granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 sticks salted butter

In the bowl of your electric mixer (stand or hand, but stand is infinitely easier), combine sugar, egg whites and cream of tartar. Set over a large saucepan of simmering water, and constantly whisk (unless you want scrambled eggs. Sweet scrambled eggs.) until sugar is dissolved, and mixture is nice and frothy and white. I use a candy thermometer, because I’m O.C., and bring it to about 160F.

Remove from heat, give the bottom of the bowl a good wipe, attach your stand/hand mixer, and beat on high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the mixture is glossy and holds stiff but NOT dry peaks.

Add butter in tablespoons. Note how your mixture looks curdled (if the butter was cold), and sally forth. It will come together, and give you the most glorious, billowy buttercream.

If the room is warm, it’s a hot day, or your butter wasn’t cold, the mixture may look melted and gloopy even after a few minutes of mixing. If so, take your bowl and stick it in the fridge for about ten minutes. Then re-whip.

One of the smartest things I ever did was learn how to make perfect caramel sauce. About once a month, I fill a large plastic ketchup dispenser with my homemade caramel sauce, and keep it in the refrigerator. Having this on hand is wonderful for:

• Serving on ice cream and frozen yogurt.
• Drizzling slices of chocolate cake with.
• Pouring into my coffee for instant Caramel Macchiatos.
• Sandwiching between two homemade cookies during dire emergencies.

Seriously, all it takes is 3 ingredients: sugar, butter and cream. Do you need even more reasons to make this?

Homemade Caramel Sauce

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup salted butter (the salt makes it better, really)
1/2 cup heavy cream

In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the cup of sugar over medium heat. Do not stir. I like to swirl the pan around, to ensure even melting. Before long, all the sugar will have melted, and it’ll look something like this:

Cook it some more until it’s a little dark- You want a nice amber color. But don’t overdo it.

Now immediately whisk the butter in. Once it’s all melted, take the pan off the heat, and slowly (!) add the cream, whisking nicely. Don’t stick your face in it or anything, because it will sizzle up.

Let it cool, transfer to a container of your choice, and pat yourself on the back for making perfect caramel sauce.