Saturday, May 5, 2012

A Charmed Banoffee Pie


Ellery Adams

In each installment of the Charmed Pie Shoppe mysteries (the first one debuts this July), I include a customer of the week pie. These are recipes sent me by real readers and this one was to die for!

Not only is it a blend of soft, ripe bananas and rich, decadent caramel, but the creamy smoothness of the whipped topping just finishes it off with a dollop of pure heaven. Add a few chocolate shavings for the garnish and you've got a pie worth serving Mother.

In fact, the woman who sent me this recipe comes from a long line of Scottish bakers. Her mam ran a bakery on Orkney Islands (sorry, but I don't know exactly where) and they're still boiling their sweetened condensed milk even though you can buy it pre-made nowadays. Some things are better done the old fashioned way. Some things are worthy of patience and attention to detail. I think that's something most moms would agree on.

So enjoy this wonderful pie and Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there (whether your children have two feet or four paws!)


Charmed  Banoffee Pie

Ingredients
10 ounces ginger snaps, crushed fine
1 stick butter, melted
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
3 ripe bananas, sliced
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 ½ cups chilled heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
hunk of milk chocolate candy bar for garnish 








Directions
Prepare ginger snap crust. In medium bowl, mix melted butter with brown sugar. Add crushed ginger snaps. Mix well. Press mixture into 9-inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 5-8 minutes. Cool.

Put can of sweetened condensed milk in large saucepan and cover with water. Boil for 2 hours (Adding water when necessary). Cool. Open and stir with fork to remove any lumps. (It will be brown in color). Spread on top of the ginger snap crust.

Slice three bananas and sprinkle with lemon juice. Arrange over the toffee.
 
Put large mixing bowl and electric mixer beaters in freezer for ten minutes. Remove and add heavy whipping cream. Whip until peaks are just about to form and then add in vanilla extract and sugar. Continue whipping until stiff and spread on top of banana layer. Grate milk chocolate over the top. Chill until serving.


8 comments:

  1. I was given a recipe very similar to this by a friend who was a chef on cruise ships. The only difference was the whipped topping. (He didn't tell me about that). I have to let everyone know - THIS IS AWESOME. It takes some time to make the caramel but it's SO worth the effort. YUM!

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  2. That looks so good. But is the coffee cup a comment on the heart-healthiness of this recipe? ;-)

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  3. :) to the last comment. Just eat a little tiny piece...

    so there's no way the boiling can would explode???

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  4. You had me at caramel and bananas. What a great combination. Beautiful pie, Ellery!

    ~ Krista

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  5. Oh my...that sounds incredible!

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  6. Looks delicious! (I'll try it with coffee, but in another cup, lol!)

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  7. The boiling can definitely won't explode. I should have waited longer to let it cool because I was wearing a teaspoon of caramelized milk after I opened mine - LOL! ALso, I thought mine hadn't caramelized but then I began to stir it and it turned caramel-colored. It was really magical!

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