Banoffee Pie

Living in Tanzania, the ingredients for 'cake' were relatively easy to come by. It did make having a cake on birthday's a little less exciting though ... when you regularly eat it all year round!

In order to make birthday's a little more special, I started to make friends a Banoffee Pie instead. A mixture of banana and toffee and total yumminess! My aunty used to make them for family gatherings when I was a lot younger and then when I was a student, we used to have them during regular weekly meals at church.

The ingredients weren't so easy to come by in Dodoma, which made it all the more special to celebrate birthday's and special occasions with! We used to get the digestive biscuits flown down on a MAF shuttle from Nairobi or brought out by visitors. Making the cream was also difficult, so sometimes we substituted a packet of 'dream topping' instead. (My mum would send them out in a little package in the post, along with the Angel Delight to make butterscotch ice-cream ... always an exciting parcel to receive!)

When I started adding recipes to this blog, it wasn't long before a few of my friends, especially those from my time in Tanzania, were asking about my Banoffee Pie. For one reason or another, I've only just gotten round to including it ... so apologies if you're one of those who have been patiently waiting! 

I have always thought it was an American recipe but now that I live here I realise it most definitely isn't, the majority of my friends have never heard of Banoffee Pie! Earlier this week we went round to a friends for dinner and were asked to bring dessert. I made a Banoffee for the first time in forever, which went down very well and my mother-in-law (who apparently doesn't do 'sweet things') enjoyed tucking into three helpings over the course of just one evening!

Here's the recipe ... the wait is over!!

• 6oz Digestive biscuits - crushed (approx 12 biscuits) ... British 'biscuits' (cookies) not American 'biscuits', available in Walmart
• 3oz butter - melted
• 14oz tin condensed milk
• 2-3 bananas - sliced
• 1/2 pt double/whipping cream - whipped
• A little grated chocolate (I put a lot on this last banoffee pie!)

1. Boil sealed tin of condensed milk for 2 hours in a pan of water to make 'toffee' - cool before opening (make sure the water stays topped up and covers the tin. If you're living at altitude you may have to boil it for 3 hours!)
2. Combine biscuits and melted butter. Press into an 8" pie dish. Cool in fridge.
3. Spoon out toffee onto the biscuit base.
4. Lay out the banana slices to cover the toffee.
5. Spoon cream to make the top layer.
6. Sprinkle the grated chocolate on top (I got carried away with the one in the photo ... I was chatting to a very good friend in the UK on the phone at the time!)
7. Refrigerate until serving.