Chocolate crust Banoffee Pie

With or without quarantine , I am sure you will agree that , weekends are the best part of the week . As soon as I hang up on the last call of Friday evening or in better times , step out from office , i feel the whiff of happiness overtake my senses . The next two days that follow , can be dedicated to doing only things I absolutely love , like totally ' dil se ' - even if sometimes , I end up in doing something seemingly pointless and unproductive . This week, I spent my Friday evening , whipping up this decadent Banoffee pie , while sipping my glass of wine and listening to Irma Thomas '' Straight from the soul '' . Yes ! This is therapeutic for me and just the kind of start I like for my weekend . This insanely delicious Banoffee pie is made of 4 simple layers - cookie crust, dulche de leche, fresh bananas and whipped cream and is , by far , the easiest , quickest and most superb no-bake pie you’ll ever make .

How to make Dulce de leche ?

Once you make this toffee jam at home , trust me , you would never go for the store brought version again . This can be easily stored in an airtight jar and keeps well in the fridge for up to a week. There are two of different ways to make it:

1. First , the classic way, which calls for cooking equal parts of milk and sugar.

2. Second , cooking a can of condensed milk until it turns into a thick, golden dulce de leche. This can be done by cooking the sealed can in simmering hot water , over stove- top for about 2.5-3 hours . While it takes time to cook, it doesn’t involve much effort and hence , is easy to put together . Once done , i like to mix the gooey dulche with 01 tsp of sea - salt to balance out its sweetness , before it goes into the banoffee pie.

Things you will need :

For the biscuit crust :

• 02 cups of coarsely crumbed chocolate chip cookies ( I used chocolate chip cookies but you can use plain biscuits as well )

• 50 gm of unsalted butter - melted in the microwave.

For the filling:

• 01 cup salted - dulce de leche

• 04 ripe yet firm banana's

• 01 cup (240 mls ) cold heavy cream

• 01 teaspoon vanilla extra

• 01 tbsp of coffee powder - to dust

Steps to follow :

• In a mixing bowl , stir together the biscuit crumbs and melted butter , until combined and moistened. Using your fingers , press the mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan and up the sides to form an even layer.

• Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for one hour, until firm.

• Next , bake the crust at 180 degrees Celsius , for 5 minutes and then , cool completely.

• Once cooled , spread dulce de leche gently on top of the crust and smooth the top .

• Slice bananas and lay them over the dulce de leche in one even layer.

• Using a hand mixer , whisk together heavy cream and vanilla extract on high speed until soft peaks form ( Avoid over- beating ) . Spread the whipped cream over bananas and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight before serving.

• Dust with coffee powder before serving .

• This pie will keep , for up to 3 days in the fridge.