Banoffee Pie

Once upon a time, a room mate of mine watched Food Network and learned about a decadent dessert called, "Banoffee Pie." She made it one day and the four young women in that apartment transformed into snitches, stealing bites out of the pie throughout the day until is was... GONE.

That room mate gave me the recipe as a wedding present and I wanted to make it this week, but noticed that the recipe took HOURS to complete! I made my own version and let's suffice it to say that I think it is DIVINE and it did not take hours! I added a chocolate layer that I haven't seen in Banoffee Pie before and I think it takes this dish to a whole new level! Dee-Lish...

Banoffee Pie de' Aubz

Step 1: Graham Cracker Crust
1 1/2 C graham crackers, crushed
10 Tbs butter, softened (or melted, it doesn't matter)

Preheat oven to 350. Put the grahams in a zip loc bag and roll over them with a rolling pin until they are fine crumbs. Mix the butter and crumbs and press into the bottom of a pie pan. Bake for 5-8 minutes. Put the crust in the freezer (you might want to let it cool for a few minutes before you freeze it, glass explodes with drastic temperature changes). 

Step 2: The "Offee" part of Banoffee Pie
1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)
1/3 C brown sugar (give or take)
3 or 4 Tbs Butter

Put all ingredients in a sauce pan (preferably a THICK pan).
Stir over LOW heat until it carmelizes.
It will start to darken in color and mine would have been better if I had let it boil for 30-60 sec. I turned off the heat when it boiled for fear it would be too sticky. It would have been fine though :)
After it boils (stir constantly while it boils) turn off the heat and let the toffee return to room temperature. It will thicken as it cools.
(I put mine in the freezer for a few minutes to speed up the process)

**option 2 for toffee** You can also put the UNOPENED can of sweetened condensed milk in a pot of boiling water and let it boil for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. You have to keep adding water to make sure the can stays completely submerged the whole time. When you finish, open the can (carefully, let it cool!) and voila - you have toffee! This takes more patience than I have though. 

Step 3: Chocolate Crust
1/2 C Chocolate Chips (milk or semi-sweet)

Melt your chocolate chips in the microwave and spread the melted chocolate in a THIN layer over top of the chilled graham cracker crust.
Return back to the fridge.
*Remember, zap the chocolate for about 30 seconds, then stir. 15 more seconds, then stir. 10 more seconds, stir. Don't burn your chocolate!



Step 4: Toffee Layer

Remove the cooled toffee from the fridge (or freezer, if you are impatient like me) and spread it over your chilled graham cracker/chocolate crust. You should be able to scoop it out and spread it, kind of like thick gooey frosting. This stuff is really rich, so I do a pretty thin layer.
*Hopefully yours is a slightly darker color than this because you cooked it longer than I did*


Step 5: Bananas!
Slice up 2-4 bananas and spread them across the pie. I like to be pretty liberal with the bananas, even double layering. The bananas really help to break up the "richness" of this pie.


Step 6: Whipped Cream
1 C - 2C Heavy Whipping Cream
Powdered sugar (maybe 3 Tbs)
Vanilla (maybe 1 tsp or so)

 Whip these 3 ingredients. When you have stiff peaks, spread a thick layer over your bananas!

Step 7: Toppings and Serving

I used ice cream toppings; carmel and chocolate sauce, as well as a dusting of cocoa powder. I have heard of people putting chocolate shavings on top or more bananas, be creative I guess :)


Complete List of Ingredients:

1 1/2 C graham crackers, crushed

10 Tbs butter, softened

1/2 C Chocolate Chips

1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)

1/3 C brown sugar (give or take)

3 or 4 Tbs Butter

2-4 bananas
1C - 2C Heavy Whipping Cream

Powdered sugar (maybe 3 Tbs)

Vanilla (maybe 1 tsp or so)

*carmel and chocolate sauce

*cocoa powder

Strawberry Cupcakes

These Strawberry Cupcakes were created in an effort to get rid of some very ripe strawberries that I didn't want to go to waste. They are very similar to the Devil's Food and Banana Cupcakes I already posted, but they are even better...and much cuter...so you should try these too!

Strawberry Cupcakes
1 box yellow cake mix
1 sm box vanilla instant pudding
~2 C strawberries (mashed...although I kind of like a few chunks!)
3 eggs
1/2 C veg oil
3/4 C milk

Sift together cake mix and pudding mix. Beat in eggs, oil, and milk. Stir in strawberries last. Line muffin pan with papers. Bake according to box directions. Let cool and frost with Cream Cheese Frosting (below). I put a slice of strawberry on top for a garnish.

Cream Cheese Frosting
(you could use any cream cheese frosting. I stole these proportions from a cook book, authored by an award winning cook, one of my mother's dear friends (and a friend of my own), Gayle Holdman. From her cookbook, "Only the Best," comes this Cream Cheese Frosting recipe:

1 8oz pkg. cream cheese
1/2 C butter or margarine
2 tsp vanilla
3 3/4 C to 4 C powdered sugar

In mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla. Gradually add enough powdered sugar to achieve desired consistency. (I think it would be cute to dye the frosting pink too!)

Plump Pumpkin Perfection Cookies

The discovery of these cookies changed my life. I came home late one night to my Apartment in Provo. I was engaged to Myke at the time, so, late at night was actually really early in the morning. I was super tired, but also had the munchies! I plopped down in the kitchen and noticed cooling racks covered in little moist morsels all along the counter top. I popped one of these puppies in my mouth and experienced pure bliss. I flipped on the kitchen light to find the recipe. Thankfully, it was still out of the counter. I still don't know which one of my room-mates is responsible for these gems; but I love her for them! I didn't actually write down the directions, only the ingredients (I was engaged and my brain was thus frazzled and deep fried). I made these for my Pops' birthday though and they stirred up really easily. You can't mess em up!

Plump Pumpkin Perfection Cookies
1 1/2 C. Butter (softened)
3 C. Brown Sugar
3/4 C Sugar
6 eggs
1 large can Pumpkin
6 tsp. Cinnamon
6 C. Flour
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/2 tsp Cloves (ground)
1 1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp Ginger
3 tsp Baking Soda
2 Bags Chocolate Chips


Cream butter and sugars together. Combine all dry ingredients. Combine all wet ingredients. Mix wet and dry ingredients and drop by mounded Tablespoons (or a big cookie scoop) onto Cookie Sheet (I greased mine lightly). The dough will be wet. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. DELISH!

Devil's Food & Banana Cupcakes

These cupcakes were a "Sunday Creation." Myke and I don't purchase anything on Sunday because we are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Sunday is thus a sacred day of rest and we honor it by not purchasing things. We came home to our little apartment in Provo after church one Sunday and I wanted something sweet...but...we didn't have much in the cupboard and we had some over-ripe bananas on the counter. I had a devil's food cake mix and thought to myself, "chocolate covered bananas are good, chocolate banana cake ought to be good!"

1 box "supermoist" Devil's Food Cake mix (I used Betty Crocker Brand)
1 sm box (3.8 oz) Devil's Food Instant Pudding mix
1 3/4 - 2 C. Bananas, mashed (~4 med bananas, very ripe)
3 eggs
1/2 C. vegetable oil
3/4 C milk

Sift together cake mix and pudding mix. Beat in eggs, oil, and milk. Stir in bananas last. Bake in well-greased muffin pan (fill cups 2/3 full) according to cake box directions. (makes about 30 cupcakes)

Chocolate Frosting
3 T Butter
1 1/2 C Powdered Sugar
3 T cocoa
1 tsp vanilla
3 T milk (or less)

Sift together sugar and cocoa. Set aside. Cream/beat butter until creamy. Beat in sugar mixture and milk, alternating. Beat in vanilla. Covers about 8 cupcakes - triple or quadruple this recipe to match the cupcakes.

Cooking with Nothing and Speckled Bananas

This blog is just a little collection of tasty tid bits. Some will be my own ideas, some will be other people's ideas that I think are tasty and some will be added from my friends and fam! I seem to have come up with some recipes that are "worth it." Worth it, as in, I don't want to spend five hours on a meal that two people eat in 10 minutes. Worth it, as in, I have nothing in my pantry (or my cupboard,  before I had my first pantry...love my pantry!) and there is no way I am going to the grocery store at midnight. Worth it, as in, I jut spent $3000 on tuition and books this week, leaving me approximately zero dollars to spend on dinner, so I am going to have to start Cooking With the "Nothing" I have in the pantry And the over-ripe "Speckled Bananas" I have in the fruit bowl. These food ideas are not perfectly designed culinary artworks,but I think you'll like em!
Love, Aubz