Well...it has been ages since my last post, therefore I am feeling like a beginner all over again. 2006 was not a very good year for me and my family, thankfully it is ending soon. From now on, I will try to write posts more often.
The first of a list of kitchen adventures in an experimental manner, was the Banoffee (banana-toffee) pie. Such a divine taste, such an easy put-together recipe and such a hard-to-find ingredient! This combination has kept me from trying it for a long time. Dulce de leche is a caramelized milk product native to south america as you may know. But what you may not know is that, it is literally impossible to find in europe and mediterranean coast. Except France maybe, which has its own milk product: confiture de lait. I was already tempted to try banoffee pie even before I tasted it for the first time this summer. It was sinfully delicious and I made my mind up to boil the cans whatever the result may be. After some search over the internet, I learned that the famous pie was an invention of a british pub called "the hungry monk" and invaded the world from there. As for dulce de leche, there were different options: boiling an unopened can of sweetened-condensed milk for 3 hours, baking the milk in the oven or in the microwave... the list goes on but I chose the first way (and the hardest:-)
As long as you keep the can submerged in the water it seems safe enough. I used a deep pot with a lid which I kept half closed during cooking to prevent evaporation. After the boiling started, I set the heat to medium and it took exactly three hours to reach the optimum consistency for dulce de leche. In case you want to try the process, it is important to leave the can in the water until it cools throughly. Then you can safely open the can and meet this heavenly sight:
After the first attempt it started to seem kind of easy, even quick(!) to me that it became a routine to boil two-three cans at the same time. You can come and see my pantry:-) It is really a life saver when you have unexpected guests or a sudden urge to eat something sweet. Goes very well in cheesecake or ice cream....and on its own of course.- a medium package of digestive biscuits
- 75 grs melted butter
- 2 bananas
- 200ml whipped cream (you may add a package of cream cheese also)
- 1 cup (250 grs) dulce de leche (commercial or the homemade type)
- banana slices or cocoa for garnish
Start by finely chopping digestive biscuits in your food processor. Combine with melted butter and press to the bottom of a 24-26 cm pie plate. Leave the plate in the fridge until the butter hardens. Then spread dulce de leche over the biscuit base and cover with banana slices. Top with whipped cream and garnish with additional banana or chopped nuts. Allow to cool at least two hours in the fridge. Enjoy thin slices:-)
