Banoffee Pie: A perfect summer dessert

With the unprecedented visit from the sun we're all enjoying barbecues and seizing our favourite summer hats, shorts, and sunglasses. All of this is guaranteed to frighten the wonderful weather away, so all we'll be left with is a touch of sunburn. However, in the meantime, al fresco dining and barbecue hosting calls for a dessert. This is simple to make and will be perfect even if the sun shies away- we can still pretend it is out as we indulge in this refreshing yet satisfying Banoffee Pie. It is just one of those puddings which renders me completely incapable of refusing a second helping. It really is a pretty perfect combination of salty and sweet, creamy and crunchy.

Method

• Boil a tin of condensed milk for 2 hours.
• For the base : 200g of digestive biscuits and 100g of margarine. All you need to do is smash the biscuits into fine(ish) crumbs (a rolling pin is my favourite weapon of choice- you can have fun with this). Now add the melted margarine and mix together. Lay this into a pan. Let this cool on a rack then pop into the fridge.

Once everything is cooled, smother your toffee onto your digestive biscuit base- without eating too much of it!

Next come the slices of banana- as many as you like.

Finally, the finishing touch- whipped cream.

Easy! This for me is a simple, no-fuss way to a delicious dessert, none of these chocolate drizzles/ sprinkles/ shaven pieces or complicated biscuit bases needed. It's true that there are many variations, but often simplicity is best. Although, you'll be pleased to know, I'm not forbidding anyone from adding some chocolate/ toffee sauce etc on the top- it might act as a great decoration if this is for a special occasion. The saltiness comes from the digestive biscuits which I find compliments the incredibly sweet toffee, but if salty is not your thing then feel free to try a sweeter biscuit such as Hob Nobs- the oaty texture would be particularly nice. And finally, the best part of this dessert is that you can completely justify making it simply by explaining that you're 'using up the over-ripe bananas', don't I look out for you all!

 What is your favourite summer dessert?

Do you have your own variation on the Banoffee Pie?