BANOFFEE PIE

If you can wake me up at night for something, it’s for a piece of Banoffee Pie. Not very well known in the Netherlands, but a big hit in America. And I don’t know if you know this, but it’s probably better if you don’t know how many calories are in a slice of this heavenly good pie. I once made one for Thanksgiving, and since Mr. X and I celebrated that year just the two of us on the couch, we ate Banoffee Pie all week. Plus two kilos on the scale.

Because I would love to eat this every day but would rather not have those extra kilos stuck to my hips, I went looking for a bikini-proof version. Almost just as delicious. ALMOST yes. But much healthier. I’m very curious what you think of it.

Ingredients:

For the crust:

100 grams of raw almonds

200 grams of oats

1/2 tsp cinnamon

pinch of salt

6 tablespoons of coconut oil

2 tbsp maple syrup

1 tablespoon of almond milk (to make the dough a bit creamier)

For the caramel

200 grams of dates

3 tablespoons of almond paste

1 teaspoon of lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt

seeds from a vanilla pod

For the filling

2 cans of coconut milk

3 large ripe bananas

Dark chocolate

1. Put two cans of coconut milk in the fridge and let them sit overnight.

For the crust:

2. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Take a springform pan and grease it with a bit of coconut oil. Line the pan with baking paper.

3. Put the almonds in the blender, but don’t blend too long. It should remain a coarse crumb. Then add the oats, cinnamon, and sea salt to the nuts and blend for a few more seconds. Then put the mixture in a bowl and add the coconut oil, maple syrup, and almond milk to the mixture and stir well. The dough should feel slightly sticky. Press the dough into the springform pan, both on the bottom and against the edges. Prick the dough a few times with a fork. Then bake the cookie for 12 minutes until golden brown.

4. Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool.

For the caramel:

5. Put the dates in a bowl and pour hot water over them. Let it sit for ten minutes so the dates have a chance to soften. Drain the dates well and put them together with the almond paste, lemon juice, salt, and vanilla in the blender. Mix until you get a smooth caramel.

6. Spread the caramel over the cooled crust.

7. Slice the banana and distribute half of it over the caramel.

8. Put the coconut milk in a large bowl and whip it with a whisk until there are no more chunks in the cream.

9. Spread the coconut cream over the banana, followed by the rest of the banana.

10. Grate the dark chocolate over the pie.

11. And then it’s just a matter of controlling yourself.

Believe me, you want this.