Mini Banoffee Tarts.

So simple. So delicious. I don't think I have ever made such an easy dessert with such an incredible outcome. These banoffee tarts honestly taste gorgeous. I am a massive fan of banoffee pie and this recipe definitely didn't disappoint, in fact it made me and my family very happy with every single mouthful indeed. For me the combination of banana, sweet, fudgy caramel, crunchy, buttery biscuit and light, velvety cream is utter perfection and if banoffee pie is your idea of heaven too then please give these little tarts a go because I promise you will fall in love with them! They don't look too shabby either which, is very good and surprising for me and I think I've actually managed to make them look quite pretty and cute if I do say so myself. Thank goodness! I've finally managed to pull off a fairly dainty and elegant dessert but, most importantly, oh boy do they taste sinfully good!

Recipe

For the biscuit base-

250g digestive biscuits, crumbled and crushed

100g unsalted butter, melted

For the caramel-

100g unsalted butter

100g dark brown sugar

one 397g tin condensed milk

For the topping- 

2 bananas, sliced

200ml whipping cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract, optional

grated chocolate (I used dark chocolate)

Method

1. Grease 6 10cm tartlet tins or one large 22cm springform tin.

2. Melt the butter and mix with the crushed biscuit crumbs. (Crush the biscuits by bashing with a rolling pin or blitz in a food processor). Press the buttery biscuit into the base of your tin/s to make the pie shell/s and chill for 30-60 minutes.

3. Remove the tart cases from the tins carefully.

3. Next, make the caramel. Melt the butter and sugar in a non-stick pan over a low heat, stirring continuously. Once the butter is melted and the sugar dissolved, add the condensed milk, mix really well and continue stirring continuously. Bring to a rapid boil, stirring all the time until you get a lovely, thick, golden caramel. 

4. Spread the caramel over the base of your pie or spoon into your tarts. You can add 5-6 tsp. of caramel to each tart. Allow to cool and chill for at least an hour before serving.

5. Softly whip the cream until light and fluffy. You can add 1 tsp. vanilla extract before whipping if desired. 

6. Slice the bananas into disks and arrange the banana pieces over the top of the caramel in each tart. Spoon over a couple of dollops of the cream and spread towards the edges of the tart. Finally, sprinkle with some grated chocolate and serve!

7. EAT!

Summer Vegetable Pizza Pie.

I always find that whenever I do any baking, I tend to go straight to the internet to find new recipes to try even though I've got a huge stack of delicious cookbooks in my bedroom so, today I decided to make my first recipe out of my Higgidy Cookbook and I'm very glad I did as this pizza pie was lovely. It is very similar to a quiche so, perfect to serve alongside some salad in the summer or to even take as a yummy snack for a picnic. I literally fell in love with the croustade pastry, it is gorgeous and tastes like a rich, buttery cheese scone. Yum! The filling was also very tasty and quirky and tasted very fresh and summery with all of the summery vegetables and the addition of the lemon zest. 

I really loved this pizza pie and it was actually really easy to make too which is good as pastry dishes can often be quite faffy and require lots of skill and time to make them look neat. I love the rustic look of this pizza pie which, is perfect for me as I have always been pretty terrible at shaping pastry and haven't quite managed to make any gourmet looking quiches or pies in all my ten or so years of baking yet but, I didn't think this pizza pie looked too shabby. 

Has anyone else stumbled upon any delicious recipes recently in their mound of long forgotten about cookbooks? 

Recipe

For the Savoury Croustade Pastry:

200g plain flour, plus a little for dusting

A generous pinch of salt

75g unsalted butter, well chilled and cut into small cubes

50g mature Cheddar cheese, finely grated

1 medium egg, beaten

2-3 tbsp. ice-cold water

For the Filling:

A knob of butter

3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 courgette, cut into discs and then halved or quartered to make small chunks

4 large spring onions, cut into 1.5cm slices on an angle

75g asparagus, chop each asparagus spear into three

250g full-fat cream cheese

1 medium egg

Zest of 1 lemon

2 tbsp. chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Topping:

1 ball buffalo mozzarella, torn

A little beaten egg, for brushing and glazing

Finely grated zest 1/2 lemon

Method

1. Start by making the savoury croustade pastry. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl, add the butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the grated cheddar and stir until the cheese is just mixed in. Add the beaten egg and a few splashes of ice cold water and mix just enough to bring the pastry together. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead lightly until smooth. Try not to handle too much or the fat will get warm and the pastry may turn out tough and chewy. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30-60 minutes before use.

2. Now prepare the pizza pie filling. Melt the butter in a large frying pan. When it's sizzling throw in the garlic, courgettes and asparagus and fry over a high heat for 2 minutes. Add the spring onions and fry for a further 4 minutes or until the veg is beginning to steam but, hasn't lost it's vibrant colour. Now set aside to cool.

3. Beat the egg in a medium bowl and then beat in the cream cheese until fully incorporated. Season with black pepper. Add two-thirds of the cooled vegetables, the lemon zest and chopped parsley and stir to combine. Preheat the oven to 200°C. 

4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry into a 30cm circle about 3mm thick. Transfer to a large baking sheet (the pastry may hang over the sides). Spoon the creamy mixture onto the pastry, leaving a border of about 5cm all the way round the edge. Sprinkle over a third of the torn mozzarella and a good grating of black pepper and a pinch of salt. Top with the remaining vegetables and mozzarella and turn up the excess pastry around the edges of the filling.

5. Brush any exposed pastry with beaten egg and bake for about 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden and crisp. Finally, remove from the oven and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes before slicing into wedges and serving.