Recipe: Banoffee Pie

hI wanted to call this dessert "Diabetic's Dream Pie". It contains so much carbohydrate that a big helping would be enough to put a diabetic into a coma. As a mild type II diabetic myself I made a huge sacrifice by trying this recipe out.

Banoffee Pie is a traditional English dessert and I want to thank Blighty's own Pat Pilcher for supplying the recipe that she makes for her own family.

Ingredients

• 1 can of condensed milk
• 2 bananas
• 1 pack McVities Hobnobs cookies
• 1 Cadbury Flake bar
• 250ml carton whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons melted margarine/butter

Preparation

• Bring a large pan of water to the boil on the stovetop
• Drop the unopened can of condensed milk into the water and boil for 2 hours
• Crush the whole pack of Hobnobs inside a freezer bag
• Empty the Hobnob crumbs into a mixing bowl and thoroughly mix with the melted margarine
• Line the bottom and sides of a cake tin with the Hobnob/margarine mix and press firmly with a spoon to make the pie shell
• After the condensed milk has finished boiling, cool the can thoroughly, then open it and spoon the contents into the pie shell. The condensed milk will be caramelized.
• Top with slices of banana, whipped cream and a crushed Cadbury Flake bar (as you can see I forgot the Flake and had to improvise)
  
• Refrigerate then serve in small portions (this is a very heavy dessert)

John's Notes
How could you do this to me Pat? I went completely off the diabetic diet wagon to try this! If Pat has any more recipes to offer, the principal ingredients had better be lettuce and fat-free yogourt!

But seriously folks, if you like very sweet, heavy desserts you are going to absolutely love this one. If, on the other hand, you don't like very sweet, heavy desserts - avoid this like the Black Death!!!

The McVities Hobnobs and Cadbury Flake are available at Blighty's Tuck Store. Buy lots, I have a hydro bill to pay! John.

Recipe: Savoury Pie

This is a great little recipe for a tasty meal you can throw into the cooler for one of those summer day trips. Once again, it's a very old British recipe that has been brought up to date.

If you search the Internet for "Savoury Pie" you will find a lot of recipes. I found many that used the word "savoury (or "savory") as an adjective. That means there are hundreds of pies that have savoury, rather than sweet ingredients.

In this recipe the word savoury is used as a noun. "Savoury Pie" meant a specific style of pie to my grandmother and to other cooks of her time. Ok, English grammar lesson over, here is how to make it:

Ingredients:

• 1 lean cooked chicken breast
• 1 slice lean cooked bacon (e.g. Blighty's Ayrshire Bacon)
• Half an onion, chopped and lightly browned
  
• 1 tablespoon parsley
• Half a cup of cooked macaroni
• Salt, pepper, nutmeg
• Half a cup of thick white sauce (e.g. Colman's Savoury White)
• Gelatine
• 1 nine inch pie shell

Preparation:

• Mix and finely chop the chicken, bacon, onion, parsley and macaroni
• Season with salt, pepper and a little nutmeg
• Add enough gelatine to the white sauce to set it (see instructions on gelatine pack)
• Stir the chopped ingredients into the white sauce
• Lightly pre-bake the pastry shell then pour the pie mix into the shell
• Bake at 400F until the top begins to brown
• Cool and serve with your favourite salad

How Good Is It?

To be honest, I don't know. As I post this recipe to the blog my savoury pie is still cooling in the fridge. But I promise you this; I am going to eat it for my supper tonight with some potato salad.

I'll add a comment to this post to let you know how good it is. It would really encourage me to carry on posting these recipes if you would add your comment (use the link at the bottom of this post) if you try this recipe. You can add your comment anonymously if you wish. Thanks.