A while back we celebrated a Friend of Flo's birthday, along with my friend Alicia aka fellow baking lover we knew a birthday dessert was a must!
This Allergen friendly banoffee pie went down such a treat, we just had to share it again!
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Banoffee pie is a crowd favourite - and even better this one is gluten-free and vegan-friendly, so can be enjoyed by everyone! If you're a banoffee pie lover but looking to make something not quite as rich or sweet as a typical one, this is perfect. If banoffee pie isn't your thing, there are some other amazing recipe books at Flo, offering something for every sweet tooth.
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To look after our beautiful planet - we buy our dry ingredients from Good For, an amazing wholefoods refillery in Auckland. They have everything you need for baking and more - completely plastic-free, yipeeeee!
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To make an allergy-friendly (vegan and gluten-free), Banoffee Pie, lots of recipes are raw (using mainly nuts and dates for the base), as well as lots of dates for the toffee, however we wanted to put a twist on this, using the recipe from Oh She Glows baked base/crust, with the recipe from The Happy Pear toffee, so it isn't too rich, like many raw cakes tend to be.
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For the toffee layer, you can use basically any type of nut butter or even tahini, but we were keen to try Bay Rd's smoother peanut butter, made in Dunedin - because they offer a return system to keep re-using their jars (how cool is that?!) Again, you can get this from Good For.
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The best hack for cream is to put full-fat coconut milk in the fridge overnight, as it separates the thick cream from the coconut water. The key with this is to trial a few brands of coconut milk - as some don't work as well as others (typically, the better quality the better). If I need 2x cans for a recipe, I often put a third in the fridge overnight, just in case (if one can is a dud).
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You can play around with the toppings for this banoffee which is fab. We ended up grating dark chocolate and adding it to the top too, which adds another dimension. You could also drizzle toffee syrup, fresh bananas and anything else you'd like to play around with.
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Millie's Banoffee Pie (vg, gf & rsf)
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Serves 16
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Base
1/2 cup raw almonds
2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
1 1/2 Tbsp water, or as needed
Toffee layer
10 Tbsp coconut oil
250 g pitted dates
100g peanut butter (can be replaced with almond butter/cashew butter/tahini)
10 Tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla extract
a pinch of salt (add more if you like)
Topping
2 bananas, sliced into 'coins'
2 x 400 ml tins of full fat coconut milk (refrigerated overnight)
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Toasted dried coconut
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Method
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Base
Preheat the oven to 190°C, and line/grease an 8- to 10-inch tart pan with coconut oil and baking paper.
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Grind the almonds in a food processor until they resemble coarse sand. Add in the oats, cinnamon, and salt and process again until the coarse, sandy texture returns. Add the oil, syrup, and water, then process well until the mixture comes together. If it's still dry, try adding another teaspoon or two of water (it should stick together when pressed between your fingers).
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Press the dough flat into the pan with your fingers, and work your way outward and up the sides, ensuring the edges between the bottom and the sides aren't too thick. Poke the crust 10-15 times to allow it to breathe while baking.
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Bake it for 12 to 14 minutes. Once lightly golden, leave it to cool rack for at least 15 minutes. If the crust puffed up during baking, you can poke it a few more times with a fork to let the air escape.
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Toffee and topping
To make the toffee layer, put all ingredients for the toffee layer into a food processor and blend until smooth, adding more water if it’s clumpy.
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Once ready, spread the toffee evenly over the base, and leave to set in the fridge for 20 minutes.
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Spoon the thick cream from both tins of coconut milk into a mixing bowl. Add 1 Tbsp of the clear coconut milk and vanilla extract and whisk for 3 minutes.
Transfer the cake to a completely flat plate and spread the sliced banana on top of the toffee layer.
Spoon the coconut cream on top, and top with coconut threads.
Refrigerate before serving if not serving straight away, using something gorgeous like our black Hitam server.
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Looking for some other allergy-friendly inspiring sweet recipes? Some of my other favourites are The Beauty Chef, Eat Smart, and the Mindful Glow Cookbook.
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Happy baking!
Love,
Bella & Alicia
