A Childhood Cooking lesson: Our Simple Scalable Cake Recipe!
Cakes, Desserts
This is the basic formula for every cake I’ve ever made. So here’s a little lesson from inside my mind, and the way I was taught as a child, to…
Last Friday night we had a Christmas dinner party with some of our dearest friends. I was volunteered for dessert duty and I wanted to take the opportunity to try something new. One of the guys was making over the top grass fed burgers with every kind of addition (including balsamic-maple glazed red onions – I could’ve eaten the whole skillet full!). Heavy burgers meant I wanted a lighter dessert, something raw and nothing too dense and chocolatey so I remembered one of our favorite unhealthy family desserts, Banoffee pie, and thought about how I could clean it up. Traditionally it’s a pie crust with condensed milk caramel, bananas and whipped cream… The world has seen healthier things 😉 For mine I used a nut and date raw pie crust with date ‘caramel’, sliced bananas and coconut cream with raw honey and cinnamon. For a dinner party touch I made individual servings and added a homemade chocolate heart on the top.
They probably could have been a little smaller to eat after a big burger but they went down well with health nuts and non health nuts alike. Happy.
For the cream layer:
1 can coconut cream (not milk and no reduced fat versions)
1 tbsp raw honey (or maple syrup for a vegan version)
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
The night before you want to make the pie, place 1 can coconut cream in the fridge. The cream will separate leaving some water and a much thicker cream that whips really well. Once it’s sat the night in the fridge open it up and scoop out the thick cream part. Add the raw honey and cinnamon and whip it up until it sits in soft peaks then set back in the fridge while you make the rest.
For the crust:
3 cups ground nuts. I used a pecan/almond/cashew combo.
20 small soaked dates
Pinch good salt
Pulse half the nuts salt in a food processor with about 5 dates until they are combined, add more dates as needed until the mixture will press together between your fingers and hold its shape. Divide between 8 lined ramekins or one pie tin and press down with your fingers till it’s flat. Leave that in the fridge while you make the rest.
For the caramel:
2 cups soaked dates
1/3 cup raw honey
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 shot brandy/rum (optional but recommended)
Pinch salt
3 bananas
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Blend everything but the pecans and bananas together until completely smooth. You should probably try a spoonful 🙂 Spoon about 2 heaped tablespoons onto each pie crust and spread it flat.
The next layer is bananas but I added pecans too for some extra yummy crunch. Chop about 3 bananas into quartered slices. If you cut them any bigger it pulls the pie apart as you eat it and I like pretty food so I cut them small! Layer the slices over the caramel pressing them gently into it until it’s all covered and then sprinkle 1tbs pecans over the bananas in each mini pie. Time to get that cream out again. Spoon a dollop on top of each pie and gently smooth it out, then finish with a dash of cinnamon. You could serve it then but I wanted a sturdier pie that would sit nicely on a plate so I set them back in the fridge for about 8 hours. I removed them just before eating, took them out of the ramekins, ran a knife round the edge to smooth it and served them with a little chocolate heart.
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