Easy Banoffee

This was not my first attempt on a Banoffee Pie but this was the only one that gave me a more presentable result. The previous ones were delicious but the filling turned out runny. I don't really expect to get perfect results on the first try, but every time I want to make something new or I'm not really familiar with, I take note of the things I need to work on and I do it again.

First I needed to learn how to make caramel (Dulce de leche/ caremelized milk). Lucky if you're living abroad because they sell this in can ready- to- use. For us here in the Philippines, all you have to do is to get a pot of water sink your can of condensed milk side ways and boil it for 1 1/2 hours- 2 hours. Make sure that the can of milk is always submerged in water or it's going to explode if it dries up. Once done, let it set in the very same pot of water for 15- 30 minutes and slowly add tap water until it's cooled down.

A lot of work huh? It's gonna be all worth it later on once you're used to it. The fact that you can already make your own caramel is already a +++.

Materials: 

• Spring form pan or any container you want to use and that is easy to cool.
• Mixing Bowl
• Spatula
• Mixer 
• Grater for dark chocolate

Ingredients:

• 1 stick unsalted butter (melted)
• 1 pack of crushed graham crackers
• 3 ripe bananas (sliced into thin pieces)
• 1 cup heavy cream (from the refrigerator)
• 4 oz. cream cheese (at room temperature)
• 300ml can of caramelized condensed milk

Procedures:

Crust:

• In a mixing bowl, mix crushed graham crackers and melted butter. Mix until well- blended.
• Pour crushed graham into pan or molder.
• Spread the crumbs evenly from the bottom to the sides. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Filling:

• In a bowl, mix banana slices with half of the caramelized milk.
• Pour and spread banana filling on the prepared crust evenly.
• Pour the remaining caramelized milk and spread again evenly.

Cream Topping:

• In a separate mixing bowl and on medium speed whip heavy cream until stiff peaks form.
• Add cream cheese and mix until well- blended.
• Top cream over the banana and caramelized milk mixture, spread evenly. 
• Garnish with dark chocolate shavings.
• Refrigerate for 3-4 hours before slicing.

Since this is a no- bake Banoffee, it is important to keep this dessert in a cool place all the time. Please bear with how my Banoffee looks, I made boo-boo on the less banana filling and more cream topping part. Well, I just gotta keep trying right? I'll try the bake version some time and post it here too. But for now....

Enjoy!