225gbutter100g for the caramel, 125g for biscuit base
100glight brown sugar
5tbspicing sugar
2tspvanilla extract
Sea salt
Dark or milk chocolate for decorationoptional
Instructions
To line the cake tin, overlap two layers of cling film, one horizontal and one vertical. If you're not using a spring form pan, take two strips of grease proof paper long enough to overhang the tin and lay in a cross underneath the cling film, this creates handles to pull the pie out.
Preheat oven to 180C/gas 4. Lay your pecans on a flat baking tray and toast for 5-10 minutes, until they smell toasty and are a shade darker. Turn every few minutes, don't walk away as they can burn quickly.
Melt 125g of butter in a saucepan and set aside. In a food processor add the pecans, a pinch of table/kosher salt and crumble in the digestives. Process until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. With the processor running, pour in the melted butter until both are combined. The crumbs should hold together when pinched. (If you don’t have a food processor, this process can be done by hand, but will take much longer).
Pour the biscuit crumbs into your prepared tin. Using a spoon, push the crumbs into an even layer on the base and push up the sides of the tin. Try to make the sides and corners slightly thicker than the base, this will help hold the pie together. Once evenly distributed, use the bottom of a cup measure or flat glass to firmly pack the crumbs into an even layer. Place in the fridge to chill for 20 minutes.
While the base is chilling make the caramel. In a non-stick saucepan, melt the remaining 100g of butter with the brown sugar. Add the condensed milk and boil for 3-4 minutes until thickened. Allow to cool for 10 minutes (the rest of the time the base is chilling).
Pour the caramel over the base and sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt, chill for an additional hour.
Slice the bananas into 1cm rings. Arrange on top of the caramel in a circular pattern overlapping their edges.
In a large bowl, combine the vanilla, cream and icing sugar. Whip to your desired stiffness. If the cream is being piped on top, I would suggest stiffer, if not, soft peaks works better. Adding powdered sugar to cream adds starch and helps to stabilise the cream, meaning it will stay fresh for longer.
Mound the cream on top of the bananas and spread evenly, or if piping, pipe as desired. (Bananas can oxidise after a while, if you're not serving this immediately after chilling, make sure the bananas are entirely covered by the cream to prevent this.)
Decorate with more pecans and chocolate shavings. To create chocolate shavings, run a sharp knife along the flat side of a chocolate bar. Alternately, use a vegetable peeler.