Gluten Free Banoffee Pie (No Cook)

This is a personal favourite of mine that we first posted on the old site in 2007. Ingredient wise it's not really that different to a standard banoffee pie but we came up with the proportions and method one afternoon without using a recipe and have stuck to doing it this way ever since!

Preparation time -  20 minutes + chilling time
Cooking time - 0 minutes
Makes / Serves - 8-10
Child friendly - 3/5
Difficulty rating - 2/5

Ingredients:

150 g gluten-free shortbread
150 g gluten-free digestive biscuits
65 g butter
110 g caster sugar
1 tin (397 g) Nestlé Carnation Caramel
3 average sized bananas
400 ml double cream
10 g icing sugar
2 teaspoons cocoa

Method:

1. Place all the biscuits in a large bowl and crush into a crumby consistency (we use the end of a wooden rolling pin), or alternatively use a food processor.
2. Heat the butter in a medium sized pan over a low heat until completely melted.
3. Remove the butter from the heat and add to the crumbled biscuit, mix well.
4. Press the mixture evenly into a 24-28 cm tart tin with a removable base, then place in the fridge and leave to chill for  at least 20 minutes before continuing.
5. Remove the tin from the fridge and transfer the base onto a serving plate.
6. Spread half of the caramel evenly over the biscuit base.
7. Cut the bananas into thick slices and press evenly into the caramel layer, the top of the banana slices should ideally be just below the height of the bases edge.
8. Carefully spread the remaining caramel over the banana slices and into the gaps between them.
9. In a jug mix the cream and icing sugar and beat until it forms soft peaks, be careful not to make the cream too thick if using an electric hand mixer.
10. Spread the cream evenly over the top of the caramel and base, then sift the cocoa over the top.
11. Chill for a minimum of 40 minutes before serving.

Tips:

1. Rather than using cocoa you could melt around 100 g of dark chocolate and drizzle it over the top of the cream, just make sure you let the melted chocolate cool slightly before drizzling.
2. For a base with more crunch reduce the amount of butter by 5 g and instead of refrigerating it in step 4 cook it in the oven for around 10 minutes at 180 C / 350 F / Gas Mark 4, allow to  completely cool before continuing to step 5.