Evidently banoffee is a British term for a dessert that includes bananas, cream and toffee (we go by caramel in the U.S.). Bananas + toffee = banoffee. Unless Wikipedia is wrong. But I don't think so. When I was in graduate school, we were thoroughly warned about the evil Wikipedia and how it can't be relied upon for research. But I don't think it's a big stretch to trust that someone in England decided it would be cute to call bananas and toffee ban-offee.
Either way - this was great. Didn't have much of a banana taste, which I will take responsibility for. I was supposed to use overripe bananas but I had none. I had to buy new ones and hope they would ripen a lot overnight....
They didn't do too bad. These front bananas looked like the back bananas when I bought them. To hasten the ripening process, put the bananas in a closed paper bag with an apple. Put them in a warm place but not necessarily over an open fire, or else you'll have a flaming bag of bananas.
Did you know you can freeze bananas? Oh yes. Yes, you can. I toss them in the door of my fridge whole, peel and all. Turns black. When ready to use, just thaw on counter for 15 minutes or so and unpeel. They will be very mushy but perfect for recipes like this one or banana bread.
Wow this was close. I think I might need a bigger food processor.
This was the star of the show, though.
The caramel sauce is made from Lyle's Golden Syrup (tastes like a thick, mellow honey) and brown sugar and butter. Triple yum.
This is a make-the-day-before recipe because it needs to sit in the fridge overnight. When you are ready to bake, all cold ingredients should be room temperature, so put the cream cheese out in a bowl, sans wrapper, about an hour ahead. You can take the chill off eggs by putting them in a bowl of lukewarm water for about 10-15 minutes.
Banoffee Cheesecake
Compliments of JennaDish
from Nigella Kitchen by Nigella Lawson
SERVES 10
for the base:
18 sheets graham crackers, crushed (for 2 1/2 cups crumbs)
6 Tablespoons soft unsalted butter
for the cheesecake:
4 overripe medium-sized bananas
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 8-ounce bars cream cheese, room temperature
6 eggs
3/4 cup (packed) plus 1 Tablespoon light brown sugar
for the caramel sauce:
7 Tablespoons soft unsalted butter
1/2 cup golden syrup (such as Lyle's Golden Syrup)
1/3 cup light brown sugar
A 9-inch springform cake pan
A roasting pan, for a water bath
Preheat the oven to 325o and put a full kettle on to boil (measure amount of water you'll need for water to go 1/2 way up the round pan in your roasting pan- I need more like 2 kettles full). Wrap the outside (underneath and sides) of your springform pan with a double layer of plastic wrap, then cover that with a double layer of aluminum foil. (No, the plastic wrap will not melt.) This will act as a waterproof casing to protect the cheesecake as it sits in its water bath.
Process the graham crackers (I put them in a plastic zip bag and crushed them with a rolling pin first because my current food processor doesn't do a great job with crackers) with the 6 Tablespoons of butter until you have a sandy rubble that is beginning to clump, and press into the bottom of the prepard pan. Set this in the refrigerator and clean out, thoroughly, the processor bowl - no crumbs.
Mash the bananas well with a fork (I used a potato masher), add the fresh lemon juice, and set aside.
Process the cream cheese until smooth, then add the eggs and sugar. Last, add the mashed bananas with lemon juice, processing until you have a smooth mixture.
Put the wrapped springform pan in the middle of the roasting pan, and pour the cheesecake filling into your springform.
Now put the roasting pan with springform into the oven and pour the recently boiled water into the roasting pan so that it comes halfway up the springform. Cook for 1 hour and 10 minutes, checking after 1 hour. The very center of the cheesecake should still have a hint of a wobble, but should seem set on top. (In my oven, this took 1 hour and 15 minutes total - heed the "hint of a wobble" more than the exact time).
Remove from the oven and, still wearing your oven mitts, take the springform out of the water bath and place on a cooling rack. Gently and carefully peel away the outside layers of plastic wrap and foil, and let the cheesecake continue cooling on the rack. (Do not unmold until after refrigerated overnight).
Put the cheesecake into the refrigerator but dont' cover it till it's fully chilled, then leave overnight - and remember to remove it from the refrigerator about 1/2 hour before you want to eat it. (Actually mine sat out only 10-15 minutes and it unmolded beautifully.)
To make the sauce, melt the butter with the golden syrup and sugar in a saucepan over a gentle heat until everything comes to a bubble, then let it bubble, keeping an eye on it for 1-2 minutes. It will be a foamy, amber mixture like liquid honeycomb. Then let it cool slighly before pouring into a small pitcher and leaving to cool further; it will thicken as it cools.
To help unmold the cheesecake, work a thin, flexible spatula around the top edge, before unspringing from the pan, then put it on a serving plate, preferably one with a lip. Whisk the caramel sauce in the pitcher and drizzle some over the cheesecake, leaving the rest for people to add greedily as they eat.
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