Banoffee Pie

Banoffee Pie

Having special dietary requirements or wanting to stay in shape doesn’t mean that you can’t serve an impressive dessert at your next dinner party or family gathering. This raw pie is really quick and easy to make, and being free of refined sugar, dairy and wheat or gluten means you can even have it for breakfast! Who says you can’t have your cake and eat it too?

Ingredients

For the crust:
1 cup raw cashews or macadamias
1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup desiccated coconut or homemade coconut flour
1/2 tsp organic vanilla powder, or 1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp himalayan salt
2 tbsp organic virgin coconut oil
1 tbsp organic maple syrup

1 x Raw Caramel recipe

For the cream:
1/2 cup organic coconut cream
1/4 cup raw cashews
2 tbsp organic virgin coconut oil
pinch of himalayan salt
pinch of organic vanilla powder, or 2ml vanilla extract

3 – 4 ripe bananas
1/3 cup of banana chips (I use Nature’s Choice, available at Dischem)

Method

Place all the ingredients for the crust into a food processor and blend until you have a fine crumb which sticks together when pressed. If it’s not sticking you can add another drizzle of coconut oil or maple syrup. Press the crust into a 20cm pie dish, covering the bottom and sides evenly. Prick with a fork and refrigerate until needed.

Make the raw caramel according to the recipe (click on the link above.) Spread about 2/3 of it onto the base of the pie.

Slice the bananas and place them on top of the caramel in concentric circles, until you have almost filled it to the top.

For the cream, place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until completely smooth. Pour the cream slowly over the banana, filling the pie to just below the edge of the crust.

Use a heavy-bottomed saucepan to crush the banana chips into crumbs, and sprinkle over the top of the pie. If you don’t have crispy banana chips (as opposed to chewy dried banana) you could use almonds or cashews to get the textural element. Drizzle some caramel over the top of the pie to finish. Refrigerate overnight or minimum 4 hours. This pie keeps well in the fridge for a few days.

Health & happiness!

Love,
Raine

Raw ‘Bounty’ Bars

raw bounty bites

Well these certainly went down a treat in my house! Who doesn’t like Bounty?? It is one of my favourite chocolates and just like with most things, here at Two Kitchens, we like to create healthy variations for our favourite snacks.

These are completely free of gluten, refined-sugar, dairy and chemicals, and require surprisingly few ingredients!

Ingredients

Coconut filling:
Half cup desiccated coconut (unsweetened, organic)
A quarter cup coconut oil, melted over the hob
5 tbsp agave nectar
1 tsp vanilla essence

Chocolate layer:
4 tbsp cacao butter
1 tsp coconut oil
4 tbsp raw cacao powder
2 tbsp organic maple

Method

Mix the coconut filling ingredients well in a bowl. Get an empty ice cube tray and portion the mixture into the little cube holes and push them in so they gain the right shape. Once you’ve finished the mixture, put this in the freezer for twenty minutes.

Meantime, melt the cacao butter and coconut oil in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Once melted, add the cacao. Once combined, while stirring, remove from the heat and add the maple. It will bubble a bit so leave it off the heat while you mix it then when it calms down, put it back on the hob on a low heat for a minute, until fully combined.

Once the coconut bites are ready, remove from the freezer and from the ice tray and put them on a plate. Coat each one individually in the chocolate, then, leaving them to sit on a plate put back in the freezer for 10 minutes, remove, and repeat this step as the first chocolate layer will be absorbed by the coconut oil but the second layer will go on nicely. Leave for about half an hour, remove, and store in an airtight container in either the fridge or freezer for up to two weeks.

Happy bounty hunting!
Love,
Lauren