Change is in the air. Last week was our first taste of autumn with my favourite kind of crisp mornings, sunny warm days and slightly cooler evenings. I’ve always thought that Sydney does the change of seasons really well. In the past I’ve always had great bursts of inspiration around spring, but I must have been too busy to notice last year because it’s all happening right now. Better delayed than never! I get the feeling that 25 is going to be an interesting year.

But let’s talk about this pie for a second. There’s a chocolate pastry crust, a salted toffee caramel with just a hint of passionfruit, slices of banana that have been cooked in brown sugar, and on top some whipped cream and a mountain of chocolate shavings. It’s Banoffee with a twist, and looks like the sort of decadent concoction that Miss Candy herself would think up. And boy, is it good!

Of course Easter is this coming weekend and this is a perfect choice for dessert. The pie crust and caramel can be made in advance, so putting it together on the day is a breeze. When making your caramel, watch the colour closely as it uses passionfruit juice rather than water and it’s a little harder to tell when it’s ready.

I hope you all have a lovely long weekend! If you’re looking for any other Easter inspired recipes both savoury or sweet, head right over here.



Chocolate Passionfruit Banoffee Pie
Serves 6-8

Chocolate Pastry
• 160g plain flour
• 30g cocoa
• 80g caster sugar
• 80g cold unsalted butter, diced
• 1 egg

Passionfruit Toffee Caramel

To make the chocolate pastry, place the flour, cocoa, sugar, butter and a pinch of salt in the bowl of a food processor and process until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add eggs and process until dough just starts to come together. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead until smooth. Flatten into a disc shape, wrap in clingwrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest. Roll out the pastry to about 3mm thick. Line the base and sides of a tart tin (I used 23cm round) with the pastry, and trim any excess. Place in the fridge for 15 minutes to rest. Line the pastry with baking paper and fill with baking weights or rice. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove paper and weights and bake for a further 5-10 minutes or until firm to the touch.

To make the passionfruit toffee caramel, stir sugar and passionfruit pulp in a saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil and cook until caramel (6-8 minutes, keeping a close eye on the colour nad making sure it does not turn too dark). Add salt, butter and cream (be careful as hot caramel may spit). Stir until combined, pour into pastry case and refrigerate until chilled.

To make the caramel bananas, dip both sides of each slice into brown sugar and place in a heated frypan. Cook in batches until caramelised, turn over to cook the other side. When ready place an even layer of banana slices on top of caramel and allow to cool.

When ready to serve, dollop whipped cream on top and swirl through passionfruit pulp if using. Top with chocolate shavings (made using a vegetable peeler) and serve immediately.