I’m preparing to host my very first Easter dinner tomorrow – a totally plant-based menu with all the fixins! Go big or go home, I say. Usually we go to my in-laws for Easter, but this year my sister-in-law had to stay close to home for an event so we offered to host. I’m making a ridiculous amount of food including many recipes from my next cookbook. So pumped. I just need to scrounge together enough chairs and pray that we all fit at our table! Ok, that is definitely not happening…but what would a big family get together be without a kids table?!
Cooking has been more fun than usual these days because I have an audience now – a 6 1/2 month old baby who loves to watch her mama in the kitchen! Adriana is very curious as to what I’m doing in there all the time and she smiles at me from the table and even laughs at all the right moments, such as when I bust out Twinkle Twinkle Little Star complete with a made up dance routine. I’m now a cook/entertainer all at once. What an ego boost, let me tell you. Did I mention I burned two desserts last weekend? I can’t imagine why…
This pie, however, came together without a hitch. Sa-weet. If you’re like me, you might even find you have all the ingredients on hand which makes me want to cry happy tears because I didn’t need one more grocery trip on a holiday weekend. Or should I say Eric doesn’t need one more grocery trip on a holiday weekend…bahaha. I don’t know about you, but when I realize that I have all the ingredients for a recipe I’m like that Ikea commercial, only instead of running to the car I’m running to my kitchen… START THE OVEN, START THE OVEN!
I’m not weird, not weird at all.
Last year I had the opportunity to preview Sarah Britton’s debut cookbook, My New Roots: Inspired Plant-Based Recipes for Every Season, based on her beautiful whole foods recipe blog. I’ve long admired Sarah’s unbridled enthusiasm for plant-based food; in fact, I don’t know if I’ve ever come across someone who is so passionate about vegetables, not to mention, knowledgeable about how they impact our health.
This cookbook is gorgeous with beautiful food photography and interior design (I’m a bit of a cookbook nerd these days, often gushing over paper stock of all things). There are 100 creative vegetarian recipes with many vegan options. Some of the ingredients are a bit uncommon or difficult to find, but I expect if you have a solid farmer’s market and health food store handy you’ll be able to find many of the ingredients in the right season. Just in case you aren’t sure which ingredients are in season, the cookbook is conveniently divided into 5 sections by season (spring, early summer, late summer, autumn, and winter). I love that summer is divided into two seasons; it totally makes sense because there’s so much coming into season over the summer months. One thing’s for sure, Sarah’s recipes will help you bust out of a cooking rut and get adventurous in the kitchen.
Here is a sample of recipes from My New Roots:
- Buckwheat Crepes with Creamy Purple String Bean Slaw
- Roasted Red Pepper Walnut Dip
- Shaved Turnip and Radish Salad with Poppyseed Dressing
- Oyster Mushroom Bisque
- Apricot Rhubarb Clafoutis
- Caramelized Fennel on Herbed Polenta
- Roasted Cauliflower with Lebanese Lentils and Kaniwa
- Trippy Tie-Dye Soup
- Butternut Stacks with Kale Pesto, Kasha, and Butter Beans
Today, I’m excited to share this dreamy Banoffee Pie recipe from her new cookbook. I’ll be serving it tomorrow along with a few other desserts. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did (yes, I had to eat a slice before serving it tomorrow…don’t judge). I’m predicting it won’t last long because who on earth can resist the combo of coconut whipped cream, banana, oats, and date caramel? Anyone?
Banoffee Pie
Yield
12 small slices
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
This Banoffee Pie is decadent while still feeling super light and healthy. The almond-oat crust is layered with sticky date caramel, sweet banana coins, luxurious whipped coconut cream, and shaved dark chocolate, for a pie that's sure to impress. This recipe is adapted from My New Roots: Inspired Plant-Based Recipes for Every Season. Copyright © 2015 by Sarah Britton. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC.
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1/2 cup (78 g) raw almonds
- 2 cups (200 g) gluten-free rolled oats
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) virgin coconut oil, melted
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) pure maple syrup
- 1 1/2 tablespoons (23 mL) water, or as needed
For the Raw Caramel Toffee:
- 1 1/2 cups (340 g) pitted Medjool dates
- 3 tablespoons (45 mL) smooth almond butter
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 vanilla bean, seeded, or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean powder (optional)
For the filling:
- 2 (14-ounce/398 mL) cans full-fat coconut milk, chilled overnight*
- Raw Caramel Toffee (from above)
- 3 large (600 g) ripe bananas, sliced into thick “coins”
- 2 squares (6 g) dark chocolate, shaved
Directions
- Place 2 cans of full-fat coconut milk in the fridge overnight (or for at least 12 hours) to allow the coconut cream to solidify.
- For the crust: Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Grab an 8- to 10-inch tart pan (I use a 9-inch) and lightly grease the base and sides with coconut oil. Cut a circle of parchment paper to fit on the bottom and place it inside. This will prevent the crust from sticking.
- Add the almonds into a food processor and process until they are the texture of coarse sand. Now add in the oats, cinnamon, and salt and process again until the coarse, sandy texture returns. Add the melted oil, maple syrup, and water, then process until the mixture comes together and no dry flour remains. The dough should stick together when pressed between your fingers; if it's still too dry, try adding another teaspoon or two of water and processing again.
- Crumble the dough all over the base of the tart pan in an even layer. Starting at the center, press the dough flat into the pan with your fingers and work your way outward and up the sides. If the dough starts to stick to your hands, lightly wet your fingers every now and then. With a fork, poke the base of the tart about 15 times to allow the air to escape while baking.
- Bake the tart, uncovered, 12 to 14 minutes until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and place the tart pan on a cooling rack for about 15 minutes. If the crust puffed up during baking, you can poke it a few more times with a fork to let the air escape. The crust will firm as it cools.
- Meanwhile, make the Raw Caramel Toffee: Add the pitted dates into a bowl and pour boiling water over top. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes, or longer if your dates are firm. Drain the dates and add them to the food processor along with the almond butter, lemon juice, salt, and vanilla bean seeds (if using). Process until smooth, stopping to scrape the bowl as needed.
- Open the chilled cans of coconut milk and carefully scoop off the white cream from the top of the can, discarding the water. Add the coconut cream into a medium bowl. With electric beaters, beat the cream until smooth and fluffy.
- When the crust has cooled, gently spread all of the caramel toffee onto the base of the crust—using the back of a lightly wet spoon—until the base is covered. Slice all of the bananas. Place half of the banana slices on top of the caramel, pressing down lightly to adhere.
- Spread all of the whipped coconut cream on top of the banana slices in an even layer. Now place the remaining banana slices on top of the pie in a circular pattern, overlapping and stacking them to create height. Garnish with shaved chocolate (I like to shave it with a vegetable peeler) and serve immediately. Leftovers will keep in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 3 to 5 days. I don't recommend freezing this pie, as the banana slices get mushy after thawing.
Tip:
* To save time, you can swap the homemade coconut whipped cream for store-bought coconut whipped cream (such as So Delicious Coco Whip). Be sure to let it thaw before use.
The raw caramel works best with soft, fresh dates.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Congrats again, Sarah!
To those of you celebrating this weekend, I wish you a lovely Easter! Spring is officially in the air. ahhhh.
Date caramel = genius. My “desserts to make” list is growing longer and longer…that’s not a bad thing.
Wow! This pie looks incredible and is totally the best idea ever for a Family Easter dinner. You were totally right when you said that the recipe has common ingredients that most of us would already have in our cupboards – I have every single thing required and I’m really having to control myself from jumping up off the couch and pulling out everything to get started on this! I love the IKEA analogy – pure perfection!
It looks so good, definitely trying this one.
Thanks Angela. Happy Easter/Passover.
An entire plant-based meal prepared by you sounds amazing! And did I read right.. you’ll have a 2nd cookbook out?! YAY!
I think a entire plant based Easter menu sounds delightful. You are right, spring is in the air, although the day after Easter my 5 year old asked if we could celebrate Christmas! This pie looks most excellent, I really enjoy learning about food on Sasha’s my new roots blog as well. And of course I love oh she glows!
I had preordered her book as soon as I heard about it and I want to make literally every single recipe in it!!!!! Much like I did when I got yours:)
I can totally understand making a date caramel. My favorite snack is Medjool dates + homemade almond butter, but I hate soft/squishy dates. In an attempt to make them chewier and tougher, I put them in the oven on its lowest temp for a few hours to dry out. Not only did they dry out, but they tasted so rich and caramelized! I don’t have time to hang out and do that with them all the time, but they were amazing!!
This looks soooo yummy! I love finding new healthy dessert recipes to try.
Amelia Rose | Health & Beauty Blogger
I always enjoy making your recipes and this one sounds amazing! Will definitely make this soon! Thanks!
This book looks awesome and the pie looks even better! I’ve never really had any banoffee desserts before but I love both banana and toffee so I’m sure I’d like this!
i was just reading in Sarah’s book earlier, I love the idea of dividing it by season. Beautiful cookbook. Hers was the first plant based blog I found, yours came shortly thereafter. I have a bunch of plant based cookbooks now but to tell the truths yours is the only one with food all over it from using it so much. Whenever I need a recipe I keep on coming back! I have at least 5 friends (omnivores) who also own and hopefully cook from your book, if not they are missing out! Happy Easter!
That looks incredible! I would love to try this sometime soon. Will have to check out the cookbook too, sounds terrific :)
Thank you , this looks yummy.
that looks DIVINE! also, i’ve always appreciated your photography skills. :)
Loveliness. I have been following My New Roots and seeing so many gorgeous photos of the book. Happy to see an actual recipe so I know what to expect from the whole gorgeous book.
This looks amazing! and I love Sarahs website, and had no idea her cookbook was broken up into seasons…that’s my jam:) Thank’s for sharing this lovely recipe. And you gotta have the kids table!
Yum! I can’t wait to try this. So you replaced an equal amount of sunflower seeds / sunflower butter with almonds and almond butter? (I’m usually cooking for folks with nut allergies, so I’ll likely be using the sunflower variation). Thanks, and enjoy your Easter dinner! ;)
Saw your cookbook in Portland! Love <3
This is my most favorite pie in the world and I’m always looking for one that does justice to the ones I grew up with in England, so I am definitely going to try this one!
thank you!
Jessica
mossandmink.com
This recipe sounds delicious and I am thrilled that I have all the ingredients! Can’t wait to make it. I’ll also be hosting Easter, I wish I could say it’s totally plant-based but I have a few rebels attending that won’t think it’s Easter without a ham. Here’s my menu I’m so proud to share: Sunny White Sangria, Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Avocado Garlic Aioli, Mini Fruit Kabobs, Creamy Avocado-Potato Salad, Tropical Mango Banana Kale Salad with Creamy Pineapple Coconut Dressing, Red Quinoa and Black Bean Vegetable Salad, Roasted Beet Salad with Hazelnuts and Fresh Strawberries. Any of those recipes sound familiar? Love ALL your recipes.
Hi Kelli,
That is amazing! You have lucky guests. Happy Easter!
I actually just got Sarah’s book and I cannot wait to try this recipe out!! Thanks for sharing!!!(:
Hi, this looks great!
Whoa… Mmmm… So while you are recipe testing for a cookbook, it’s a happy coincidence that this year you’ll be hosting Easter. Of course you had a taster slice first: have to know if your first rendition of a recipe is good enough to serve company.
Hey Ange, I like your adaptations, and yum–I ate the webpage :) ‘cos babyweight loss is at a plateau so this was a perfect compromise!
This looks absolutely amazing. I must makes this when I come home.
Beth x
http://www.hellobeth.co.uk
I’ve been looking for a perfect raw cake and this one looks amazing!! can’t wait to try it
https://aspoonfulofnature.wordpress.com/
I’ve had trouble with the coconut whipped cream ever since all the cans added guar gum to the ingredients. I have checked every brand and everyone seems to have it?
You can whip up your own from a can of full-fat coconut milk. I first read about it here on OSG, so if you do a search you should be able to find Angela’s instructions. It is amazing!
Ooooh, you mean the cans of coconut milk have guar gum! Gross. I never noticed that.
Try Native Forest coconut milk — they don’t use gums and the cans are BPA free. :-)
Thanks Rebecca– I’ve been searching for a brand of coconut milk without guar gum too.
Do you live in the toronto area?
What store did you find yours in?
Does anyone else have any brand recommendations?
I do what I call the “grocery aisle shake” where I gently shake the cans and then pick out the ones that feel thicker (aka no liquid sloshing around). Works every time!
So far my favourite places in the GTA to buy coconut milk is T&T (or other asian stores) and Loblaws.
I use the green Arroy-D cans. They are gum free and work great!
Thank you!! I will have a look. I live in Hamilton and feel like every can I check has it. I must have missed this brand.
I just bought Native Forest and they do indeed have guar gum! No idea why but fortunately my whipped coconut cream turned out great!
I can’t wait for my copy to arrive. And this recipe looks just so so yummy!
Thank you for sharing!
Happy Easter to you and your family, Angela!
This pie looks absolutely GORGEOUS and I love that I have all the ingredients on hand for it – that’s the BEST when that happens :)
I’m getting caught up on your blog and just read your last post. Love and light your way, girl! <3 I wish we could always bring each other up instead of tear each other down! I just wanted to let you to know that I started reading your blog right when I started my vegetarian journey a couple years back and your blog was a major inspiration for me in becoming vegan and SO passionate about beautiful plant-based foods! You know which decision is best for your family and I love how open and honest you are on your blog. All the best!
ohh man this look tasty! I was thinking about making my favorite raw vegan blueberry banana muffins but I think I want to make this instead!! :) Thanks for the killer recipe Angela!
This pie looks lovely. It’s so nice to realise everything you need is in your cupboard and ready to go. I try to make as many meals as possible without special trips to the shops. This ususally requires research, planning and creativity. Your site always provides good recipe inspiration.
omg, it looks so good, i love bananas!
http://alinaurbanska.blogspot.com/
Looks really delicious *_* I’ve to taste it!
Angela, this looks amazing – and I love your tweaks. Thank you for all that you do!
I love banana cream pie and I love caramel, so this looks quite amazing! Definitely have to try :)
I got a great giggle when you mentioned the burned desserts! Been there, done that, LOL! It’s a comfort to read that you have ‘moments’ too! Okay…I’m gonna go back and drool some more over that pie! Enjoy your celebration today!
I can’t wait to get Sarah’s book in my mailbox- all her recipes are delicious and gorgeous and I can’t wait to cook through her book! This banoffee pie sounds amazing, and I totally agree: what’s a big family gathering without a kid’s table?! Sitting at the kiddy table when I was young was definitely my favourite part about family dinners :)
I’ve been trying to figure out how I could make caramel/toffee and this is the answer! Can’t wait to try it out. I love your cookbook. I made the Tex Mex Casserole last night and it was deeelish!
This looks wonderful – the addition of fresh bananas must make it super tasty!
Happy Easter Angela! Enjoy your holiday dinner with your family. I bet they’re excited to taste test some dishes from your next cookbook. :)
I love date caramel! I can’t imagine ever wanting “real” caramel anymore. This looks delicious– the crust especially!
Scrolling those pictures down it’s like being in the kitchen and looking at the cake being prepared! Shame i cannot bite my screen…well…I could! :) Beautiful cake!
you had me at the AUDIENCE MEMBER.
That’s the best.
<3 <3
HI,
Could I please get a substitute for the oats?
Yumm! I love Oh She Glows, I love My New Roots, put them together and there is no way anyone anywhere will be disappointed! And they aren’t! This sounds incredible, and your adjustments sound perfect! I’m so pumped to try this!
I’ve been dying to make Sarah’s Banoffee pie but have been putting it off out of sheer lazyiness haha. Now I’m definitely gonna make it asap! You can’t go wrong with bananas and toffee.
I am weeping over how gorgeous that pie is! Just lovely!
Oh wow this pie looks so good!
This looks incredible! I also hosted a plant-based Easter yesterday. Everyone loved the food (or so they told me)! Featured many Oh She Glows recipes… superfood crunch salad, protein power goddess bowls, triple berry nut crumble…
This recipe is calling my name. Do you think I could mash the bananas and beat them into whipped coconut cream?
I would love to make a “banana cream” topping instead of cream + banana slices. And then, of course, cover it with tons of shaved chocolate!
I just have to say Angela, you take the most beautiful pictures I’ve ever seen. Ever. And that’s saying something cause I also read Kathy’s blog Healthy.Happy.Life and wow she takes beautiful pictures. But your’s take the cake. I won’t be making this recipe cause I hate bananas and I don’t like pie, but thats the most beautiful pie I’ve ever seen. Your pictures are amazing. You’re an amazing photographer. And i LOVE the picture of the kale? on your Food for Thought post. It’s beautiful. Oh and I did read that post. And I was like whaaatt?? I didn’t know you wrote a post on what you’d feed your baby. So I read that post and I could not agree with you more. I’m sorry people were criticizing you. You don’t deserve that. I’m vegan too and I couldn’t agree with you more. I’m not gonna put a label on my kid. Kids are too little for “vegan”. They’ll decide when they’re older what they wanna do. You don’t wanna burden a little kids with such a strict label. I don’t ever to people even call myself vegan because people just take that word so seriously and offensively sometimes. I just say I don’t eat animal products. I am vegan and have been for years and so happy I am. But a lot of adults can’t even handle the word vegan. That’s too much pressure to put on a kid. It’s too much to explain. Just everything. I get it. But anyway I love ya Angela. Been reading your blog for a few years now. You’re a beautiful person.
Hi Shanna,
Thanks so much for you kind words!
Ang, I don’t have a tart pan. Could I use a glass Pyrex pie dish instead? I’m not super crazy about bananas. I’ll probably omit the top layer but definitely put the bananas on the inside layer. As always, superb photography! Hope your Easter was wonderful. Can’t wait to see photos of your beautiful babe and your food!
I used a glass pyrex pie dish, and it worked great!!
Having a kids’ table is a great idea! I love hearing bits and pieces of their conversations when they think no one’s listening (creeper status: expert :) ) It can get very interesting and surprisingly mature at times–they were talking about politics once! Not sure I would even talk about that with my friends; ha!
I love that this pie isn’t sickly sweet! Yum!