Banana + Toffee + Pie = Go Figure ;)

Lo' and behold, our most unforgettable yet favorable sum of all; banana + toffee. You need to add, and please, do not subtract for the sake of the quote 'live to eat' in order to get the exact jargon that is implied in here. Now, do the math. Tell us, what can you conclude with the unresolved stated sum? A rather positive answer which we all would mostly agree and love to have during sugar high weekends? Or was it a negative account? You be the judge. It was decades ago since this combo flavor was invented; the bananas and the toffees. Partly dumb, we have always mistaken caramel for toffee and toffee for butterscotch, vice versa. Ever since we laid our eyes on the Toffee Sundae from McDonalds which has a blend of bananas and toffee sauce, we knew that there's no point of return. We need TOFFEE and BANANAS for brunch! And something tarty too!

So, let's settle down with the very delish mathematic equation;

• Banana + toffee = Ban(offee) = Banoffi
• Banana + toffee + pie = Banoffi Pie

That does make real sense. Banana and toffee, which will be called as one; Banoffi, when merging occurs. In case, one may wonder, who is the mastermind behind this particular heavenly creation with the luscious perfect combo? It is absolutely a bullseye, really did hit the nail on the head. The humble and generous man who has nailed the divine-looking Banoffi Pie was Ian Dowding, the man who we have no doubts that he's in the D.T.E category. D.T.E; which ambiguously stands for down to earth.


It was known that the the very first Banoffi Pie was served at The Hungry Monk in Jevington, East Sussex during the year 1972, and that was baby Banoffi's birthplace. From other sources that we found in the world wide web, it stated that the banoffi pie recipe was devised by Ian Dowding and Nigel MacKenzie.


From the article titled "I invented Banoffi Pie" by Ian Dowding, from July 2007's Reader's Digest, he said it is her sister who told him over the phone on the steps to making soft toffee by boiling a can of unopened condensed milk in water for several hours. From there, he resurrects Rusell's; Blum's Coffee Toffee Pie. With Nigel MacKenzie, they were on the hunt for a newer dimension of the toffee pie, trying out from apples to mandarins. They knew they had cracked the secret code when bananas were used. Thus, the invention and the crown.


We boiled around 3 cans of condensed milk for the toffees too, with the aid of Ian Dowding's Banoffi Pie recipe. The first can didn't make it (shot above). It was just too watery and light in presence, thanks to the young minds involved; who can't wait too much longer and claimed that they should go on with the can opener. The verdict; that is just so not the toffee that we wanted because the recipe has assured us that the consistency of the toffee will be something spreadable. We boiled for the extra 2 hours and things flowed smoothly thereafter. Lumpy and spreadable toffee in cans! Here's the way how the boiling method works, hailed from Ian Dowding's website.


Toffee (by Ian Dowding, from http://www.iandowding.co.uk/)
Ian Dowding: "Over the years I have become increasingly concerned about the danger of boiling cans of condensed milk. There is no danger of them exploding unless the water in the saucepan boils dry. If this does happen the result is terrifying and can scald anyone close to it. It has happened to me once and that was enough. Because I now teach and demonstrate a lot I like to make sure my instructions are safe so I have devised this method."

1. Find a deep saucepan or casserole that will go in the oven.
2. Put into it as many tins as will fit. (THE TINS MUST BE UNOPENED). It worth doing several at a time to save on power.
3. Cover the tins with water and bring to the boil.
4. Cover with a lid and transfer to the oven set to gas mark 1 / 140 C (less for fan assisted).
5. Cook for 3 ½ hours.
6. This way there is no danger of the water boiling dry and being in a more controlled temperature you get a more consistent result.
7. Lift the cans from the water, cool and store.
8. An unusual bonus comes from storing these tins over a period. After some months sugar crystals begin to form in the toffee and you get crunchy banoffi - mmmmm.

Banoffi Pie (by Ian Dowding, from http://www.iandowding.co.uk/)
You will need a 10 x 1½ inch (deep) loose bottomed flan tin
Oven temp: 180 C / gas mark 4

For the pastry:
250g / 9 oz plain flour
25g / 1 oz icing sugar
125g / 4½ oz butter
1 egg and 1 egg yolk

1. Place the flour and sugar in a bowl, cut the butter into cubes and then rub it in to the flour / sugar until it resembles fine bread crumbs. Work in the egg to form a paste.
2. Chill for half an hour then roll out to the thickness of a pound coin and line the flan tin.

3. Prick the base, line with parchment paper and weigh down with dry beans (we go full force with grains of rice)
4. Cook for fifteen minutes then remove the beans and paper.
5. Put the pastry case back into the oven and cook until it is evenly golden.
6. Remove from the oven and cool.

To assemble:
1 ½ tins of banoffi toffee (see note below on boiling the tins or click here)
5-6 ripe bananas
425 ml / ¾ pint of double cream
1 teaspoon of instant coffee
1 dessertspoon of caster sugar
A pinch of ground coffee

1. Carefully spread the toffee over the pastry base.
2. Peel and split the bananas lengthways and arrange them on top of the toffee, (see how they fit the curve of the pastry - that’s why God made bananas curved).
3. Whip the cream with the instant coffee (if they are granules they will dissolve as you whip the cream) and the sugar until it just holds its shape - take care not to over whip it.
4. Spread the cream over the bananas right up to the pastry edge then sprinkle sparingly with the ground coffee.
5. If you are not serving it immediately cover first with some baking parchment or greaseproof paper directly onto the cream and trim the edges then wrap in cling film.
6. It does not lend itself to being frozen.

The final outcome was a blast. Bananas will never (ever) go wrong with toffees. Speaking of the tart which is also known as the pastry itself, it remains its tartness though left overnight in the ice-cold refrigerator. It was slightly crunchy and dry, which blends in well with the fluffy yet pillowy coffee cream. The toffee was the sublime of the grand pie. This is definitely a keeper, the only thing that bugs us out is toffee-making, which takes time. But it was worth the time-consumption, as we are all toffee's die-hard fans. Divine and delicious, enough said. =)

The very last month, we hooked up with The Loaf's public favourites; U Hu! Hu! Cheesecakes. The cheesecakes were the latest sensation from Japan, and these lovely babies are now our latest BFFs. Ehem, doughnuts, cupcakes, anyone?!

It was worth buying, since we don't really go for wholesome cheesecakes. Light ones will just do more than enough. Each costs us RM5, and by purchasing 6 cheesecakes, you will only be paying for the price of RM25. Let's just put it this way, buy 5 free 1.

It was not as cheesy as we've expected, it tasted more like a light and fluffy cheese souffle which melts in your mouth. Something people would go for as refreshments, okay, maybe it's just us. We wanted more, but our bulging belly stopped us spiritually. We ordered 3 of the wide-range cheesecakes.

The cheesecakes on the display area were distracting, we can't stop drooling over the cash-counter. Gosh. We had a lemon cheesecake, chocolate cheesecake and the delished longan cheesecake.


Longan cheesecake (or was it lychee) was flavorsome and fluffy. The toasted almond flakes lend a great help by creating an addictive crunchy top for the pillowy soft cheesecake. The biscuit base was annoying as it kept falling onto the ground after one bite. Overall, we've gone u hu hu after downing the cheesecakes. Yum!

The Loaf (Pavilion Kuala Lumpur)
Lot 3.13.00 & 4.12.02,
Level 3 & 4 Pavilion,
Kuala Lumpur,
168 Jalan Bukit Bintang,
55100 Kuala Lumpur.

10 Things We Did Last Month

1. The Raya Mood. We have been feasting our heart out during the long Raya celebration. That is obviously one main reason why we love this country; the food was great , whether in terms of its colors or flavor, and phenomenally diversified. Since we have been going crazy over the food sold in the bazaar, it was a very wise decision for us to get a snap out of it. The bazaar that we went into were crowded with hungry people and fatty food.


2. Experimenting An Upside-Down Cake. We were curious. Thus, here goes the experiment of the Caramel Hazelnut Cake. It was infamously known as the Upside-Down Caramel Hazelnut Cake as the baked cake will then be turn over from a pan and be eaten upside down. We would love to have a Pineapple Upside-Down Cake, but the helpers insist that hazelnut will taste slightly better. Here goes the one with Hazelnut.

It was moist, airy and not to forget, nutty.

The caramel and hazelnut topping set into the base of the pan, right before the batter goes in.

We were sure that the hazelnuts were insufficient in amount. Oh well, the caramel takes the lead though.

A dollop of vanilla whipping cream infused with frangelico will be perfect for this upside-down cake.

3. Indulging In Lemon Meringue Tarts. Tarts are troublesome, unlike cupcakes. The tarts were made and cooled, coming down to the fillings whereby cooking on the stove were a part of it. The consistency and liquidity of the filling will resemble of the taste and the texture of what a lemon curd should be. Zesting the lemon zest with a small serrated knife is painstaking as thin and fine zest were needed. After spooning the fillings into the baked tarts, the egg whites were whisked together with some caster sugar to form cups of meringue. The meringue were then spooned onto the tart and a swirled effect were quickly done before popping them back into the preheated oven.

The tarts were filled with home-made lemon curd

The end result of our lemon meringue tarts. Swirls is way prettier than spikes. =)

The lemon curd was smooth and might be too watery for our liking. Blame the omission of teaspoonfuls of cornflour. Best eaten the day it was made as leftover tarts turned out to be soggy while the meringue will be less fluffy and airy.

4. Calvin's Birthday Cupcakes. We were invited over his crib for his 20th birthday, and thus goes the night of baking mini cupcakes. We tried to put in fillings by using the cone method. And voila, successfully done though cutting off the top of these mini's requires meticulous skills. Thanks to Molly, things were pretty quickly done. Compared to the cupcakes we have now, we bet that Calv's cupcakes are wickedly sweet! Millions of apologies. Oh yea, your pooch was fluffy and gorgeous. X)

Mini cupcakes filled with blueberry filling with the cone method

Main favs with less powdered sugar

Frosted cupcakes; readily to be packed into cake boxes

From the first row to the last; Chocolate Ganache & Choc Bars Cupcakes, Coffee Cupcakes, Strawberry Cupcakes, Peanut Butter & Choc Cupcakes, Blueberry Cupcakes.

5. Galdon Gan & Rachel Koh's Cupcakes. One box were presented to Galdon while the other were given to our lovey dovey kickass joker; Rachel Koh. The cupcakes were only taken the day after it was made. Some of the frosting has melted. We know, we know. Some look ooey goey and not that pretty. We are dogdamn sorry. We'll promise to get you guys pretty cupcakes the next time we see you. (*Fingers crossed*)



6. Buttday Celebration With Mandy. It was fun. A get-together with people whom we care about is down right fun and cozy. The actual cake was a Durian Mousse Cake. Unfortunately, there were none of them. Blame the season. The weather. One biggaboo Black & White Chocolate Nut Cake were given to her. We had not have any chance to grab a bite out of the cake though since we've been fed fully with grilled meats and seafoods. =)

The vanilla sponges were filled with white chocolate and dark chocolate mousse.

It was then coated with chocolate ganache and buttercream rosettes. Last but not least, toasted almond flakes and whole walnuts.

Voila!

The piping were badly done - as usual. May she love what Molly and both of us had done. =)

7. Kids College Cupcakes. We sounded THAT old. We preferred calling our brothers (rivals of the throne) as kids more than any other names. So, in the reality world, we're THIS young. Back to the cupcakes, the kids were going to have a get-together in the college and requested a few boxes of chocolate cupcakes. We wondered and suggests them to dine in a fine dining cum mamak stall, they insisted to bring their fellow friends the cupcakes. It was weird, till we found out one day, from one of their MSN message, written; "10s 4 ur cupcakes. It taste nice n now we know u r a good baker. I luv d cream. Miss u." Oh doggy.

Vegan Chocolate Cake, waiting to be frosted

Marble Orange Cupcake

Chocolate Ganache Cake With White Choc Flakes

Chocolate With Chocolate Ganache And Choc Bar

Marble Orange Cupcake With White Chocolate And Orange Segments Frosting

The overall chocolate collection

8. Munka's Buttday Celebration. The cake were bought as we were real busy that week. Keng throw a surprise party to Munka. And here goes the shots of happy people chilling in a dark, gloomy and secluded room. May you get the best MS with fuzziest chest in the world! X)

Smile for the camehhhrahh

"I wish that I'll be having the fuzziest MS in the world" =P

Munka =)

9. Playing with the Baker Barks Bakerie logo. It was time-wasting since we've already decided to dump them into the recycle bin. Brainstorming for the right logo was in fact tiresome and bothersome. We'll try, we'll try.



10. Playing with Le Bakerie's logo. We guess we better lay off our hands from the computer. The second design and background layout to be dump into the recycle bin. There'll be third, there'll be... Years to come.

Speaking Of Homer...

When Homer Simpsons go D'OH!,


we'll go nuts.


Well, we've been buying dozens, every visit taken to Big Apple Donuts And Coffee. We enjoyed dining in the place since we can actually get a sneak peek of their way of making and frying these freshly cooked doughnuts. Serving the crowds a big ol piece of glazed doughnut for samples, we must say that; that's very generous of them. We have been a group of avid Dunkin Donut's craver since we knew the way to venture our taste bud. But then, nothing's perfect. We'll be standing on both sides though.


We favor Dunkin's and the other; Big Apple's. By comparing, it's obvious that prices does not really differ much though the sizes of each individuals isn't the same. Dunkin's had bigger and more bread-like texture doughnuts. On the other hand, Big Apple's had a fluffier, airy and crispier doughnuts.


As for the creative mind award, it'll definitely be Big Apple's, as they had loads of variations. For instance, Duran Duran, the one with Durian cream and artificial spikes and some others like the one; with oreo cookie crumbs, cheese, kiwi flavored jam and etcetera. Speaking of glazings and creams, we'll definitely be rooting on Dunkin's. Dunkin's creams and glazes are thicker in terms of liquidity, and slightly sweeter.


A great doughnut should be airy, fluffy, crispy on the outside, filled with thick and lucious sweetened cream with a hint of a detectable flavoring; our food for thoughts. We want meaty fillings for doughnuts, that's what we usually called for. On once occasion, we tried playing with play dough aka bread dough, trying out our newly learned bread-twisting skills.


Since we wanted meaty doughnuts, we opt for the mini sausages and curry chicken as its fillings. For the former idea, we wrapped the frozen and boneless curry chicken with an appropriate amount of bread dough. Then, after proofing for some time, it was time to coat the breadcrumbs onto the enlarged filled dough.


This is cheeky, because there's a need to handle these proofed dough with care. We dipped them into a bowl of lukewarm water and roll them onto the breadcrumbs to coat their surface.


By then, it can be cooked on a deep pan, on a low heat. While frying, turn these meaty doughnuts over and over to prevent excess browning.


The outcome of the Curry Chicken Doughnut; hmm, best served warm. (*Chuckles*)


Next, the leftover dough were used up to wrap the mini sausages for some Mini Sausage Rolls.


The same process repeats. Proofing.


Coating.


And none the less, frying. The kids loves the crunchy breadcrumbs, but not the sausages. They even commented that we should get a better tasting sausages.


Oh D'oh!