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Thank god for google.  I put into the search field Banoffee Cheesecake best and came back with a link and it was a link to a heavenly recipe.  Originally by Silvana di Franco it is rich and satisfying without being sickly.

This is the link to the original recipe which I have replicated here.

Banoffee Cheesecake

*Crust:
85 gm [1/3 cup] butter – melted
200 gm gingernut biscuits – crushed

*Filling:
750 gm mascarpone (or cream cheese)
3 large eggs
2 Tbsp cornflour
140 gm [heaping 2/3 cup] golden caster sugar
finely grated zest of lemon
1 tsp vanilla

*Toffee Sauce:
50 gm butter
100 gm [1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp] light muscovado sugar
142 ml [1/3 cup + 1/4 cup] double/heavy cream

*Toppings:
2 medium bananas – sliced thickly
fresh lemon juice
284 ml [1 cup + 2 Tbsp] whipping or double cream

• Preheat oven to 350F/180C/gas mark 4.
• For the crust:
  1. Mix melted butter with the biscuit crumbs and press the mixture evenly into the bottom of a 23cm springform pan (preferably non-stick).
  2. Chill in the fridge for 10 minutes.
• For the filling:
  1. Beat all the ingredients in a bowl with an electric mixer until well combined.
  2. Pour into the cake pan set on a baking sheet making sure to level off the top.
  3. Bake for 50 minutes until golden brown.
  4. The top will be a little wobbly but it will set as it cools. Turn the oven off and leave the oven door open leaving the cheesecake to cool completely inside.
• For the toffee sauce:
  1. Melt the butter gently with the double cream and sugar in a saucepan while continously stirring until the sugar dissolves. Let it gently boil briefly.
• For the topping:
  1. Whip the whipping cream to soft peaks.
  2. Squeeze some lemon juice onto the sliced bananas.
• To assemble:
  1. Put the whipped cream on the cooled cheesecake in a swirling fashion.
  2. Wedge the banana slices in the cream.
  3. Drizzle a little toffee sauce on top and also serve on the side.

I was flicking through my website this morning and just having a general review when it dawned on me that I have not looked at my 50 classic kiwi dishes list for a while.  So I cast my eye down the list and back up again to finish at the top.  The humble but ever present pavlova.  

I would be hard pressed to remember a family event from my childhood that did not feature the pav as the centre peice of the dessert selection.  The soft centre protected by a crunchy shell, drapped in whipped cream like a lady in finest lace and the top studded with fruit, usually kiwifruit ( I am a kiwi after all) like artfully placed emeralds. 

Deep sigh.  The pav.  My wife, however, does not like the pav.  Ewww! she cries, (and dont ask me how but she also manages to get the exclamation mark in there), so we never have it.  But it is on my list so I must make it.

I must confess I have always wondered if you can tinker with the pav.  It is dependable but it could definitely do with a wee face lift.  I like the idea of a golden pavlova and have occasionally thought about substituting golden syrup, brown sugar or even maple syrup to see what happens.  In the mean time I was cast around for a recipe and found one that had honey and stevia instead of sugar but also featured a link to a Chocolate Pav by Nigella Lawson.  A quick tickle of Google and I found this link.

Perhaps this could be the turning point in my wifes dislike of the pav.

 Ingredients

 6 egg whites
300 grams caster sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa powder, sieved 
1 tablespoon balsamic or red wine vinegar 
50 grams dark chocolate, finely chopped
500 mls double cream
500 grams raspberries
2-3 tablespoons coarsely grated dark chocolate

Method 

Preheat oven to 180°C.  Line aeat the egg whites until satiny peaks form, then add the sugar one tablespoon full at a time until stiff and shiny.  Sprinkle ove the cocoa and vinegar and the chopped chocolate.  Fold gently until the cocoa is thoroughly mixed in.

Mound on to a baking sheet in a fat circle approximately 23cm in diameter, smoothing the sides and the top.

Place in the oven a reduce the temperature to 150°C and cook for about 60 – 75 minutes.  It is ready when the edges looks dry and crisp but the centre feels soft to the touch. Turn off the oven, open the door slightly and allow to cool completely.

To serve, invert on a wide flat dish.  Whisk the cream until soft and pile on top of the meringue and scatter over the raspberries.

 Grate the chocolate into curls and sprinkle over the top.

Of all the cheesecakes I have made, and there have been more than just a few, this is by far the cheesecake that stands out for me.  To tell the truth the secret is switching the over off and allowing it to cool overnight in the oven with the door closed. In the morning the filling will have sunk and firmed up a lot.  It is dense and rich and just delightful.

If you are using a springform tin you must put a tray underneath to catch the juices otherwise they make a real mess in your oven.

Ingredients

Base:
250 grams of shortbread
100 grams softened, not melted butter
50 grams ground almonds
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

Filling:

500 grams cream cheese
juice and zested rind of 1/2 lemon
2 eggs, seperated
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup + 1/4 cup sugar
100 grams melted white chocolate
1/4 frozen raspberries

Method

Preheat the oven to 175°C.

In a food processor, combine the ingredients for the base.   Pulse until they are like breadcrumbs.  Press into a foil lined springform tin, covering the base and coming up the sides about 2cm.

In a glass bowl, mix the cream cheese, lemon zest and juice, egg yolks and the 1/4 cup of sugar, with an electric beater.  Add in the melted chocolate and combine.

In a seperate glass bowl, mix the egg whites to soft peaks then slowly add the sugar while beating to form stiff peaks.

Add the raspberries to the cream cheese mix then gently fold in the egg white.

Add to the bake and bake for about an hour or until the outside of the cheesecake is set but the inner is still wobbly.  Switch off the oven and allow to cool completely.

That sums up this brownie.  Oh My God!  Capitals, exclamation marks, absolutely justified.

I challenge you to make this.

Ingredients

250 grams butter, melted
400 grams dark chocolate
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup caster sugar
4 eggs
2 1/2 cups plain flour
250 gram block of Caramello Cocolate, chopped
extra 200 grams dark chocolate, chopped
cocoa powder to dust

Method

Preheat oven to 160°C.  Grease a 19 x 30cm laminton pan.  Line base and sides with baking paper, extending about 2cm above the pan edges.  Place butter and chocolate in a large saucepan.  Stir over a low heat until the chocolate has melted.  Remove from the heat and stir in the sugars.  Cool at room temperature for 10 minutes.

Gradually beat in eggs usiing a wooden spoon or spatula.  Stir in the flour until well combined and then the Caramello and extra chocolate.  Spoon the mixture into a prepared pan, smooth the top over.  Cook for 30 minutes and then remove from the oven (the top should feel a little soft to the touch and the inside should still be moist)

Serve warm cut into squares or at room temperature.  Dust with cocoa powder.

Alternatively, crumble 1/4 of the brownie into softened vanilla icecream and stir to combine.    Freeze overnight.

Summer for m is strawberries.  We used to have a battle with our dearly departed Jack Russell called Bella over who owned the strawberry patch.  In the end I have to admit that she did, but only because she got to eat the strawberries.  To the victor got the spoils.  Now that Bella has passed on to the the great strawberry patch on the sky you would think that there would be plenty of strawberries to go around.  Now we have to fight a five year old for the opportunity to seems able to hoover up the strawberries like an industrial pool cleaner.  But whenever there are left over strawberries for me to sample, I reach for this sauce.

Ingredients

500 ml bottle cheap balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon castor sugar
1 tablespoon black molasses sugar or brown sugar

Method

Using a wide saucepan, reduce the balsamic vinegar and the castor sugar down to around 100mls.

When it is starting to become thick and syrupy, add the black molasses sugar and stir to dissolve.  Check the sweetness and add more if needed or to taste.  It should have  pungent toffee aroma and become very thick.

It also goes well with ice cream