Super Easy Party Food: Mini Banoffee Pie

Mr Cake and I are in Christchurch again this weekend - my cousin turns 21 on Monday so had a big birthday party this afternoon (Happy 21st, Sacha!). We only flew up this morning, and her party was a bring-a-plate affair, so I was racking my brain for something tasty and partyish that I could whip up with minimal preparation. A few years ago the office I worked in had a regular morning tea "bake-off" - though many of my colleagues didn't actually bake - and one day one of my workmates made mini banoffee pies on the spot, five minutes before morning tea. So simple - and yet so good!

All you need is: some mini pastry cases (I used 36); some tinned caramel; bananas; cream; and chocolate, to garnish (you definitely don't need anywhere near a block - but I don't think anyone minded that there was some left over!). Equipment wise, you need a serving plate, a couple of spoons, a knife, and optionally a grater and piping bags.

Start off by laying out the pastry cases on your serving dish, and fill each with caramel - either spoon or pipe it in (I used a resealable bag with the corner chopped off).

Top each one with a slice of banana...

Then top each one with cream. I used a piping tip and again, a resealable bag to pipe this on - but you could spoon it on, or just pipe without a tip.

Grate chocolate over the top - if you don't have a grater you can get the same effect chopping the edge of a block of chocolate. You won't need much chocolate but it does make them look super tasty!

That's all there is too it - it's not the cheapest option (the pastry cases can be pricey) but very effective and doesn't take long to prepare - I think it took me about 20 minutes. It definitely took less time that that for the plate to empty once the masses were let at the food table - I'll take that as the seal of approval!