BANOFFEE PIE FOR THE BIRTHDAY BOY

Preheat your oven according to the direction in the pie crust package and bake the crust as directed. Once the pie crust is baked, set aside to cool down a bit

While the crust is baking, put a medium frying pan on a high heat. Put a heaped 4 Tbsp of sugar into the pan and shake the pan to spread it around. Let it melt while you peel 2 of the bananas and blitz them with the milk in a blender until you have a smoothie consistency

Carefully tilt the pan t help dissolve all the sugar. Once bubbling and golden, pour in the banana mixture. Do not touch anything in the pan - caramel can burn badly. The caramel will crystalize when you pour the banana mixture in, don't panic, it will melt again. Keep stirring for 1 to 2 minutes, until dark and golden, then pour into the middle of the pie crust. Let it cool down a bit then put into the refrigerator to cool down further for a few minutes

Peel and finely slice your 2 remaining bananas at an angle. In a large bowl, whip the heavy cream with a mixer until thick and stiff. If you use double cream, use a whisk to whip it until fairly thick, don't overwork the double cream of it will separate. Lightly fold in the coffee powder or cocoa powder to get a marbled effect. Get your pie crust from the refrigerator, arrange the banana slices on top. Use a spatula to spread the whipped heavy cream on top of the pie. Scrape over a little dark chocolate and pop back into the refrigerator for about 1 hour before serving