Healthy Banoffee Pie

This is an amazing healthy dessert to make for yourself or when you have people over to your house! Recipe adapted from Oh She Glows (<http://ohsheglows.com/>)

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 1/2 cup raw almonds

• 2 cups gluten-free rolled oats

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

• 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil, softened

• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

• 1 1/2 tablespoons water, or as needed to moisten dough

For the Raw Caramel Toffee:

• 1 1/2 cups pitted and soaked dates (with the soaking water as needed)

• 1.5 tablespoon smooth peanut butter

• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

• 1 vanilla bean, seeded or 1/2 teaspoon pure ground vanilla bean powder

For the filling:

• 1 (14-ounce) cans full-fat coconut milk, chilled overnight

• Raw Caramel Toffee (from above)

• 1 large ripe banana, sliced into “coins”

• A few squares of non-dairy dark chocolate, shaved

Directions:

1. Place 1 can of full-fat coconut milk in the fridge overnight, the longer they chill the better.

2. For the crust: Preheat the oven to 375F. Grab an 8-10 inch tart pan and lightly grease the base and sides with coconut oil to prevent from sticking.

3. Add almonds into a food processor and process until a coarse crumb. Now add in the oats, cinnamon, and salt and process again until the mixture looks like coarse sand. Add the oil, maple syrup, and water and process until the mixture comes together. The dough should stick together when pressed between your fingers, but it shouldn't be super sticky. If it's still too dry, try adding another teaspoon of water and processing again.

4. Crumble the dough all over the base of the tart pan in an even layer. Starting at the centre of the tart, press the dough into the pan with your fingers and work your way outward and up the sides. If the dough starts to stick to your hands, feel free to lightly wet your hands every now and then. With a fork, poke the base of the tart about 20 times to allow the air to escape while baking.

5. Bake the tart at 375F for around 12-14 minutes until lightly golden. Let the tart cooling for about 15 minutes or so. 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 up as it cools.

6. For the raw caramel toffee: Add pitted dates into a bowl and pour a boiling water over top (just to cover them). Let sit for 10-15 minutes. Add the dates to food processor along with the peanut butter, lemon juice, salt, and vanilla bean seeds. Process until smooth, adding the soaking water as needed to obtain the right consistency.

7. When the crust has cooled, carefully spread all of the caramel toffee onto the base of the crust. Slice the banana and place on top of the caramel, pressing down lightly to adhere.

8. Grab the can of coconut milk from the fridge. Open the cans 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 a whisk or electric beaters beat the cream until smooth and fluffy.

9. Spread all of the coconut cream on top of the banana slices in an even layer. Garnish with shaved chocolate. Serve pie immediately. Store leftovers in the fridge.

Tips:

1) Be sure to chill the cans of coconut the night before you begin this recipe.

2) The raw caramel works best with very soft dates.

3) I don't recommend freezing this pie as the banana slices get mushy after thawing.