This is a real crowd pleaser. Regular sugar-laden desserts can leave you feeling dull and heavy, but this banoffee pie does the exact opposite. I like to give this dessert to healthy-eating critics to prove to them that food can be both delicious and nutritious! They’ll never believe that it’s totally free of any nasties.

Serves 6-8

 What you need

•  5 bananas, peeled, plus 2 bananas to decorate
• 120g (1/2 cup) almond butter
• 5 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
• 180ml (3/4 cup dairy-free milk (almond, oat or rice)
• Cacao nibs, finely grated, for sprinkling

Base

•  Coconut oil, for greasing
• 240g (2 cups) cashews
• 180g (1 cup) medjool dates, pitted and chopped
• 1 tablespoon water
• 3 tablespoons raw cacao (or cocoa) powder (optional)

Coconut cream

•  2 x 400ml tins of full-fat coconut milk
• 60ml (1/4 cup) pure maple syrup

What you do

– A couple of hours before you start, empty the tins of coconut milk for the coconut cream into an airtight plastic container and place in the freezer. When you’re ready to start, remove the container and scoop out the solidified cream (which will have separated from any watery liquid) into a bowl. Leave to defrost.

-Start by making the base. Grease a 20cm-diameter flan dish or loose-bottomed tart tin with coconut oil, then grind the cashews in a food processor until they form a fine flour. Pour into a bowl and add the dates, water and cacao (or cocoa) powder (if using). Stir into a paste then use your hands to combine into a dough. Mould into the bottom of the prepared tart tin, pushing partway up the sides of the tin. Place in the fridge to set.

-Add the bananas to your blender with the almond butter, dates and milk and blend until smooth. Pour onto the set base and place in the freezer for at least 2 hours to harden. Meanwhile, add the defrosted coconut cream to a blender with the maple syrup and blend until smooth. Pour into a bowl and leave to eat.

-When you’re almost ready to eat, remove the pie from the freezer and transfer from the tin to a serving plate. Allow it to thaw before adding slices of banana on top, followed by dollops of the cream and a sprinkling of finely grated cacao nibs.

Extracted from Naturally Sassy by Saskia Gregson-Williams. (Ebury Press, £16.99)

Photography by Matt Russel

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