The perfect dessert centerpiece for your Easter table

If you’re looking for a showstopper dessert this Easter, look no further than this baked custard Banoffee tart. The toasted pecans in this recipe are optional, but the Irish Country Living Food team agree: they bring the perfect earthy balance to the sweet banana and caramel flavours. If you’re looking to impress your guests, purchase a kitchen torch (available in most culinary shops and online) and toast the meringue right at the table...and prepare for a round of “oohs and ahhs”.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

For the shortcrust:

250g plain flour

Pinch of salt

3 tbsp caster sugar

125g cold, cubed butter

1 large egg

1-2 tbsp ice cold water, if needed

For the custard filling:

4 large eggs, room temperature

150g caster sugar

300ml cream

250ml milk

1 tsp vanilla essence

For the meringue:

3 egg whites, room temperature

¼ tsp cream of tartar

150g caster sugar

For the tart:

2-3 ripe bananas

200g shop-bought caramel sauce (we used Folláin salted caramel sauce)

Toasted pecans (optional)

Method

1 Make the shortcrust pastry: in a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt and caster sugar. Add the cold, cubed butter and, using your hands, rub it into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.

2 Make a well in the centre of the flour and butter mixture and add the egg. Using your hands, mix the egg into the dough until it starts to come together. If it feels too crumbly at this stage, add 1-2 tbsp of ice cold water. The dough should come together into a ball, but it shouldn’t be sticky.

3 Knead the dough a few times on a lightly floured surface, until it comes together, then divide into two equal portions. Shape each half into a disc and wrap in cling film. Chill for at least 30 minutes, or for 1-2 hours (for this recipe, you are only using one half of the dough – the other half can be frozen and used for another recipe).

4 Preheat the oven to 200°C. Take one of the shortcrust discs and roll it on a floured surface to approximately 2cm thickness. Place the rolled pastry into a 24cm tart tin with a removeable bottom; gently pressing the pastry into the sides and trimming any excess.

5 Place a sheet of parchment directly over the top of the pastry and fill with pastry weights or baking beans. Bake the pastry base for 15-20 minutes, then remove from the oven and immediately lower the heat to 150°C. Take the baking weights or beans out of the pastry case and remove the parchment. Leave to cool.

6 While the base is baking, make the custard filling: add the milk, cream and vanilla essence to a saucepan and heat over a medium heat. Slowly bring this mixture to a boil. While the milk and cream are heating, whisk the eggs and sugar together in a mixing bowl until pale and ribbony in texture.

7 When the milk mixture comes to a boil, immediately remove from the heat. Add a tiny amount of hot milk to the egg and sugar mixture and immediately whisk. Do this two to three more times to temper the eggs and ensure they do not scramble.

8 Slowly add the remaining hot milk in batches, whisking after each addition, until all of the milk has been added. Give the mixture one last good whisk, then strain through a fine mesh sieve to catch any bits of cooked egg.

9 Pour as much of the custard mixture as you can into the par-baked pastry, leaving approximately 5cm between the custard and the top of the tart (if you have leftover, you can bake it separately as a flan or thicken with cornflour and water to make pouring custard).

10 Bake the tart for around 1 hour in the preheated oven. You want the middle of the tart to still jiggle a bit when it is ready. Let the tart cool at room temperature for 1.5 hours, then chill until ready to serve.

11 When the tart is chilled, slice the bananas and arrange over the top of the custard. Pour or drizzle the caramel sauce over the bananas, then, if using, scatter the toasted pecans. Leave the tart to chill in the fridge while you’re making the meringue.

12 In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, add the egg whites and cream of tartar. Whisk on high until soft peaks start to form, then add the caster sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, until it’s all used. You should have stiff, glossy meringue peaks which can be piped.

13 Place the meringue into a piping bag and pipe “kisses” over the top of the chilled banoffee custard tart. Use a torch to toast the top of the meringue, or place in the oven and grill until the top is nicely toasted and browned. Serve immediately.