To my shock, I had incorrectly always assumed Banoffee pie was an American dessert, but it is a British dessert, 1st created by Nigel Mackenzie & Ian Dowding, the owner and chef, respectively, of The Hungry Monk Restaurant in Jevington, East Sussex, England They claim to have developed the dessert in 1971,
For those that don’t know what Banoffee pie is is a portmanteau, combining the words “banana” and “toffee”. It consists of a buttery biscuit base, topped with a thick caramel sauce or dulce de leche, a layer of sliced banana then a fresh whipped double cream finished with a light sprinkle of crumbed chocolate
Table of Contents
What if I don’t like…?
Butter in the biscuit base
I’ve heard of mashed banana being used in place of butter, I can’t personally attest to this method, but if it’s essential to you might be an avenue worth exploring.
Banana
I’m sure other soft fruit such as Mango might be a little too juicy and fibrous but well worth a try
Double cream
there are dairy-free alternatives but the caramel sauce is made from condensed milk and I’m not sure if there is a dairy-free version
Chocolate
Skip it, it is almost purely a decorative touch
Equipment
| Essentials | Optional |
|---|---|
| bowl | spatula (a flexible one to get all the toffee out of the pan is best) |
| a Saucepan | |
| springform cake tin 20 cm | |
| food processor or rolling pin |
Storage
The finished Banoffee pie should be fine for 2 to 3 days, covered with cling film in the springform tin to keep other fridge odours out of the cream.
Banoffee pie
Banoffee pie has buttery biscuit base, topped with a thick caramel sauce or dulce de leche, a layer of sliced banana then a fresh whipped double cream finished with a light sprinkle of crumbed chocolate
Ingredients
- 250 grams Digestive biscuits
- 210 grams butter
- 50 grams soft brown sugar
- 397 gram tin of condensed milk
- 300 ml double cream
- salt
- 1 tablespoon icing sugar
- 2 ripe bananas
- chocolate such as twirl or flake
Instructions
- using the food processor or rolling pin, crush the biscuits until they are in fine crumbs. Heat the 130 grams of butter in a saucepan until melted and pour into the bowl containing the biscuit crumbs and mix well to combine, pour the mixture into the springform cake tin and push it firmly in the tin then using your fingers create a slight edge up the side of the tin, Put that in the fridge to chill.
- To make the dulce de leche, put the remaining butter in the pan and add the sugar and put on medium heat until the butter has melted and the sugar is dissolved, add in the condensed milk, mix well and bring to a boil stirring all the time so it doesn’t stick, (spatula works best) and cook for 3 or 4 minutes until the mixture gets a light caramel colour add a good pinch of salt.
- Getting the biscuit base out of the fridge, pour the dulce de leche onto the base and put it back in the fridge to set for at least 1 hour.
- Once the filling has set, pour the double cream into a bowl and add the icing sugar, whisk until the cream is stiff and holds its peaks.
- Put a layer (or two) of sliced banana on top of the dulce de leche before spooning the cream on top of the banana and topping with a little sprinkle of crushed chocolate.
