The origins of the Banoffee Pie date back to 1971, introduced to the world by the owner(Nigel Mackenzie) and the head chef(Ian Dowding) of a restaurant in East Sussex(England), who got together to amend an American recipe for a dish called Blum’s Coffee Toffee Pie. Not altogether satisfied with the American recipe, they tried many variations, they tried Apple, they tried mandarin, but Mackenzie suggested Banana and so the Banoffee(Banana and Toffee) Pie was born. The original pie also had a sweet pastry base, but as time evolved other variations of the recipe became known and the crushed sweet biscuit base is now commonly used as the norm. The American recipe also called for the toffee to be made from boiling an unopened can of sweetened milk(condensed) to be boiled below the waterline for several hours, to turn it into a darkened thicker toffee substance. Nowadays an easier, safer and much quicker method is used by bringing the condensed milk to the boil and letting it boil continuously until it turns into a smooth dark thick toffee.
Banoffee Pie
Course: Cakes, Bakes and PastriesCuisine: British/AmericanDifficulty: Medium10
servings10
minutes10
minutes435
kcal1
hour10
minutes1
hour30
minutesA British dessert derived from an American recipe for “Blum’s Coffee Toffee Pie”
What You Will Need
20cm loose-bottomed flan tin
Ingredients
- For the Base
100 g butter melted
225 g digestive or plain hobnobs oaty biscuits crushed
- For the Caramel
75 g butter
75 g dark brown soft sugar
397 g Condensed Milk Nestlē produce a can of this size
- For the Topping
2/3 medium bananas
150 ml carton whipping cream lightly whipped
Dark Chocolate for decorating, leave in the fridge until use.
Directions
- To prepare the base
- Place the biscuits into a food blender and pulse them until you have a nice fine crumb.
- Alternatively, place the biscuits in a clean tea-towel and bash them with a rolling pin, then still in the cloth roll them with the pin to achieve a fine crumb
- Put the biscuit crumbs in a bowl, and pour the melted butter all over and mix together until well combined.
- Place the mixture into the flan tin and using the back of a tablespoon press the crumb out to cover the base and the sides of the tin. Press the sides quite firmly to produce a solid casing.
- Place in the fridge to chill for about ten minutes.
- To Prepare the Toffee
- Place the butter and sugar into a non-stick pan over a low heat and stir the contents until all the sugar has dissolved.
- Add the condensed milk and bring to the boil, let the contents boil away, stirring all the time, for a minute or two or until you have a nice smooth golden brown caramel.
- Pour the caramel over the biscuit base, spread it out evenly and let it cool off. Then return to the fridge to chill for about 1 hour, until firm.
- You could leave the pie in the fridge until you are ready to top it with the cream and serve.
- The Topping
- Carefully remove the pie from the tin, and place it on the serving dish you are going to use.
- Slice the bananas evenly and arrange over the toffee to completely cover the base.
- Whip the cream to soft peaks and either spoon it over the pie or using a piping bag for a fancy finish.
- Decorate by grating cold dark chocolate.
