About This Recipe

Banoffee pie was invented at The Hungry Monk restaurant in East Sussex in 1972 by chef Nigel Mackenzie and Ian Dowding, who combined banana and toffee with cream in a pastry shell and created one of the most enduringly popular British desserts of the 20th century. The name is a portmanteau of banana and toffee, and the pie’s straightforward description of its own contents is part of its honest, generous character.

The toffee is the critical component and traditionally it is made by slow-cooking an unopened tin of condensed milk in a pan of simmering water for two to three hours until it transforms into a thick, golden caramel. The modern shortcut of the microwave method reduces this to fifteen minutes and produces a virtually identical result. The caramel must be deep golden and genuinely thick before it is spread over the base. Pale, runny caramel is undercooked and will not hold its shape in the pie.

The digestive biscuit base is one of the most practical and most delicious pie bases available. Crushed biscuits mixed with melted butter, pressed into the tin and chilled until firm, produce a base that has a satisfying crunch and a warm, slightly sweet, wholemeal flavour that complements both the toffee caramel and the banana. No baking is required. The butter binds the crumbs as it cools in the fridge.

History and Origins

Banoffee pie was created in 1972 at The Hungry Monk restaurant in Jevington, East Sussex, England by Nigel Mackenzie and chef Ian Dowding. They adapted a recipe from an American dessert called Coffee Toffee Pie. The pie became immediately popular and spread rapidly through British restaurants and home kitchens. It is now considered a classic British dessert and one of the most recognised British puddings internationally.

Why It Is Good For You

Bananas provide potassium, vitamin B6, vitamin C, and dietary fibre including resistant starch in less ripe bananas. The digestive biscuit base provides wholegrain fibre. This is an indulgent dessert but its banana content provides genuine nutritional value.

Banoffee Pie

Recipe by By butter u0026 berriesCourse: Pie u0026amp; Tart

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Calories

4240

kcal

Ingredients

• •tFor base: 250g digestive biscuits crushed, 120g unsalted butter melted

• •tFor toffee: 400g tin condensed milk, 100g butter, 100g brown sugar

• •t4 ripe bananas sliced

• •t400ml double cream

• •t2 tbsp icing sugar

• •t1 tsp vanilla extract

• •tGrated dark chocolate or cocoa to finish

Directions

• Mix crushed biscuits with melted butter. Press firmly into a 23cm tart tin or springform tin. Refrigerate.
• For toffee: melt butter and sugar together in a pan over medium heat. Add condensed milk.
• Stir constantly over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes until thick and deep golden.
• Pour over biscuit base. Refrigerate for 30 minutes until set.
• Arrange banana slices over set toffee.
• Whip cream with icing sugar and vanilla to soft peaks. Spread or pipe over bananas.
• Grate dark chocolate or dust with cocoa over the cream. Serve immediately.

Notes

• Stir the toffee constantly while cooking. Unattended toffee burns on the base of the pan in under a minute.
  The toffee must be a deep golden colour. Pale toffee is undercooked and will not set properly when chilled.
  Slice bananas just before assembling to prevent browning. A squeeze of lemon juice delays browning if needed.
  Soft peak cream provides a more elegant, less stiff finish than whipped-to-stiff cream for this pie.

Make Ahead Tips

The biscuit base and toffee layer can be made up to 24 hours ahead and refrigerated. Add banana and cream within 2 hours of serving. The banana discolours and the cream weeps after 2 hours.

Storage and Serving

Best eaten on the day of assembly within 2 to 3 hours of adding the banana and cream. Refrigerate if needed but the banana discolours overnight. The toffee layer alone keeps refrigerated for 3 days.

Variations and Substitutions

Add a tablespoon of rum or bourbon to the toffee. Replace digestive base with crushed Oreos for a chocolate base. Add a layer of dark chocolate ganache between the toffee and the banana. Make individual banoffee pots in glasses rather than a single large pie for easier serving

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