BANOFFEE PIE – is a seductive British pie creation that combines sweet, sliced bananas with fresh whip cream and toffee sauce in a cookie crust. Essentially, it’s banana cream pie kicked up a notch or two. The toffee sauce is the star – it’s like liquid love – sticky, sweet and sinfully delicious.
The pie is made in a springform pan with a graham cracker or cookie crust. I used dulce de leche Maria cookies, an inexpensive tea cookie that you can find in the Spanish section of your market or in the cookie aisle, sold in cylinder rolls.
The crust is briefly baked and a thick layer of toffee sauce is layed down, followed by a simple banana and whip cream filling, then another layer of toffee. The toffee sauce is made by cooking brown sugar with condensed milk and butter. It’s the stuff dreams are made of.
My dreams, anyways. I could spoon it up for dessert all on its own and be quite content.
This pie is best served immediately or within a few hours of making, these pictures were taken 24 hours later and you can see the bananas have started to turn color. It’s quite easy to assemble all the components ahead of time and put it together shortly before serving, as it is best eaten after a short amount of refrigeration, even a 1/2 hour would be long enough.
The next time you have bananas begging to be eaten or used for baking – think pie! Instead of banana bread. This irresistible treat will win hearts, even those who aren’t overly fond of bananas.
BANOFFEE PIE
Ingredients
- Crust:
- 9 ounces graham crackers or Maria cookies I used the dulce de leche flavor
- 8 tablespoons butter melted
- Toffee sauce:
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar preferably dark
- 1 14- ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 8 tablespoons butter
- Filling:
- 1 + 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 5 medium bananas ripe but firm
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. To make the crust, line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan (or deep dish pie pan) with parchment paper. Blend the graham crackers in a food processor until they are finely ground and combine well with the butter, they should stick together when pressed. Press the crumb mixture over the bottom and 1½ – 2 inches up the sides of the springform pan. Bake for 8 minutes.
- To make the toffee sauce combine the sugar and 3 tablespoons of water in a medium-heavy saucepan over medium low heat, stir until sugar dissolves. Increase heat until the sugar boils, without stirring, for 5 minutes. Whisk in the condensed milk and butter, continue whisking/stirring for five minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly.
- Remove from the heat and spread 1 cup of the sauce over the prepared crust, including the sides, refrigerate for about 1/2 hour or until the caramel is semi-firm. Keep the remaining caramel sauce at room temperature.
- Using an electric or stand mixer, beat the cream until thick and very soft billowy peaks form. Thinly slice bananas into discs and fold into the whipped cream. Spoon into pie crust. Refrigerate for 1/2 hour.
- Rewarm the remaining toffee sauce gently over low heat, cool to lukewarm and drizzle or spread over top of pie. (Add a tablespoon of milk if sauce seems to thick). Refrigerate another 1/2 hour before serving.
- Best eaten immediately or within 24-36 hours. Additional bananas can be sliced over top right before serving.
Nutrition