Occasionally (and confusingly) marketed as “American pie” in 1980s English markets, banoffee pie is a modern British classic. The combination of chewy-creamy toffee sauce, bananas, and whipped cream topping was invented at the Hungry Monk restaurant in East Sussex circa 1971. While some cooks opt for a graham cracker crust or buttery pastry shell, this version of the British dessert calls for a pie crust made from digestive biscuits such as McVitie’s. You’ll crush them into fine crumbs, stir them into melted butter, and press the mix into a parchment-lined cake or tart pan with a removable bottom for an easy no-bake cookie crust. If you prefer to use a pie dish, a regular 9" pie plate will work.
You can skip the homemade brown sugar caramel sauce if you like, subbing in a 14-oz. can of store-bought dulce de leche, but making homemade whipped cream is absolutely worth the effort. Use a hand mixer or stand mixer with the whisk attachment to beat cold heavy cream and powdered sugar into soft peaks. (Not stiff peaks, you want an almost silky texture.) You can add a splash of vanilla extract to the cream for flavor, though this banoffee pie recipe is rich enough without it. To finish we love the look of chocolate shavings, but a simple dusting of cocoa powder can be just as effective.
This recipe has been slightly adapted from ‘The British Cookbook: Authentic Home Cooking Recipes from England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland’ by Ben Mervis. Buy the full book on Amazon.
Recipe information
Total Time
40 minutes plus chilling
Yield
6 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Cut out a circle of baking (parchment) paper to fit across the bottom of a loose-bottom 20-cm/8-inch tart or cake pan.
Step 2
Heat the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat for 2 minutes, or until melted. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Step 3
Crush the biscuits in a food processor, if available (or put the biscuits in a plastic bag and bash to crumbs using a rolling pin). Put the crumbs into a large bowl and stir in half the melted butter to make a paste. Tip the biscuits into the prepared pan and press them into the base and up the sides of the pan. Leave to set in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Step 4
Meanwhile, for the caramel, put the remaining melted butter and the light brown sugar into a heavy saucepan and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, or until the sugar has dissolved. Add the condensed milk and bring the mixture to a boil. Cook for 2 minutes, or until it turns a deep brown color. Keep stirring constantly so the caramel doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Set aside.
Step 5
Remove the biscuit-base-lined pan from the fridge and spread the bottom with an even layer of the caramel, then slice the bananas and arrange in a single layer on top. Whip the cream and powdered sugar in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or in a bowl using electric beaters until soft peaks form, then spread with the back of a spoon or offset spatula, or pipe it into a thick layer over the bananas. Sprinkle the chocolate shavings (if using) over the whipped cream and leave to chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour, or until firm. Serve.
Editor’s note: This recipe first appeared on Epicurious in November 2022. Head this way for more of our favorite cream pie recipes →
Recipe notes
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