Banoffee Pie, an Easy Bake with No Oven Required

Hello everyone! Today we are uncovering the history of banoffee pie, an easy bake that needs no oven: where it came from and just how popular it is.

What Is Banoffee Pie?

Banoffee pie is an English pie made from bananas, cream and toffee (from sweetened condensed milk or dulce de leche) set on a base of crushed biscuits and butter. Sometimes chocolate, coffee or both are added. The name is sometimes spelled "banoffi" and is a blend of the words "banana" and "toffee".

The Story of Banoffee Pie

Banoffee pie was invented by Nigel Mackenzie and Ian Dowding, the owner and chef of The Hungry Monk restaurant in Jevington, East Sussex. They say they created the pie in 1971, adapting the recipe from Blum's Coffee Toffee Pie, an American pie made with soft toffee and condensed milk. After switching the fruit from apple or mandarin orange to banana, they named it banoffee pie. It became so popular with their customers that they could never take it off the menu.

Banoffee Pie Ingredients

Cookie Base

• 250 g chocolate cookies (or your favourite flavour), finely crushed
• 100 g unsalted butter, melted

Caramel and Topping

• 100 g white sugar
• 150 g whipping cream
• ½ tsp lime juice
• 1/8 tsp fine salt
• 250 g sweetened condensed milk
• 45 g unsalted butter
• 200 g whipping cream
• 3 ripe bananas
• Cocoa powder for dusting and caramel for decorating

Equipment

• A pot (for cooking the sugar)
• Electric mixer
• Piping bag
• Piping nozzle
• One 8-inch round dish
• Four 4-inch fluted ceramic dishes

How to Make Banoffee Pie

1. Make the cookie crust: Put the crushed chocolate sandwich cookies in a mixing bowl, add the melted butter and mix well. Press the crumbs firmly into your dish and chill in the regular compartment of the fridge for about 1 hour, or until firm.
2. Make the caramel: Put the white sugar in a pot over low heat. Keep a small cup of water nearby and brush the sides of the pot with a wet brush to stop the sugar burning on the sides. Cook until the caramel turns brown with small bubbles. In another pot, heat the whipping cream until just boiling. Add the lime juice to the caramel to stop it darkening, then slowly pour in the hot cream. Remove from the heat and stir well. Add the salt and condensed milk and stir until the mixture thickens and turns dark brown. Take it off the heat, add the butter and stir again, then pour it into the prepared crust, leaving a 1 cm border. Chill in the regular compartment of the fridge.
3. Whip the cream: Whip the 200 g of whipping cream with an electric mixer over a bowl of iced water until stiff peaks form. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a large round nozzle and keep in the fridge.
4. Assemble: Slice the bananas and arrange them all over the caramel. Pipe the whipped cream on top decoratively, then finish with the remaining caramel or a dusting of cocoa powder.