| Prep | 30 minutes |
| Cook | 5 minutes on the stove, no oven |
| Total | about 2 hours, including 1 1/2 hours of chilling |
| Serves | 8 |
| Equipment | 9-inch (23 cm) loose-bottom tart tin, food processor or zip-top bag, medium nonstick saucepan, heatproof spatula, hand mixer |
Banoffee pie was born in 1971 at the Hungry Monk, a small restaurant in the village of Jevington in East Sussex, England. The chef and the owner wanted to rework an American toffee pie, and after several tries they settled on a buttery crust, a layer of soft toffee, sliced bananas and a crown of whipped cream. The name joins the two main flavors: banana and toffee. It quickly spread across British menus and is now a classic far beyond England.
The original toffee came from cans of condensed milk simmered unopened in water for hours. This version gets the same rich, fudgy caramel in about five minutes on the stove, by boiling butter, brown sugar and condensed milk together in a saucepan. The base is a no-bake crust of crushed biscuits and butter, so the oven stays off. Most of the time goes into chilling, and the bananas and cream go on just before serving, so every slice has a crisp base, a toffee layer that holds its shape and fresh, pale fruit.
Ingredients
For the biscuit base
- 200 g (7 oz) digestive biscuits or graham crackers – digestives are the British classic; graham crackers give a slightly sweeter, honeyed base.
- 100 g (7 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted – sets firm in the fridge and holds the crumbs together.
- A pinch of salt – balances the sweetness of the toffee.
For the toffee
- 80 g (5 1/2 tbsp) unsalted butter.
- 80 g (1/3 cup packed) dark brown sugar – its molasses gives the toffee a deep color and flavor. Light brown sugar works but tastes milder.
- 1 can (397 g / 14 oz) sweetened condensed milk – the body of the toffee. Do not swap it for evaporated milk, which has no added sugar and will not set.
For the topping
- 2 to 3 ripe but firm bananas – yellow with no brown spots, so they slice cleanly and stay sweet without turning mushy.
- 1 tbsp lemon juice, optional – slows the browning of the sliced bananas.
- 300 ml (1 1/4 cups) cold heavy cream, with 1 to 2 tbsp powdered sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract.
- Grated dark chocolate or a dusting of cocoa powder, to finish.
A pressed crumb base like this one is the same idea as the chocolate cookie crust under our grasshopper pie, only made with plain biscuits and left unbaked.
How to Make It
1. Make the base – 10 minutes, plus 30 minutes to chill
Crush the biscuits to fine crumbs in a food processor, or in a zip-top bag with a rolling pin. Stir in the melted butter and salt, then press the mixture firmly over the bottom and up the sides of the tart tin, using the bottom of a glass to pack it tight. Chill for 30 minutes. The crumbs should look like wet sand before pressing, and the chilled base should feel firm, not crumbly, at the edge.
2. Melt the butter and sugar – low heat, 2 to 3 minutes
Put the butter and brown sugar in the saucepan over low heat and stir until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Rub a drop of the mixture between two fingers once it has cooled slightly: it should feel smooth, with no grains of sugar.
3. Boil the toffee – about 1 minute
Pour in the condensed milk, turn the heat up to medium-high and bring it to a rolling boil, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom and corners of the pan. Let it bubble for about 1 minute, still stirring, then take it off the heat. The toffee is ready when it has thickened, turned a light golden caramel color and pulls away from the pan as you stir.
4. Fill and chill – at least 1 hour
Pour the hot toffee into the chilled base and spread it evenly. Let it cool for a few minutes, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour. It is set when the surface feels firm and only gives slightly when pressed with a fingertip.
If you like a layered, no-bake pie with a crumb crust and a rich filling, our no-bake s’mores pie follows the same plan with chocolate and marshmallows.
5. Add the bananas
Shortly before serving, peel and slice the bananas into rounds about 1/2 inch (1 cm) thick. Toss them gently with the lemon juice, if using, and arrange them in a single, slightly overlapping layer over the toffee.
6. Whip the cream and finish
Whip the cold cream with the powdered sugar and vanilla until it holds soft to medium peaks. Spoon or pipe it over the bananas, covering them completely, and finish with grated chocolate or a light dusting of cocoa. Lift the pie out of the tin and serve. The cream should be thick enough to hold swirls but still look soft and glossy, not grainy.
The Quick Stovetop Toffee
The traditional method is to simmer an unopened can of condensed milk in a pot of water for two to three hours, until the milk inside turns into a thick, brown caramel known as dulce de leche. It works, but it takes a long time, the can must stay covered with water the whole time, and you cannot see what is happening inside it.
The stovetop toffee skips all of that. The sugar in the condensed milk and the brown sugar caramelize together with the butter, and the short, hard boil thickens the mixture enough to set firm once chilled. The result is a little lighter in color than slow-cooked dulce de leche, with a more buttery, toffee-like flavor.
The key is to keep stirring. Condensed milk is thick and sugary, and it catches on the bottom of the pan within seconds. A nonstick saucepan and a heatproof spatula help, and so does scraping the corners where the mixture sticks first. If you see dark flecks, take the pan off the heat right away; a scorched layer gives the toffee a bitter taste.
Do not boil it much longer than a minute or two. Boiled too long, the toffee sets hard and chewy in the fridge and becomes difficult to slice. For another pie that relies on a short burst of careful heat on the stove, see how the eggs are cooked for our French silk pie.
Keeping the Bananas Bright
Sliced bananas turn brown when their flesh meets the air, which is why this pie is topped at the last moment. A few simple habits keep them looking fresh:
- Slice just before assembling. The shorter the time between cutting and covering with cream, the paler the fruit stays.
- Use a little acid. Tossing the slices in lemon juice slows browning. The University of Nebraska–Lincoln food extension recommends acidic juices such as lemon for this, and advises cutting fruit close to serving time.
- Cover them completely. The whipped cream seals the bananas from the air, so make sure no slices poke through at the edges.
- Choose firm fruit. Very ripe, spotted bananas taste sweet but turn soft and grey faster in the pie.
Storing and Make-Ahead
Banoffee pie is at its best on the day it is assembled. To get ahead, make the base and the toffee layer a day in advance, cover the tin and keep it in the refrigerator, then add the bananas and cream an hour or less before serving.
Because of the cream, keep the finished pie in the refrigerator and do not leave it out for more than 2 hours. Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for about a day; after that, the bananas darken and the base softens, though it is still good to eat. Like our lemon meringue pie, it does not freeze well once topped, because the bananas and cream separate as they thaw.
Variations
- Chocolate base: swap half the biscuits for chocolate digestives or chocolate cookie crumbs.
- Salted toffee: stir 1/2 teaspoon of flaky sea salt into the toffee as soon as it comes off the heat.
- Coffee cream: dissolve 1 teaspoon of instant coffee in the cream before whipping, a nod to the American coffee toffee pie that inspired the original.
- Individual pots: layer crumbs, toffee, bananas and cream in small glasses for a no-slice dessert.
- Ready-made caramel: use a 397 g can of caramel (dulce de leche) instead of making the toffee; spread it straight onto the base and chill.
Find more no-bake pies and holiday bakes among our dessert recipes.
Banoffee Pie
Ingredients
Method
- Crush the biscuits to fine crumbs. Stir in the melted butter and salt, press firmly over the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch (23 cm) loose-bottom tart tin and chill for 30 minutes.
- Put the butter and dark brown sugar in a nonstick saucepan over low heat and stir until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the condensed milk, raise the heat to medium-high and bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil for about 1 minute, until thickened and light golden, then remove from the heat.
- Pour the hot toffee into the chilled base, spread it evenly, cool for a few minutes and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, until set.
- Shortly before serving, slice the bananas into 1/2-inch (1 cm) rounds, toss with the lemon juice if using, and arrange them over the toffee.
- Whip the cream with the powdered sugar and vanilla to soft-medium peaks. Spread or pipe it over the bananas, finish with grated chocolate or cocoa, remove from the tin and serve.
Notes
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