Make Banoffee Pie

This indulgent dessert first appeared in Britain around 1970, and rapidly became a worldwide classic. Banoffee pie is crunchy, sticky, creamy and full of flavour. Best of all, both the filling and the crust are nearly foolproof.

Ingredients

• At least 600g (2.6 cups) sweetened condensed milk, in unopened tins (cans)
• 150g (11 tbsp) crushed graham crackers, digestive biscuits, or hobnobs
• 40g (⅓ cup) ground almonds or almond meal
• 40g (⅓ cup) ground hazelnuts
• 3–4 large, ripe bananas
• 85g (6 tbsp) butter
• 480mL (2 cups) whipping cream
• 75g (⅓ cup) dark chocolate

Steps

Making the Toffee

1. Cover tins of condensed milk with water. Remove the labels from two unopened tins of condensed milk. Place them in a saucepan on their side to avoid rattling. Add room temperature water until there are at least two inches (5 cm) of water over the top of the tins.
   • A typical tin of condensed milk contains 14 oz (1.75 cups / 400g). If using a different size, use enough cans to get at least 21 oz (2.6 cups / 600g).
2. Boil for at least two hours, adding water occasionally. This will caramelise the condensed milk to make a soft, brown dulce de leche or "toffee". Check regularly and add more water as needed. If the cans are ever exposed to air, they can overheat and explode. Boil for at least two hours, and up to three if you want to guarantee a dark, rich caramel.
   • Technically, the milk experiences a "Maillard reaction," not caramelization. An ordinary caramel sauce is not thick enough to use as a pie filling.
3. Let cool. Remove the cans with tongs and set aside away from heat. Let them cool to room temperature before opening, or the dulce de leche might squirt out messily.

Making the Crust

1. Preheat the oven. Set it to 180ºC (350ºF).
2. Combine biscuits and ground nuts. North American recipes usually call for a graham cracker crust, while British cooks reach for the digestive biscuits or hobnobs instead. Weigh 150g of your chosen ingredient (or count out 9 unbroken graham crackers) and combine in a zip-locked bag with 40g (⅓ cup) ground almonds and 40g (⅓ cup) ground hazelnuts.
   • For a nut-free version, just replace the nuts with more biscuits.
   • Whole wheat graham crackers balance out the intense sweetness of this pie, but a honey graham cracker crust holds together better.
   • You can toast the ground nuts first for more flavor.
3. Crush to fine chunks. Push out as much air as you can from the zip-locked bag, then seal it closed. Push a rolling pin over the bag until the biscuits inside are finely crushed.
   • You don't need to bash the ingredients into a powder. A few chunks add a little crunch to your pie.
4. Mix with melted butter. Transfer the crushed ingredients to a bowl. Melt 85g (6 tbsp) butter, then pour it into the bowl. Stir with a fork until the mixture is the texture of loose, coarse sand.
5. Press into a greased pan. Grease a 9-inch (23 cm) pie tin or spring-form cake pan. Press the biscuit-and-butter mixture onto the base and sides of the pan in an even layer. Compact the base by pushing it down with the base of a glass.
6. Bake for 10–12 minutes. Let cool to room temperature before you continue.
   • Alternatively, skip the baking and chill the crust in the fridge for at least one hour. This makes a slightly looser crust.

Assembling the Pie

1. Cover the base with sliced bananas. Peel 3–4 ripe bananas and slice thinly. Drop the slices onto the pie crust.
2. Spoon the boiled condensed milk over the bananas. Open the tins of condensed milk once they have cooled. Spread the contents of 1½ tins (600g / 2.6 cups) over the bananas.
   • Adjust the amounts of bananas and condensed milk according to taste.
   • The condensed milk should be light brown and thick after cooking.
3. Top with whipped cream. Make-Whipped-Cream until it forms semi-stiff peaks. Spoon a generous mound over the pie.
4. Grate dark chocolate on top. Complete the pie with an elegant sprinkle of dark chocolate shavings.
5. Refrigerate (optional). You can serve this pie at room temperature, but 20 minutes in the fridge will set the toffee to a firmer texture.
   • If you used a spring-form pan, run a knife around the edge to release the crust before serving. Pop out the sides and serve on the base, or transfer carefully to a plate. Careful: if the crust was not baked or not compressed enough, it may not be firm enough to hold its shape.

Things You'll Need

• 1 large saucepan
• 1 large zip-locked bag
• 1 rolling pin
• 1 grater
• 1 9 inch, spring-form cake tin
• 1 fork
• 1 mixing bowl
• 1 electric mixer
• 1 knife
• 1 chopping board
• tongs

Tips

• Transfer any leftover "toffee" to a new, airtight container, since the metal tin can affect the color. Store sealed in the refrigerator for up to three weeks.
• The inventor of the banoffee pie uses a Make-Pie-Crust instead of the crushed biscuit base. Since it cooks with no filling, prick a few holes in the base and weigh it down with pastry weights or dried beans to prevent bubbling.

Warnings

• If the pan with the condensed milk boils dry, the cans will explode. If you are not able to attend the pan, place the tins in a water bath in the oven instead. Set the oven to no more than 140ºC (280ºF) and cook for 3½ hours.

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• Make a Blueberry Pie by Refrigerating it
• Make a Pudding Pie
• Make a Frazzleberry Pie

Sources and Citations

• Videos provided by InTheKitchenWithKate

See also

• Make Lemon Meringue Pie
• Bake a Cherry Pie
• Make Banana Raspberry Pie
• Make Sugar Cream Pie
• Make Chocolate Pie
• Bake an Apple Pie from Scratch
• Make Apple Pie in an Apple
• Cook a Frozen Pie
• Make Banana Cream Pie
• Make No Bake Mango Pie

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