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Banoffee pie

Published: 10 Apr 18
Updated: 12 Nov 24

Debbie Major’s banoffee pie recipe respects the original 1970s recipe, made with sweetened pastry rather than a biscuit-crumb base. And of course, it’s filled with caramel, banana and whipped cream…

Ian Dowding, chef of the (now closed) Hungry Monk restaurant in Jevington, East Sussex, along with owner Nigel Mackenzie, is credited with inventing the banoffee pie in the early 1970s. The recipe, says Ian, evolved over time and was based on an American-style coffee/toffee pie made by a work colleague. Ian’s idea came about after a conversation with his sister about boiling unopened tins of condensed milk for hours until it turned to toffee. The brainwave of partnering that sauce with bananas, together with the original coffee-flavoured cream, plus a grated chocolate topping, came together and the now world-famous pie was created. The drizzled chocolate we’ve added isn’t traditional but is less bitter than the original freshly ground coffee decoration.

Have you seen our epic banoffee cheesecake?

Medium
March 2018

Test kitchen approved

Serves 10-12
Hands-on time 50 min, oven time 21-28 min, plus chilling

Have you seen our epic banoffee cheesecake?

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 503kcals
Fat: 30.9g (19.1g saturated)
Protein: 2.8g
Carbohydrates: 52.9g (40.8g sugars)
Fibre: 1.2g
Salt: 0.3g

For 12

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Before you start

There’s nothing worse than a soggy bottom, so preheating the baking sheet guarantees a crisp pastry base.

Stir the sauce continuously to prevent it from scorching on the bottom of the pan.

Whip the cream until it just stands in soft peaks when the beaters are removed. It will firm up further in the fridge.

How to jazz up your banoffee

Add a little booze to the toffee sauce. Dark rum goes very well with bananas.
Add orange zest and a squeeze of orange juice to the toffee sauce or the whipped cream.
Use a no-bake cheesecake base instead of the pastry, adding a few lightly toasted chopped nuts to the mixture (pecans are particularly good).

Before you start

There’s nothing worse than a soggy bottom, so preheating the baking sheet guarantees a crisp pastry base.

Stir the sauce continuously to prevent it from scorching on the bottom of the pan.

Whip the cream until it just stands in soft peaks when the beaters are removed. It will firm up further in the fridge.

How to jazz up your banoffee

Add a little booze to the toffee sauce. Dark rum goes very well with bananas.
Add orange zest and a squeeze of orange juice to the toffee sauce or the whipped cream.
Use a no-bake cheesecake base instead of the pastry, adding a few lightly toasted chopped nuts to the mixture (pecans are particularly good).

Ingredients

For the pastry

175g plain flour, plus extra to dust
50g icing sugar
90g chilled butter, diced
1 medium free-range egg yolk

For the toffee filling

115g butter
115g light muscovado sugar
397g tin Carnation Caramel
½ tsp sea salt (optional)

For the topping

300ml double cream
1 tsp instant coffee powder (not granules)
2 tsp caster sugar
4 large or 5 medium ripe bananas
30g dark chocolate, chopped

You’ll also need…

23cm loose-bottomed flan tin, at least 3cm deep, lightly greased

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Method

Put a baking sheet on the middle shelf of the oven and heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6.
For the pastry, sift the flour, icing sugar and a pinch of salt into a food processor. Add the butter and pulse briefly until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. (Alternatively, sift the flour and icing sugar into a large bowl and rub in the butter using your fingertips.) In a small bowl, beat the egg yolk briefly with 2 tbsp cold water. Tip the crumb mixture into a large bowl, add the egg yolk mixture and bring together into a ball. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly until smooth. Shape into a disc, wrap in cling film and chill for 15 minutes.
Once chilled, remove the pastry from the fridge, roll out to a circle 30cm wide and about 3mm thick, then use to line the prepared tin. Chill for another 15 minutes.

Line the pastry case with foil and a layer of baking beans or uncooked rice and bake for 15-20 minutes until the edge is biscuit-coloured. Carefully remove the foil and beans/rice and bake for 6-8 minutes more or until crisp and golden. Set aside to cool.
While the pastry case cools, make the toffee filling. Put the butter and sugar in a medium pan over a medium heat. Whisk continuously as the butter melts and the sugar dissolves until it comes together ina smooth toffee sauce with no trace of melted butter. Stir in the caramel, then bring to the boil and simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the sea salt, if using. Pour the filling into the case and chill for at least 1 hour before topping.
For the topping, whip together the cream, coffee powder and caster sugar until just forming soft peaks. Thickly slice the bananas and scatter them evenly over the toffee sauce. Spoon over the cream topping, taking it right to the edges and swirling it attractively as you go. Chill for 1 hour.
To serve, carefully remove the pie from the tin to a serving plate. Melt the chocolate in bursts in a microwave (or in a small bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water – don’t let the bowl touch the water), then drizzle it over the pie. Serve cut into wedges.

Recipe from March 2018 Issue

Nutrition

For 12

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 503kcals
Fat: 30.9g (19.1g saturated)
Protein: 2.8g
Carbohydrates: 52.9g (40.8g sugars)
Fibre: 1.2g
Salt: 0.3g

delicious. tips

Make the toffee filling up to 3 days in advance and keep in a sealed jar or tub in the fridge. Don’t put into the tart case or it will go soggy. Instead, bake the case 1-2 days ahead and store in a tin or wrapped in foil, then assemble.