Banoffee Pie

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.