Bannoffee pie is one of those incredibly popular recipes that will take you a relatively short amount of time to make. It’s a win-win situation, I usually make it for birthdays when I don’t have a lot of time to prepare in advance and it is always a crowd pleaser. The banana and caramel combination is a perfect combo and the whipped cream tricks you into feeling it’s so light and airy you are perfectly entitled to another slice. It has the added benefit of being perfect to make on a hot day – not that the weather is precisely hot right now, but you might be reading this recipe in the middle of summer hoping not to have to spend a long amount of time inside a hot kitchen -.
I once had a massive fail on this otherwise foolproof recipe. I had been to a fancy restaurant where instead of slicing the bananas, they had been blended into the whipped cream and somehow spread on a perfect square on top of the caramel and biscuit base. It was so dreamy, I decided to be adventurous and give it a go at home. And of course, I was cocky enough not to look for any recipes of advice on this new take on a well known recipe. I was actually making this for a birthday at the end of July, in Mallorca (the very hot and beautiful island I am proud to call my home). AND this particular dessert had to be transported by car without proper utensils (see cake transporter). The heat and all of the movement involved made the whipped cream and banana mixture move about and mix with the caramel until it ended looking like… well, like the opposite of something you would want to eat. The funniest part of it is this: I got to the party, where there was a chocolate sponge cake baked by somebody else and it looked beautiful and perfect. My pie, even though it looked like it had already been processed by the human body, ended up being devoured by the crowd between exclamations of how delicious it tasted despite its looks. The other cake was only half eaten.
And that’s how good this banoffee pie is!
- 300g biscuits
- 120g butter
- caramel sauce (you can also choose store bought)
- 3-4 ripe bananas
- 200-300ml heavy cream
- 25g sugar
- In a food processor
, grind the biscuits until very fine. - Melt the butter and mix it with the biscuit. This mix needs to be poured and pressed onto the pie plate you’ll use. Help yourself by using a flat tool (I use a small glass that is completely flat on the base).
- Bake the base at 150ºC for 10 minutes and allow to cool a bit.
- Take advantage of the still hot base to spread the caramel, it will make it easier. However, be careful not to burn yourself!
- Peel and slice the bananas, and spread evenly over the caramel. I usually do just one layer, but you can do more if you like.
- Whip the heavy cream together with the sugar, and then spread over the bananas.
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before digging in.
- Optional: sprinkle some cocoa powder to decorate.
