Have you ever heard of a Banoffee Pie? I hadn’t until a friend of mine, after returning from a visit to London, asked me to make one. A what? The internet was brand new at the time so finding a recipe was fairly problematic. However, undaunted I found one and added a few extra touches to make it simply smashing.
Simply stated, Banoffee Pie is creamy toffee topped with sliced bananas and finished with whipped cream. However, it really needs something to break up the sugar index that climbs with each and every layer.
I used a pretzel crust for a salted-toffee combination. Brilliant! I have never gone back to graham for Banoffee Pie again. Move over salted-caramel, Banoffee is here.
Now, let’s talk toffee. This is the easiest toffee to make, ever. It will not burn, it does not have to be stirred, and it can be made days or weeks in advance while stored in your pantry. This not so secret process is submerging an unopened can sweetened condensed milk in water and boiling it for three (3) hours. Simply remove the label, place the unopened can in a large saucepan that has room for water to be at least 1 to 2 inches taller than the can of milk, bring to a boil and keep it at a low boil for 3 hours. You may need to add water a couple times, but that’s it. Once you remove the can from the water let it cool at room temp before attempting to open. What you have now is luscious amber toffee dulce de leche.
Click the following link for complete detailed instructions for making your own Dulce de Leche.
The sliced bananas are added overlapping on the toffee layer. This acts as a barrier between the toffee and the whipped cream so they do not react. Once the whipped cream hits the toffee they tend to duke it out by “melting” into each other; it still tastes great, but it will be pretty dang messy & gooey. It sounds good and all, but it’s not the most appetizing “look.”
As there is no way to change the toffee and bananas so I up-scaled the whipped cream a bit by adding Pero (or espresso powder) for an added depth of flavor. There’s not a lot of sugar added to the whipped cream purposely. So with or without the coffee flavor is still perfectly delicious.
For a finishing garnish that would not “melt” the whipped cream I used Hershey’s Salted Gold candy bars!!! They are the PERFECT flavor & color! If I ever find out Hershey is going to discontinue them I will stockpile them in the freezer!
At this point some of you may be wondering if there is a way to make the crust gluten free. Yes, there is. Glutino brand makes the best gluten free pretzels I have ever tasted. They are easy to find at a lot of grocery stores.
Go get your Banoffee Pie on and good luck trying to save the last slice for yourself.
Banoffee Pie
Ingredients
Filling
- 1 can sweetened condensed (boiled unopened covered in a pan of water for 3 hours) see link above in blog post for details on making dulce de leche.
- 3 medium to large bananas
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon Pero powder (or 1 teaspoon espresso powder)
- 1 Hershey Salted Gold candy bar (chopped for garnish)
Pretzel Crust
- 1-1/2 cups finely crushed pretzels (about 5 ounces before crushing) (Use Glutino brand for gluten free pretzel crust)
- 3 tablespoons pure cane sugar
- 7 tablespoons butter
Instructions
Pretzel Crust (makes one 9-inch crust)
- Preheat Oven to 350 F.
- In a medium size bowl, combine the sugar with the crushed pretzels and using a fork.
- Stir in the melted butter until thoroughly combined.
- Press the crust mixture into a 9-inch pie plate and bake for 6 minutes. Remove from oven & cool before using.
Whipped Cream (for topping)
- With electric mixer (I like KitchenAid) add the heavy whipping cream, vanilla, Pero or espresso powder if desired, and sugar.
- Whip/beat on high speed until stiff peaks form (about 5 to 7 minutes). Set aside.
Banoffee Filling & Assembly
- Open the cooled can of boiled sweetened condensed milk, this is your toffee (dulce de leche). Spread the entire can over the cooled pretzel crust.
- Slice the bananas overlapping them slightly, and place the last few slices over areas where the toffee is peeking through.
- Spread on the prepared whipped cream and top with chopped candy bar pies.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.
