simple recipes

Have you ever had banoffee pie? A common dessert in Ireland and the UK, it is a terribly simple pie that combines sweet, buttery toffee caramel with bananas, homemade whipped cream, and pie crust. I made it upon request for my friend Raija’s birthday this past Sunday.

The ingredients are simple, about two ripe bananas, a can of sweetened condensed milk, a cup of heavy cream, and either a pre-bought pie crust or a homemade pie crust made from rich digestive cookies or graham crackers.

Unfortunately on Sunday, our neighborhood store didn’t have either digestives or graham crackers, so my husband picked up a chocolate graham cracker pie crust, turning my creation into a chocolate banoffee pie.

While making banoffee pie is simple, it does require a good amount of time. You begin by immersing the condensed milk, can and all, in boiling water, letting it boil and making sure the pot is full, for about two and a half hours.

I have done this multiple times, and the can has never exploded, don’t worry. But once the boiling is done, you will want to let the can cool for at least an hour before attempting to open it. Pressure builds up inside, and once, when I pierced the can, I got sprayed with piping hot, sugary toffee. No bueno.

This is what the condensed milk will look like after boiling. If you prefer it a little darker, just boil for a bit longer. This was perfect for me!

Once the toffee is made, simply spoon it into the pie crust and chill for at least three hours. I did not do this on Sunday, and when I put the cream on, the toffee was still a little warm, causing the whipped cream to melt around the edges.

Also, wait until the last possible minute to slice and add your bananas to avoid browning. If you are bringing this to a dinner party, as I did, I would make the toffee and pour it into the crust in the morning and wait until the evening to add the bananas and whipped cream.

I quickly whipped up the heavy cream and then spooned it on to the top of the pie. I didn’t add any sugar to the whipped cream because the toffee base is sweet enough for me. There is nothing quite like homemade whipped cream!

My pie was not set up in the fridge for long enough, so it was a little less firm than I would have liked. But it was delicious, and the birthday girl said she liked it .