Banoffee Pie Is Easy To Make
Banoffee Pie – The World’s Sweetest Dessert
I have never met a banoffee pie that I didn’t think was too sweet. How many times have I indulged in this dessert only to have my eyes roll back to the back of my head and far enough to see my pancreas twitch, due to the pure sweetness. It only takes 1 bite of banoffee pie to experience this effect. Although I know Banoffee is what grammar folks call a portmanteau of the words Banana + Toffee a little research has indicated that Banoffee is latin for Not for Diabetics, Ever. Just kidding. It is latin for Sky High Blood Sugar. Just kidding. Part of being human is our ability to add calories. In the past our gut has told us not to remove sugar, but rather add chocolate or coffee. Sure, those bitter notes in a delightful 70& cocoa does help reduce the sweetness, but our pancreases still twitch.
I fully admit that my recipe does not make banoffee pie a candidate for an FDA health claim, but I like to make a few tweaks to take some of the punch out. Reducing the sweetness helps all the flavors come out better. When there is enough sugar in something to immediately numb your tongue I think it reduces the appeal and any opportunity to really taste the flavor nuances.
A good banoffee pie needs very few ingredients to be great. It should will have the bitter notes of chocolate that help bring our the delicious subtleties of the dulce de leche and banana. The banana further enhances the chocolate and both are helped by a lightly sweetened, vanilla whipped cream.
How To Make Banoffee Pie
I am firm believer that the crust of a banoffee pie should be made of graham cracker, the plain ones. These are just tasty enough to make a good crust and need no added sugar. Plain graham crackers need a small dose of cocoa powder to help them out. The graham cracker crust needs only a few tablespoons of butter and the rest of the binging is done by one egg white. The recipe here calls for 3 tbsp of butter, but you can safely reduce that to 2 or 1 if you wanted.
Dulce de Leche – Banofee’s True Foundation
The one genius thing about Banofee pie its major function which is to deliver as much dulce de leche as possible. Only eating it straight out of a can a bigger dulce de leche hit. For those who may not know, dulce de leche is not caramel, its better and banoffee is traditionally dulce de leche. Sure, if you make it at home it takes some time – boiling cans of sweetened condensed milk for about 4.5 hours, but it is so worth it. Just make sure you boil more than one at a time so you have a stash. This is one of those things you make ahead so the banoffee recipe, which should take about 25-30 minutes to make, doesn’t take 5 hours because you forgot to make the dulce de leche. You can buy it already made, too. Yep, it is pretty sweet. Nothing you can do really except go with it.
Putting the Ban in Banoffee Pie
Of course, a good banoffee is wrapped up with banana. I like to use regular old ripe bananas. Not over ripe as, again, very ripe bananas are just too sweet. For an even less sweet go for a banana that is a little green.
Finally, a nice fluffy cloud of whipped cream that is flavored with vanilla and lightly sweetened brings it all home. Beautiful! Of course, a little bitterness is still needed. A dusting of grated 70& cocoa chocolate does the trick nicely. Not too much though. This is a banana toffee pie, the chocolate is just the supporting ingredient.
The video below shows you all the steps you need to know to make a great banoffe pie. The full recipe follows.
- 5 oz of graham crackers (about 10 sheets)
- 1 tbsp of cocoa powder
- 3 tbsp of cold butter
- One egg white
- 1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk or 1 14oz can of dulce de leche
- 2-3 large ripe bananas. (not very ripe bananas)
- 1 cup of whipped cream
- 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon of vanilla
- 1 bar of 70% cacoa chocolate
- If you are making the Dulce de Leche, remove the label and place the can in enough boiling water to cover the can for 4-4.5 hours. Replacing the water as needed to maintain the water level throughout cooking. Remove from the water and let cool completely. Don't open the can while it is hot.
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Spray a 9 inch springform pan with non-stick spray.
- Place the graham crackers in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until turned into crumbs.
- Add the cocoa powder to the food processor bowl and pulse to incorporate.
- Add the butter to the food processor and pulse until fully mixed in and the crumbs resemble coarse sand.
- Add the egg white to the food processor and pulse until fully mixed in and the crumbs are moist.
- Pour the crumbs into the springform pan. Spread and press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan as evenly as possible.
- Bake 15-20 minutes until the crust is dry and it has pulled away from the sides slightly. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
- Peel and slice the bananas in rounds or on the bias.
- When the crust is cool, spread the dulce de leche evenly over the entire crust.
- Top the dulce de leche layer with enough sliced banana to fully cover the it.
- In a large bowl mix the cream, sugar, and vanilla. Whip the mixture with a whisk or hand mixer until stiff.
- Spread the whipped cream over the banana layer.
- Using a grater, grate some of the chocolate over the whipped cream.
- Release the pie from the spring from pan, slice and serve. Serve at room temperature or cold.
- The pie can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days in a sealed container.
- For a food processor alternative, the crackers can be placed in a a re-sealble plastic bag and made into crumbs by crushing them with a rolling pin or meat mallet. Transfer the crumbs to a bowl. Stir in the cocoa powder. Add the butter and cut it in with your fingers or a pastry cutter. Add the egg white and mix well until it is incorporated and the crumbs are moist.
I hope you enjoy!
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