Banoffee Pie

If you’re looking for a dessert that’s tasty enough to make you Star Baker on the The Great British Bake Off, look no further. This fuss-free banoffee pie recipe is pretty enough for a celebration, but easy enough to serve as a weeknight dessert. I adore banoffee pie for its quick prep time and perfect marriage of flavors. And you’ll never have to worry about a soggy bottom with this foolproof pie!

What is banoffee pie?

Banoffee pie is a classic British dessert made of a sweet-salty graham cracker crust filled with dulce de leche and fresh banana slices, and finished with pillows of whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Purportedly invented in the 1970s by a restaurant in East Sussex, England, it was named “banoffee” for the flavor combination of bananas and toffee (and like most British food names, is best said aloud in your most impressive English accent). The flavor combo is so beloved that it’s inspired many other banoffee desserts, like banoffee cheesecake, trifles and cakes.

Ingredients for Banoffee Pie

• Graham cracker crust: While you can certainly buy a premade graham cracker crust, the magic happens when you use homemade ones—and they’re not hard to make. All you’ll need are graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, granulated sugar and a bit of salt.
• Bananas: Slice the bananas so they’re 1/4 inch thick. Any bigger will feel like overkill, but any smaller and you’ll hardly taste them.
• Dulce de leche: Find dulce de leche in the baking aisle or international aisle.
• Heavy whipping cream: We’re making our own whipped cream topping because most things taste better from scratch. Heavy whipping cream is the base of all whipped creams.
• Instant espresso powder: We add espresso powder to the whipped cream for a little bit of coffee flavor.
• Confectioners’ sugar: We sweeten the whipped cream just a bit with confectioners’ sugar.
• Vanilla extract: Feel free to use good-quality vanilla extract or vanilla paste. I love using vanilla paste in creamy desserts because the tiny black flecks are so pretty and flavorful.
• Chocolate bar: To finish the pie, shave chocolate curls off a dark or semisweet chocolate bar. I like to do this right on top of the finished pie.

Directions

Step 1: Make the graham cracker crust

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugar and salt.

Editor’s Tip: You can make graham cracker crumbs from whole graham crackers by pulsing the graham crackers in a food processor.

Step 2: Form and bake the crust

Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Bake the crust until it’s set, about 15 minutes. Cool the crust completely to room temperature.

Step 3: Whip up the topping

Place the heavy whipping cream, espresso powder, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Whisk them together by hand or with beaters until soft peaks form. Set the whipped cream aside.

Step 4: Add the filling

Using a mini offset spatula, rubber spatula or the back of a spoon, spread the dulce de leche into the cooled crust.

Top the dulce de leche with two layers of the sliced bananas.

Editor’s Tip: If the dulce de leche is too stiff, run your spatula or spoon under very hot water, then wipe it clean and spread out the dulce.

Step 5: Spread on the whipped cream

Spoon the whipped cream over the bananas.

Editor’s Tip: Feel free to add pretty swoops or other designs! I sometimes like to pipe the whipped cream on top in rows using a figure eight pattern.

Step 6: Decorate the pie

Refrigerate the banoffee pie for at least three hours or overnight. If desired, garnish the pie with chocolate shavings before serving.

Recipe Variations

• Try a different crumb crust: Bored of graham cracker crusts? There are so many other crumb crust ingredients to try out instead. Biscoff, Nilla wafers or even pretzels would all taste great in this banoffee pie recipe.
• Make the dulce de leche from scratch: It’s easier to make this pie with store-bought dulce de leche, but we’ll never turn down the desire to make as many ingredients from scratch as possible. Homemade dulce de leche is easy; just make sure you take the proper safety precautions.

How to Store Banoffee Pie

Banoffee pie absolutely must be stored in the fridge due to the dairy, but the bananas and whipped cream taste best when very cold.

Can you make banoffee pie ahead of time?

Yes! Banoffee pie can be made a day ahead. Cover it and store it in the fridge. You can also make the graham cracker crust several days in advance.

Banoffee Pie Tips

What’s the best way to work with dulce de leche?

If you have a very thick dulce de leche, it can be hard to get it into and out of a measuring cup or to spread it onto the graham cracker crust. I like to very lightly oil the entire inside of the measuring cup before adding the dulce de leche. This makes it easy to pour out. As for spreading it, run your spatula under hot water to make the dulce de leche much easier to spread. The same goes when you’re working with honey or any other sticky ingredient.

How ripe should the bananas be for banoffee pie?

You want the bananas to be fairly firm so they hold their shape when sliced, but ripe enough to taste sweet. Choose very yellow bananas with only a small smattering of brown spots.

How do you prevent the bananas from browning?

Bananas, like many other foods we love, can quickly oxidize and will turn an unappealing brown color when exposed to air. The best way to avoid oxidation is to cut the bananas just before filling the pie. Once they’re in the pie and sandwiched between the dulce de leche and whipped cream, they will no longer be exposed to air, and you won’t have to worry about them browning. If you must cut them ahead of time, squeeze fresh lemon juice on them to prevent oxidation.