The Ultimate Cheat's Banoffee Pie

The Ultimate Cheat's Banoffee Pie- a quick and easy version of the classic dessert, to feed a crowd.

collage of 4 photos of banoffee pie with text

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Are you one of the many people, like me, who thought that Banoffee Pie was an American thing? I was quite surprised when I found out that Banoffee Pie is, in fact, British. Banoffee just sounds American doesn't it? Maybe it's because they are so good with inventing insanely delicious desserts, that all the yummy involved in a Banoffee Pie seems like it must have been designed by them.

Banoffee Pie was actually invented by two British men called Nigel McKenzie and Ian Dowding at a restaurant in East Sussex called The Hungry Monk in the 1970s. The original recipe had a pastry base and coffee in the whipped cream. It was also spelt 'Banoffi' at the time.

I have always liked Banoffee Pie, and the fact that my husband had never tried it seemed like a good excuse to make one. I made it my mission to make this recipe as simple as possible because a quick dessert is a wonderful thing, especially if you have visitors coming round.  So, for the Ultimate Cheat's Banoffee Pie- no boiling condensed milk, no grating chocolate and definitely no pastry! I have also included as many tips as I can, to make it even easier for you to make.  One thing to remember, is that it's not one of those 'use up your brown bananas' recipes- you need ripe, but firm, bananas or it will just be mush once it has cream and caramel involved as well!

I bought a flan dish from Wilkinsons purely for this Banoffee Pie, as I didn't have one. It's a plain, white, 24cm one and it was the perfect size for this recipe. The only downside to using a flan dish, rather than a loose bottomed flan/tart tin,  is that the first piece you cut is going to be pretty messy, as you can't get your cake slice or knife all the way down at the edge of the pie. See my pictures, below for evidence! The upside is that it's really easy to store in the fridge, no transferral to a plate needed.

You can make this the day before you need it, if you keep it in the fridge, and it will then last a couple of days (if there's any left!). Banoffee Pie is not suitable for freezing.

Whole banoffee pie covered in crumbled chocolate flake



Make the Ultimate Cheat's Banoffee Pie

You will find a printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. 

Main steps of the recipe:

Wilkinson's 24cm flan dish
Use a flan dish or similar
Biscuit Base for Banoffee Pie in a white dish
Crush the biscuits, mix with melted butter and press into the dish.

Caramel layer of the Banoffee Pie in a white dish
Spread the caramel.
Banana Layer of the Banoffee Pie in a white dish
Slice the bananas and lay on top of the caramel

Whipped Cream in a silver bowl
Whip the cream to soft peaks and spread over the bananas


Cocoa and Chocolate sprinkles on top of the banoffee pie
Sprinkle the cocoa powder and Cadbury flake

Cadbury's Flake sprinkled across the top of Banoffee Pie


Slicing into the Banoffee Pie with a silver cake slice


Slice of Banoffee Pie on a white plate
Messy first slice of Banoffee Pie!


Slice of Banoffee Pie on a white plate
Second slice- see much better!


Banoffee Pie photo collage




banoffee, dessert
dessert
British
Yield: 8Pin it

The Ultimate Cheat's Banoffee Pie

The Ultimate Cheat's Banoffee Pie- a quick and easy version of the classic dessert, to feed a crowd.
prep time: 25 minscook time: total time: 25 mins

ingredients:


  • 275g digestive biscuits
  • 125g unsalted butter
  • 397g Carnation caramel
  • 2 medium bananas
  • 300ml double cream
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 tsp cocoa powder
  • 1 Cadbury's Flake

instructions

1) Put the digestive biscuits into a big bowl and crush them until they are in small crumbs. I use a potato masher for this, stirring the crumbs through and then mashing again, until there are no more big lumps. You can also use a food mixer.
2) Add the cinnamon and stir through.
3) Melt the butter in a small saucepan and pour it onto the crumbs. Mix through well, until the butter is completely absorbed.
4) Tip the biscuit mixture into a 24cm flan dish or loose-bottomed tin and use the back of a spoon to press it into the dish until it's reasonably flat. I don't press it up the sides, but  you can if you want there to be a crust to the edge.
5) Pop the flan dish in the fridge for the biscuit base to set. Leave it for 10-15 minutes.
6) Meanwhile, pour the cream into a large bowl and, using an electric whisk, whip it until it makes soft peaks. This takes roughly 5-6 minutes on a medium setting. It's easy to over-whip it, so you need to pay attention when you do it. When you see it start to come away from the edges of the bowl as it's whipping, it's very close. It will start to leave trails. If in doubt, stop!
7) When the base is ready to come out, open the tin of caramel and spoon it all onto the base. Use a spoon to spread it as evenly as you can, but don't worry about it being smooth.
8) Slice the bananas, with a sharp knife, and put directly onto the caramel, covering it in circles until there's no more space.  If there is any banana left to slice, just pop those pieces on the top.
10) Now spoon the cream into the middle of the pie and gently spread it to the edges using a silicone spatula or the back of a spoon. It doesn't need to be completely smooth; peaks and swirls look nice!
11) When you're happy with it, use a sieve to shake the cocoa powder over the top and then crumble the Cadbury's flake in your hand and sprinkle it over as well.
12) Put it in the fridge until you're ready to serve it.

NOTES:

250g of digestive biscuits is around 16-17 biscuits (one full pack).
calories
353
fat (grams)
29
sat. fat (grams)
17
carbs (grams)
34
protein (grams)
6
sugar (grams)
16
Created using The Recipes Generator

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