This Banoffee Pie Recipe is one of our favorite desserts! We top a buttery cookie crust with a thick dulce de leche sauce, sweet bananas, fluffy whipped cream, and chocolate shavings.
Try some of our other favorite banana desserts like these Banana Cupcakes, Banana Cream Pie, or Banana Pudding Recipe (from Magnolia Bakery!)
What is Banoffee Pie?
This is a British dessert pie most commonly made with a buttery biscuit (cookie) base, bananas, cream, and a thick caramel sauce. Some versions include chocolate, coffee, or both!
While we were in the U.K. earlier this year, my husband and I ordered a banoffee trifle at a restaurant. Of all the food we ate on the trip, this treat was the hands-down favorite. And finally the re-creation is making its way here. But, instead of layering everything in trifle dishes, I opted for a pie pan.
Now to make the difficult decision…should the “best Banoffee Pie recipe” (as named by my oldest!), coconut cream pie, or apple pie be a part of our Thanksgiving dessert?! (The correct answer according to my family is all of them!)
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What does banoffee mean? It’s a made-up term combining two key ingredients: bananas and toffee. Banana==toffee=banoffee!
Banoffee Pie Recipe FAQs
1What does Banoffee Pie taste like?
This recipe for Banoffee Pie is a dulce de leche and banana lover’s dream!
The crust is made with graham crackers, sweetened with a bit of brown sugar, and perfectly buttery. Dulce de leche (often confused with caramel) is a confection prepared by heating sugar and milk over a long period of time. It does taste similar to caramel, but caramel is made with sugar and water (no milk). The bananas are firm, sweet, and barely ripe. Unlike when making this Easy Banana Bread, we don’t want overripe bananas at all! Finally, the cream on top is lightly sweetened and enhanced with some vanilla then whipped to perfection!
2Why is Banoffee pie called Banoffee?
Sometimes spelled “banoffi” is a combination of the words “banana” and “toffee”
3Which country invented Banoffee pie?
The dessert is said to be invented at The Hungry Monk Restaurant in East Sussex in Britain. The owner of the restaurant and chef claimed to have tweaked an apparently “unreliable” American recipe for “Blum’s Coffee Toffee Pie” into what we now know as Banoffee Pie. (Source).
4Is Banoffee coffee or toffee?
Sometimes this dessert contains both or either. The name, though, is derived from the combination of “bananas” and “toffee.” Dulce de leche delivers the toffee-like flavor in the pie.
5How do you keep bananas from turning brown in Banoffee pie?
When they’re fully covered with the whipped cream, bananas are less prone to browning — it’s when they are in contact with air that they brown quicker.
You can lightly brush slices of banana with club soda (NOT tonic water) before adding to the pie if desired, but we don’t find this necessary if eating the pie within 24 hours of making.
6How many calories are in a Banoffee pie?
For 1 serving there is 375 calories.
There is a full nutritional break-down directly below the recipe.
(We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed.)
7Should Banoffee Pie Be Refrigerated?
Yes! The recipe for Banoffee pie pie needs to be refrigerated. Additionally, any leftovers should be promptly returned to the fridge. Make sure to cover the leftover pie slices tightly to keep it as fresh as possible.
8How do I get clean slices of pie?
Use a sharp knife for cutting slices. I like to run the knife under hot water, quickly dry it off, and then make a cut. Repeat for each cut.
This Banoffee Pie Recipe is fairly quick and easy to make, especially if you’re using prepared dulce de leche and a prepared crust! Here’s a quick breakdown:
How To Make Banoffee Pie
- Dulce de leche. You have a few options here — either make it wholly from scratch or make it using a can of sweetened condensed milk (more on this later). Alternatively, you can buy a can of dulce de leche and use that.
- Prepare the graham cracker crust. We wrote a whole post on making the perfect Graham Cracker Crust along with all our tips and tricks! If you don’t have access to graham crackers, use digestive biscuits instead.
- Whip the cream. Combine heavy whipping cream with some sugar and vanilla, plus a touch of salt to create the finishing layer for this pie. A stand mixer whips this all together to perfect consistency in minutes!
- Assemble. Once the crust and dulce de leche are prepared and cooled, it’s time to put it all together. Layer on the dulce de leche, bananas, and sweetened whipped cream — perfection!
- Garnish. If desired, top the pie with chocolate shavings or English Toffee Baking bits on top.
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To make a truly easy Banoffee Pie recipe use a store-bought graham cracker crust — then you won’t even need to turn on your oven!
Making Dulce de Leche from Sweetened Condensed Milk
If you’d like to make your own dulce de leche for this Banoffee Pie Recipe, you can do that with one ingredient! Here’s how:
- Get a 14-ounce can of full-fat sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk!)
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Empty the contents of the can into a 9-inch pie pan and cover it tightly with foil.
- Place the covered pie pan on a larger pan with sides and place in the oven. Pour hot water into the larger pan until it goes up 1-inch on the sides of the pie pan.
- Bake for 2 hours, checking every now and again and refilling water if needed until the color and thickness is achieved.
- Remove, let cool and whisk to smooth out any lumps. Let cool fully (it will thicken even more) before using in this Banoffee Pie Recipe.
STORAGE
Can you Make Banoffee Pie The Day Before?
The graham cracker crust can be made in advance — bake, cool, then tightly cover and store it in the fridge for 1-2 days before making.
The fully prepared pie can be made 1 day in advance — store it in the fridge until ready to serve.
Can You Freeze Banoffee Pie?
This Banoffee Pie recipe does not freeze and thaw very well. The crust gets too soft, bananas seep and brown upon thawing, and the whipped cream gets watery.
More Desserts to Love:
Banoffee Pie Recipe
This Banoffee Pie recipe is one of our favorite desserts! We top a buttery cookie crust with a thick dulce de leche sauce, sweet bananas, fluffy whipped cream, and chocolate shavings.
Banoffee Pie Recipe
This Banoffee Pie recipe is one of our favorite desserts! We top a buttery cookie crust with a thick dulce de leche sauce, sweet bananas, fluffy whipped cream, and chocolate shavings.
Instructions
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CRUST: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9-inch pie pan with cooking spray. Melt 6 tbsp. butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Once melted, set aside to cool for 5 minutes. (Hot butter will cause a greasy crust.) In a blender or food processor, add broken graham crackers and process until they are all fine crumbs (re-blend any large chunks). Measure to get a level 1 and 3/4 cups of crumbs and add to a large bowl. Add 1/4 cup sugar and 1/8 tsp salt to the bowl. Use a spatula to scrape in every bit of butter and mix until well combined.
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FINISH CRUST: Empty the crumb mixture into the prepared pan. Using your fingers, press the crumbs along the sides of the pan first and then press remaining crumbs into the bottom of the pan. Use the bottom of a flat 1-cup measuring cup to thoroughly compress the crumbs into a firm crust. Bake for 10 minutes then remove and set aside to fully cool. Pop in the fridge if you’re in a rush! (You can prepare and bake the crust 24 hours in advance. Cover with plastic wrap and store at room temperature.)
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WHIPPED CREAM: Pour 1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar (add to sweetness preference; start with 2 tablespoons and add an additional 2 if you like it sweeter), and 1/2 tsp vanilla paste or 1 tsp vanilla into a bowl attached to a stand mixer. Whisk on low speed to combine. Gradually increase to high speed until medium peaks form, about 2-4 minutes. (Medium peaks — not soft but not stiff!) Watch carefully to avoid over-beating.
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FILLING: Once crust is fully cooled, spread the dulce de leche in an even layer along the bottom. Smooth with the back of a large spoon. Thinly slice two bananas and arrange the slices evenly in two layers atop the dulce de leche. Immediately top with the whipped cream, smoothing it on top using a spatula or the back of a large spoon.
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CHILL: Place the pie (uncovered) in the fridge for at least 2 hours to firm up (you can store in the fridge up to a day in advance). Garnish with chocolate curls if desired, right before serving. (To do so: unwrap a chocolate bar and peel with a vegetable peeler directly onto the pie.) To serve: Use a sharp knife to cut slices. I like to run the knife under hot water, quickly dry it off, and then make a cut. Repeat for each cut.
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STORAGE: Store leftovers, covered tightly, in the fridge for 3-4 days noting that everything gets softer will soften and the filling will weep each day it’s stored. The graham cracker crust can be made in advance — bake, cool, then tightly cover and store it in the fridge for 1-2 days before making. The fully prepared pie can be made 1 day in advance — store it in the fridge until ready to serve. This recipe does not freeze/thaw very well. The crust gets too soft, bananas brown upon thawing, and the whipped cream gets watery.
Recipe Notes
Note 2: Dulce de leche: A few options here — either make it wholly from scratch , make it using a can of condensed milk (full directions in the blog post), or purchase a can of prepared dulce de leche and use that.
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 373kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 173mg | Potassium: 192mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 937IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 1mg
We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed.