How do you make a Banoffee pie?

With this recipe! It's easy because we use dulce de leche (milk jam) instead of the more laborious toffee. Find the ingredients and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.

Why is my Banoffee pie runny?

It can be due to the toffee or dulce de leche not having the right consistency and the whipped cream not being firm enough. It's all in the details.

How long does fresh Banoffee pie last?

It's best eaten up to 24 hours after it's made , and I recommend that it be chilled for 2-3 hours after being assembled before serving it. It can last for 2-3 days, well covered, in the refrigerator. But keep in mind that the bananas will turn darker with each passing day.

Can I freeze Banoffee pie?

I don't recommend freezing the assembled Banoffee pie. The whipped cream and bananas will not have the right texture or consistency after thawing them. But you can make and freeze the cookie crust and have the cream whipped in the fridge up to 2 days before assembly.

Easy Banoffee Pie

Ingredients

Units

For the cookie crust:

2 cups (200g) cookie crumbs (digestive biscuits, plain vanilla wafers or graham crackers)
1/2 cup (110g) butter, melted

For the whipped cream:

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons cream cheese
3 tablespoons powdered sugar

For the filling:

2 1/2 cups (400g) dulce de leche, softened
2 1/2 to 3 bananas (ready to eat but not brown)
1/4 cup chocolate, in shavings or curls

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Instructions

For the cookie crust:

Preheat oven at 350°F/180°C.
Have ready a 9-inch pie pan with removable bottom. An 8-inch also works but the crust will be thicker.
Mix crumbs with melted butter in a medium bowl until it resembles wet sand.
Pat onto a removable 24cm pan and press well, starting at the edges and the angles were it joins the bottom part and make sure it's pressed and compact. This will help when removing the pie from the pan.
Bake for 10 minutes, until lightly golden and dry. Let cool completely on metal rack before filling.
For a no-bake dessert, simply put the crust in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour to allow the butter to firm up. This will make it less sturdier and might crumble here and there when you cut it.

For the whipped cream:

Beat cold heavy cream, cream cheese and powdered sugar in a large bowl until thick and medium peaks form.
Be careful at the end so that you don't over beat it as that might make the cream curdle. If in doubt, you can beat the first part with an electric mixer until medium thick, and then change to a hand whisk and beat until it's the desired consistency. It's harder to over beat by hand.
Keep refrigerated, covered, if not using immediately.

For the filling:

Soften the dulce de leche by placing it in a bowl and microwaving in 10-15 seccond. Mix and see if it's of a nice spreadable consistency. Repeat if necessary.
Peel bananas and cut in sliced about 1/4 inch thick. Do this at the last moment, right before assembling the pie so that they don't turn brown.
Chop chocolate finely with a kitchen knife or make curls with a peeler. You will have larger and smaller shavings, and some dust.

To assemble:

Spread dulce de leche on the bottom of the prepared crust and smooth top.
Top with sliced bananas. Arrange them however you want.
Top with whipped cream, spreading evenly.
Sprinkle the chocolate shavings over the cream.
Refrigerate for an hour before serving and up to a day.
Keep leftovers refrigerated, covered.

Notes

Organization: always read the recipe first and make sure you have all the ingredients, at the right temperatures, and also the rest of the equipment and space to make it. This will make the process so much easier!

Ingredients:
Cookies: or plain wafers or digestive biscuits. However you call them, you need a simple vanilla wafer or graham cracker.
Butter: unsalted is what we use, but this is a matter of personal taste. If you only have salted butter you can use it for a saltier crust.
Dulce de leche: it's not hard to make, but I recommend buying a jar of the thick one that's the right one for this filling. Regular dulce de leche is too runny and you won't get perfect slices because it will drip and pool around. Best brands to buy online: Vacalin Dulce de Leche Repostero (is the best, the one many pastry shops use here in Argentina), and also Dulce de Leche Veronica repostero is very good and I have used it several times.
Bananas: I recommend firm but ripe ones because they have a good color and flavor, but really the right banana for this pie is the one you like to eat, whether that's more or less firm.
Heavy cream: this is my first choice, but heavy whipping cream also work, as does double. I don't recommend light creams that have little or no fat content.

Make ahead: you can make the cookie crust several days before and keep it at room temperature. The whipped cream can be made up to 2 days before and kept in the refrigerator, well covered. The dulce de leche is a pantry staples as is the chocolate needed for the shavings.

Serving it: chill the assembled pie (without the chocolate shavings is better) for a few hours before serving it. It allows the layers to settle and the cream to firm up. There's not much to accompany it, as it's a pie that already has everything. More than a few hours in the fridge and the bananas will start to darken. But the flavor will still be amazing! If you plan to add fresh bananas on top as decoration, make sure you do so at the last moment so the color is vibrant.

Author: Paula Montenegro
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Refrigeration time: 60 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Category: Pies & Tarts
Method: Layering
Cuisine: International