Banoffee Pie Anyone? A Simple Recipe Learnt while Travelling (3 Mins Read)

An important part of any travel experience is, undoubtedly, trying the local cuisines & delicious desserts. Food & the way people cook it and enjoy it is an integral part of shaping the culture of a community. While there are variations in the habits and behaviour of people from different countries, one thing in common- the love for food! Food brings people together and is the greatest unifier across cultures irrespective of language and cultural barriers. When travelling, the most exciting part for me is tasting the local food and diving deep into the sweet treats. Around Europe, there are so many sweet confectionaries to drool over, but Classic Banoffee Pie won my heart among others (slurp).

While holidaying in Paris during the New Year time last year, tasting the best desserts in Paris was definitely in the top of my wish list. Of course, in Paris, there is no shortage of delicious desserts. There are a plethora of patisserie and boulangerie across the city offering worlds finest bakery experience. To me, Paris was always a city of Macrons and Baguettes until I gorged on the heavenly Banoffee Pie.

Banoffee Pie is a traditional English origin, rich, layered dessert of buttery biscuit crumb, soft toffee, fresh whipped cream and sliced bananas. The word ‘banoffee’ comes from the heavenly combination of the of ‘banana’ and ‘toffee’.

To my amusement, I learnt that England’s most famous no-bake dessert is very simple to make. The beauty of this dessert is that everyone can make this dessert at home in 10 minutes with easily available ingredients, and the end result is a heavenly and presentable melt in the mouth creation. No fancy equipment required.

Here is my recipe of the English Classic Banoffee Pie.

BANOFFEE PIE RECIPE

The Taste of Banoffee Pie

There is something unique about the combination of salty digestive biscuits, thick sweet caramel, flavourful bananas, and soft cream in Banoffee Pie. You cannot just stop eating it!

The Ingredients

The recipe combines some really simple ingredients-

1. Digestive biscuits (I use Britannia Digestive Biscuits) — 300 gm
2. Whipping Cream ( I use Amul Whipping Cream) — 300 ml
3. Condensed Milk ( I use Nestle Condensed Milk ) — 400 gm
4. Melted Butter (I use Lurpak unsalted butter)-100 gm
5. Normal Butter-50 gm
6. Bananas — 4 bananas
7. Brown Sugar (I use organic brown sugar)- 50 gm
8. Lemon juice — 1tsp
9. Optional Dark Chocolate (I used Lindt Dark Chocolate 85 % Cocoa)- 25 gms or Cocoa Powder for dusting ( I use Hershey’s Cocoa Powder)

The Layers

1. First Layer: A buttery and crumbly base, made with crushed biscuits mixed with melted butter.
2. Second Layer: Caramel/Toffee made with Condensed Milk, Butter & Sugar
3. Third Layer: Fresh Whipped Cream
4. Fourth Layer: Slices of Fresh Bananas
5. Fifth Layer (optional); Chocolate or Cocoa Powder garnishing

The Process of Making Banoffee Pie

For the Crumb Base

1. In a food processor, crush the biscuits to crumbs, then add the melted butter and mix again. You could also put the biscuits in a plastic bag and crush them with a roller, and then mix it with melted butter in a bowl.
2. Put the buttery crumbs into the flat tin or flat bowl and evenly press into the bottom and sides. Put the tin into the refrigerator for at least one hour.

For The Caramel / Toffee Filling

1. To make the caramel, pour the condensed milk into a thick-bottomed pan along with the normal butter and brown sugar. Gently heat until the sugar has dissolved, then bring to a gentle boil and let it boil for 2–3 minutes before taking off the heat. Leave it to cool off.
2. When you are ready to assemble the pie, spread the caramel over the biscuit base.

For the Topping

1. Slice the bananas lengthwise, toss them in the lemon juice to stop them going brown, then arrange the pieces over the caramel.
2. Whip the cream until stiff, then place it over the bananas (Read Amul Whipping Cream Instructions on the packaging to make the cream or click here to see the video how to make the cream)
3. Grate the dark chocolate over the cream or dust some cocoa powder as per your preference.
4. Chill until ready to serve.

Sinfully indulge into England’s more popular dessert at the comfort of your home make your family go gaga over your lockdown culinary experiments!

Share your comments on how did you like the recipe and the taste of the pie. Happy Eating!

Also Read:

1. Reasons You Should Travel More Often — My Life Lessons
2. How will we Travel again in Post-COVID World? 10 Travel & Tourism Trends to Rule the Future #WelcomeNewNormal
3. Quarantine Cooking- 5 Cooking Experiments to do in Quarantine #lockdownseries
4. 6 Reasons to Plan a Goa Trip Post Lockdown

Originally published at https://theeasywisdom.com on June 12, 2020.