Banoffee Pie Recipe

Banoffee pie is a British no-bake pie with four layers: a buttery biscuit crust, a thick toffee made from sweetened condensed milk, sliced bananas, and softly whipped cream. The name is simply banana plus toffee. This recipe fills one 9 inch tin, serves 8, and takes about 2 hours, almost all of it chilling time.

The toffee is the part people worry about. It is also the quickest step. Butter, light brown sugar, and one 397g can of condensed milk simmer on the stove for 2 to 3 minutes, and that is it. No oven, no boiling cans for hours.

Digestive Biscuits or Graham Crackers for the Base?

Both work. Either way you need 250g (about 2 cups) of fine crumbs and 100g (7 tablespoons) of melted butter, and digestives are the traditional British choice. They give a softer, slightly malty base that cuts cleanly under a fork. Graham crackers are crisper and sweeter, with a honey note, and the base holds up a little better if the pie has to travel.

Crush the biscuits in a food processor or in a zip-top bag with a rolling pin. Stir in the butter until the crumbs look like damp sand and hold together when you squeeze a handful. Still falling apart? Crush them finer before you reach for more butter. Press them over the base and up the sides of a 9 inch tart tin or pie dish, using the flat bottom of a glass, then chill for at least 20 minutes so the butter firms up before the warm toffee goes on.

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Banoffee Toffee: Stovetop Pan vs Boiling the Can

Many older British recipes make the toffee by simmering an unopened can of condensed milk in water for 2 to 3 hours. It works. But the can has to stay under water the whole time, you cannot see what is happening inside it, and if the pan boils dry the can can burst.

This recipe uses a pan instead. Melt 100g (½ cup) unsalted butter with 100g (½ cup) light brown sugar over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves and the mixture bubbles. Pour in the condensed milk, bring it to a gentle boil, then turn the heat down slightly and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring the entire time. The brown sugar gives the deeper caramel flavor you would otherwise wait hours for, and the whole thing takes about 5 minutes.

How Thick Should the Toffee Be?

Watch the color, not the clock. It starts pale cream and turns a deep caramel, close to peanut butter. When you drag the spoon through it, the trail holds for a second before closing, and the mixture starts to pull away from the base of the pan as you stir. It will still pour. That is fine.

Pour it over the chilled crust and spread it level. Leave it on the counter for a few minutes, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour until set. If you like this kind of quick condensed milk caramel, the same idea makes a pourable caramel sauce from condensed milk.

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Bananas That Stay Pale Under the Cream

You need 2 to 3 ripe bananas. Pick ones that are yellow with a few brown freckles and still firm when you press them. Green tipped bananas taste starchy against the toffee, and very spotty ones go slippery and collapse under the cream.

Slice them only when the toffee has set, about 1 cm thick, and lay them in a single tight layer. Cut banana starts to brown within minutes in the air, so get the cream on top quickly. The cream seals them off from the air, which is what keeps them pale. Spare bananas can go into caramelized bananas for another night.

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Soft Peaks on Top, Not Butter

Whip 300ml (1¼ cups) cold heavy cream until soft peaks form: when you lift the beaters, the tip curls over. Then add 1 tablespoon powdered sugar and ½ teaspoon vanilla if you are using them, and whip just until they disappear. Then stop. Cream whipped stiff looks grainy once you spread it, and a few more seconds turn it toward butter. For a sturdier topping that holds for days, my whipped cream frosting is the one to use.

Spoon the cream over the bananas and make loose swoops with the back of a spoon, then finish with dark chocolate shavings or a light sift of cocoa powder. Chill the whole pie for at least 30 minutes so the layers settle and the slices come out clean.

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When the Toffee Splits, Runs, or Catches

• Butter separates into an oily layer: the heat was too high or the stirring stopped. Take the pan off the heat and whisk hard for 30 seconds. A spoonful of the cream from the topping helps it come back together.
• Toffee floods out when you slice: it was not simmered long enough. Next time give it the full 3 minutes and look for the color and spoon trail above. A pie that is already assembled firms up with an extra hour in the fridge.
• Toffee is too firm to cut: it simmered well past 3 minutes. Let slices sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.
• Dark specks in the toffee: the base caught. Pour from the top and leave whatever is stuck to the pan behind instead of scraping it into the crust.
• Crust crumbles when served: the crumbs were too coarse or not pressed firmly. Crush finer and press hard with a glass.

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Making Banoffee Pie a Day Ahead

Make the crust and the toffee layer up to a day before, cover the tin, and keep it in the fridge. On the day, add the bananas and cream within a few hours of serving. A fully assembled pie is at its best the day it is made, because the bananas slowly darken under the cream.

Leftovers keep, covered, for 2 days in the fridge. The base softens a little. You can also freeze the crust with the toffee on it, then thaw it in the fridge and top it fresh. For another make-ahead banana pie with a cooked custard instead of toffee, try my banana cream pie, or browse the rest of the pie recipes.

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Banoffee Questions From the Kitchen

Is banoffee pie British?

Yes. Banoffee pie comes from England, where it was first served at a restaurant in East Sussex in the early 1970s, and it has been a pub and bakery favorite there ever since.

Does banoffee pie need to be baked?

No. The biscuit crust sets in the fridge, the toffee cooks for a few minutes on the stove, and the rest is assembled cold.

What is the difference between banoffee pie and banana cream pie?

Banoffee pie has a caramel toffee layer under fresh banana slices and plain whipped cream. Banana cream pie swaps the toffee for a cooked banana custard filling. If toffee and bananas are your thing, sticky toffee pudding and banana pudding cups come close.

Can I make it without condensed milk?

Not this version. The 397g can of sweetened condensed milk is what turns the butter and sugar into a thick, sliceable toffee.