Double Toffee Banoffee Pie

My family can be sentimental and we’re not ashamed of it. Whenever we see something that reminds us of a favorite place or event, it doesn’t take much to put us in full longing mode.

This also usually involves food. For instance, a movie set in London will prompt memories of our time in the UK…which eventually brought us around to the lane on which we lived, then food, talk of fish and chips, and our favorite British “puddings”.

Mine was banoffee pie.

A crumbly crust made with biscuits and pecans, smooth caramel, ripe bananas, freshly whipped cream with just a hint of coffee – what is there not to love?

Honestly, the pie really is quite simple to make and it doesn’t require a lot of ingredients. (Just a bit of patience, really.) I will say that there is enough butter in this pie to morph your body type to that of a minion, but it is SOOO good.

Because butter.

My take on banoffee uses graham crackers instead of digestive biscuits. The double toffee bit was a happy accident!  Traditional banoffee pie has a creamy layer of pale golden toffee. However, when I was making this one day, my kids provided optimum distraction and I scorched the sweetened condensed milk I was caramelizing.  I was grumpy and saying “forget it”, made a more traditional sugar and butter caramel – but then kids distracted me again and I cooked it too long, and it became too thick.

Thankfully, it sparked an idea – so I poured the really thick caramel into the crust, and then had another go at the traditional softer creamy caramel toffee filling (successful the second time around) and used BOTH.

Oh. My. Word. You really must try this.

I use a tart pan with a removable bottom when I make this as it creates a very pretty presentation, but it’s perfectly fine to use a large pie dish, instead.

To make the crust:

Melt the butter. Crush the graham crackers (I used my mini food processor but you can place them in a ziplock bag and crush them with a rolling pin or wine bottle).

I add pecans* to the crust to temper the sweetness of the graham crackers. Finely grind the pecans in the food processor (or really bang away with a mallet until they are crushed finely.)

* If you have a nut allergy, you can omit the pecans and increase the amount of graham crackers to 3 cups.

Mix the pecans and the graham crackers with the butter until crumbly and press onto the bottom and sides of your tart pan. Place pan in the refrigerator to chill while you prepare the filling. (Nope, no baking this pie. Even better!)

Tip: if you are using a removable tart pan, place the pan on a pizza pan or small tray before starting so that it can be easily transferred back and forth to the refrigerator without jarring the bottom.

Also, before beginning, make sure that you have cleared a flat space on the shelf of your refrigerator if you are using a pan with a removable bottom!

The Filling

The secret to making both toffees is patience. Ok, and avoiding distraction. And a heavy-bottomed, non-stick pan.

Place your heavy bottomed, non-stick pan over medium heat (I like my enamel-coated cast iron pan because it distributes the heat evenly) and add the granulated sugar, stirring constantly until the sugar melts. It will first clump up and you’ll think “what did I do” but just keep stirring. It will start to melt, then bubble and finally turn golden brown (just keep stirring!)

When the sugar is golden brown (you need this to give it that lovely caramel flavor) add the butter and stir until incorporated. I prefer to use a rubber spoon/spatula (a “spoonula”) for all this stirring.

Once the butter and sugar are incorporated, pour in the heavy cream and continue to stir. You will want it to thicken slightly. It will thicken more as it cools.  Let it cool slightly, then remove the pie crust from the refrigerator and pour over the caramel sauce.

Return the pie to the refrigerator while you wash out your pot for the next layer of caramel!

Over medium-low heat, melt 8 Tbsp butter with dark brown sugar, stirring constantly. I love the addition of the dark brown sugar, as it gives this toffee a lovely flavor and keeps it from being too sweet. Again, this will take a while to incorporate, so keep stirring. Once the sugar has melted completely, add the sweetened condensed milk, stirring constantly. Bring the sweetened condensed milk to a boil and stir, stir, stir until it thickens. This toffee will be a lighter golden color than the first.

Let it cool just slightly, then, having removed the pie from the fridge, pour over this layer of toffee and refrigerate for 5 minutes.

(If you are preparing the banoffee pie ahead of time, you can pause here and add the bananas and whipped cream just before serving.)

While the pie is chilling, thinly slice the bananas. If you wish, you can toss them in a bit of lemon juice to prevent browning.

If you have used a pan with a removable bottom, now is the time to slide the tart out of the pan and onto your serving plate. (I forgot to at this point, and the addition of bananas made it a bit weightier, and trickier. Oops.)

On top of the cooled toffee layer, place the bananas slices evenly over the surface of the pie.

The Topping:

Pour heavy cream into a large bowl and add the instant coffee granules to cream. If you aren’t a coffee person, you can skip this, but honestly, it is so mild that even my 9-yo coffee-flavor-hater was trying to sneak some from the bowl. I don’t sweeten my whipped cream because the toffee and crust is sweet enough, and this adds a lovely balance.

Beat cream until fluffy peaks form and spread whipped cream on top of pie.

Optional:
Take a handful of pecans and rinse them. Place on cookie sheet. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp powdered sugar on pecans and toss. In a 300º oven, bake for about 5 minutes, tossing gently.
Let cool, then decorate pie with glazed pecans.

Serve immediately!

Isn’t that gorgeous! I promise you, it tastes even better than it looks, and my version isn’t as tooth-aching sweet as others I have tried.

Print

Yum

Double Toffee Banoffee Pie

Ingredients

• Crust:
• 8 Tbsp Salted Butter
• 2 Cups crushed Graham Crackers
• 1 Cup ground Pecans
Filling:
• 6 Tbsp butter
• 1 C Granulated Sugar
• 3/4 C Heavy Cream
• PLUS
• 8 Tbsp butter
• 1/4 C DARK brown sugar
• 1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 4 Small Bananas, sliced thinly
Topping:
• 1-1/2 C Heavy Cream
• 1/3 Tsp Instant Coffee Granules
Optional:
• 1/3 C Pecan halves
• 1 Tbsp Powdered Sugar

Instructions

1. I use a tart pan with a removable bottom; I've also used a cake pan with a removable bottom. They make a pretty presentation. However, it's ok to just make this in a large pie pan.
Crust:
2. Melt the butter.
3. Crush the graham crackers (I used my mini food processor but you can place them in a ziplock bag and crush them with a rolling pin or wine bottle).
4. Grind the pecans* in the food processor (or really bang away with a mallet until they are crushed finely.
5. (* if you have a nut allergy, you can skip the pecans and increase the amount of graham crackers to 3 Cups.)
6. Mix the pecans and the graham crackers with the butter until crumbly and press onto the bottom and sized of your tart pan.
Tip: if you are using a removable tart pan, place the pan on a pizza pan or small tray before starting so that it can be easily transferred back and forth to the refrigerator. Also, before beginning, make sure that you have cleared a flat space on the shelf of your refrigerator if you are using a pan with a removable bottom!
7. With crust mixture pressed into pan, place pan in refrigerator while you prepare the filling.
Filling:
8. Using a heavy bottomed, non-stick pan over medium heat (I like my enamel-coated cast iron pan because it distributes the heat evenly) add the granulated sugar and stir constantly until the sugar melts. It will bubble and begin to turn golden brown.
9. When the sugar is golden brown (you need this to create that great caramel flavor) add the butter and stir until incorporated.
10. When the butter and sugar are incorporated, pour in the heavy cream and continue to stir. You will want it to thicken slightly. It will thicken more as it cools.
11. Let it cool slightly, then remove the pie crust from the refrigerator and pour over the caramel sauce. Return the pie to the refrigerator.
12. Wash out your pot for the next layer of caramel!
13. Over medium-low heat, melt 8 Tbsp butter with the brown sugar, stirring constantly. Again, this will take a while to incorporate, so keep stirring.
14. Once the sugar has melted completely, add the sweetened condensed milk, stirring constantly. Bring the sweetened condensed milk to a boil and stir stir stir until it thickens. This toffee will be a lighter golden color than the first.
15. Let it cool just slightly, then, having removed the pie from the fridge, pour over this layer of toffee and refrigerate for 5 minutes.
16. While the pie is chilling, thinly slice the bananas. (If you wish, you can toss them in a bit of lemon juice to prevent browning.) On top of the cooled toffee layer, place the bananas slices evenly over the surface of the pie.
Topping:
17. Pour heavy cream into a large bowl.
18. Add Instant Coffee granules to cream.
19. Using hand mixer, beat cream until fluffy peaks form.
20. Spread whipped cream on top of pie.
Optional:
21. Take a handful of pecans and rinse off. Place on cookie sheet. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp powdered sugar on pecans and toss. In a 300º oven, bake for about 5 minutes, tossing gently.
22. Let cool, then decorate pie with glazed pecans.
Enjoy! Refrigerate uneaten portions!

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Have you tried banoffee pie? What food brings you back to a favorite place (or vice versa?)
Let me know in the comment section below!

Now we’re baking! If you like my double toffee banoffee pie, check out these other fall recipes!

Aunt Jeanne’s Pumpkin Cake

Mummy Molasses Bars (which become simple Molasses Bars by leaving off the mummy eyes!)