Banoffee Pie #13

Allow me to introduce you to the Banoffee pie, the British treat (or so I hear).

I keep coming across Banoffee recipes and all I ever read is how the Brits love this pie and they are crazy, yes crazy about it. Any Brits out there to confirm this??

Well, any way, the soft toffee (or whatever you want to call the caramelized sweetened condensed milk) is wrapped around a bunch (no pun intended) of bananas. Those two main ingredients explain the name, but I personally have to recommend you don't try and substitute the Digestive crust (that's right, Digestives, an other favored British treat). It's kind of the perfect package: a little caramel, a cookie crumb, some fruit, chocolate flakes, and whipped cream...something about that combination is pretty heavenly to me.

Oh, and did I mention that it is by far the easiest recipe that I have yet posted? That is, as long as you correctly cook the sweetened condensed milk (which I didn't have any problems with personally, but I was so nervous to try after the hundreds of warnings I read on the internet).

There are about 100 variations of the pie but they are all about the same combination of flavors. Below is what I made (in my deep dish pan...so just note that you might have a little too much filling and crust if you use a 9-inch pie pan instead of the 9.5 inch pan that I used). Also, you should know that many recipes call for coffee to be sprinkled over the top (which I understand to be part of a "true" banoffee), but because I don't drink coffee I opted out of that.

So...readers, meet Banoffee. Banoffee, meet readers.

I think you guys will be great friends.

Banoffee Pie
Ingredients:
Digestive Crust
1 14-oz. package digestive biscuits

8 tablespoons butter, softened

1 oz chocolate, chopped

Banana/toffee filling
2 14-oz. cans sweetened condensed milk

5 large bananas

Topping
1 1/2 cups heaving whipping cream
3 tablespoons sugar
Chocolate flakes for decoration

Directions

To caramelize the toffee, place UNOPENED condensed milk cans in a stock pot and cover with water (completely cover and add more water to prevent over evaporation). Bring water to a boil, cover with a lid, and turn down temperature so that the water is softly boiling for 3 hours.
Here's the warning part:

Make sure that water is ALWAYS covering the cans. If the water goes below the level of the cans THEY WILL EXPLODE!!!

Not only is it very dangerous, but you will also have a huge mess on your hands.

Do NOT leave it unattended.

Okay. I said it. Are you nervous now? You should be. DON'T LET THE WATER BOIL OUT.

Once it's cooked for at least 3 hours (and if you want it to be a little firmer, you can go to about 4 hours), let the cans cool in the water. When they are cool to the touch, remove and continue to let them cool on the counter or in the fridge.

I did this step the day before so that it had enough time to cool.

The Crust
Process the digestive biscuits in a food processor until crumb-like. Mix crumbs with chopped chocolate and pour the melted butter over the top. Press mixture into a pie pan and bake for 10 minutes.

Once the crust is cooled, pour the first toffee filling inside and spread evenly. Slice the bananas and layer half of the bananas on the toffee. Cover the banana layer with another layer of toffee (half of the second can). It will be hard to spread, but just make sure that the bananas have a little layer of toffee surrounding it. Layer the rest of the bananas on top and cover with the remaining toffee.

Chill in the fridge. Before serving, top the filling with whipped cream and sprinkle chocolate curls over the top.