Banoffee Pie!

Good day all! I've been meaning to upload this recipe for quite a while, but, if you read my friends' (Evie and Mel) blogs, you'll know that for a while we were caught up with spending time together after having not seen each other for months and months and MONTHS! Now, to make up for my complete lack of discipline when it has come to posting, I am going to gift you with the most amazing pie recipe I've ever tasted. Ok, that's probably a lie because I'm only slightly obsessed with pecan pie, pumpkin pie, and apple pie. All in a very...healthy...kind of way. (Now that's the lie.)

The first time I ever heard of Banoffee pie, that I can remember, was while watching one of my favorite movies, Love Actually. (Keira Knightly's character offers her husband's friend a piece of it, then calls it a horrific choice of pie, which would lead to many a person not paying it any further heed.)

Banoffee pie is actually, very simple. But in its simplicity lives some of the most fantastic flavors. I am a total sucker for anything involving bananas. Add graham cracker crust and homemade whipped cream and I'm putty. But wait...what is this you say? There's CARAMEL too? Oh god, I can now die a happy woman.

Considering the ingredients of this pie, it's not only delicious, but thrifty as well. If you're like me and on a budget, but you have an insatiable sweet tooth (hello maternity pants, I knew I didn't put you away for a reason!), than this is the pie for you.

To make Banoffee Pie you will need:

1 graham cracker crust, homemade or store bought (I used store bought.)

1 can sweetened, condensed milk

3-4 bananas

1 half pint heavy whipping cream

1 tbsp. 100% pure maple syrup

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

cinnamon for garnish

A stock pot full of water

To begin:

Take your can of condensed milk and remove the label. A bit of adhesive left on is fine though. In your stock pot, bring water to a boil. Place your stripped can of condensed milk straight in there (unopened) and let the water boil for 3 hours. (Yes, I said 3 hours. Hey, I said it was simple, not quick.) Some of the water may boil off if the lid is kept off because you have somehow misplaced it (tee-hee...) but that is simple to remedy. If it boils off and the top of your can is no longer covered, simply pour over some hot water from your tap. (You may have to do this more than once.)

While your can is boiling away, pour your heavy cream, maple syrup, and vanilla into a medium sized bowl and whip it into delicious, fluffy whipped cream. (I didn't add any processed sugar to the cream because the pie is sweet enough without added sweetness to the whipped cream.) Put your whipped cream aside in the fridge so it can stay cool.


After the 3 hours are up, take your can out--preferably with a pair of metal tongs please, don't want any burned fingers--and place it on a cooling rack. Let that cool down for about 20 minutes.

Take out your graham cracker crust and open the can of condensed milk. Now, prepare yourself for what's inside, because it will change your life.

Inside your thouroughly boiled can of condensed milk, will be a delicious toffee sauce that didn't call for any dangerous boiled sugar and constant watching and stirring.

You are now going to take the toffee sauce and spread it around in your graham cracker crust. It's up to you whether or not you use all the toffee sauce. I mean, I did, but then again, I'd have eaten it out of the can if I had a little less will-power.

Now, for just a moment, please enjoy the beautiful, unmarred, golden brown pool of toffee sauce. I think I stared at it for quite a while before even considering adding the rest of the ingredients. Because really, it's toffee and graham cracker crumbs. How can you make that any more perfect?

Bananas. That's how.

Take your bananas and remove the peel. I decided to slice the bananas fairly thin, so that when cutting the pie, the bananas would cut smoothly.

Once your bananas are sliced, begin linning your pie crust with the slices. It's up to you however you place them. I do circles and then just pile towards the center with the leftovers.

After your bananas are all gently placed on their delicious toffee puddle, you're ready for the whipped cream. (Do ya get it yet? Bananas. Toffee. Banoffee.)

Pile the whipped cream on--yes all of it--the bananas. It may seem like a lot of whipped cream, but I love it. It's your pie though, so it's up to you how much whip you put on top, but I think it'd be a shame to waste homemade whipped cream, especially when it has just the slightest maple taste and a clean, vanilla finish. After that, just dust it with a little bit of cinnamon. (Or, if you're a gluten for punishment, I'm pretty sure you could drizzle some chocolate sauce over top.)

After that, just slice and enjoy. (And, just so you know, this pie doesn't slice clean. So, when some of those bananas or some of that toffee sauce is left over, just slip it right onto your plate. You may all have the same sized slice, but somehow your serving is just a bit bigger...)

That's it for now! Until next time, enjoy your loved ones, and your life, with a Spoonful of Sugar!