Have you tried a British Banoffee Pie before? A magical tri-layer confection with caramel sauce, bananas and cream that will make your taste buds sing!
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Hello friends, Julia from Vikalinka is here once again. And this time I decided to tempt your with a scrumptious dessert from the land I now call home aka England.
Banoffee pie, although not as known outside of the British Isles, is an absolutely rock star back home. I admit I never heard of it myself until I, a Canadian expat, moved to England nearly 8 years ago. Upon arrival, however, I started noticing this luscious creamy pie in every cafe, restaurant and patisserie in London.
What is Banoffee Pie?
Let’s start with the name itself. The word ‘Banoffee’ is a combination of two words actually. Banana and Toffee, which will reveal what is on the inside. A crushed cookie crust, then layers of toffee or caramel, sliced bananas, a cloud of whipped cream and chocolate curls make this stunning dessert.
Banoffee Pie was invented in East Sussex, England in the early 70s, and although this creation is 100% English, many Brits think it’s American because of the luxuriously indulgent nature of this dessert, which is not too English.
How do I make Banoffee Pie?
Despite its divine taste, Banoffee Pie is very easy to make. I mean it won’t take you longer than 30 minutes to throw it together. Intrigued?
Due to its insane popularity, this dessert exists in many reincarnations, so you can imagine hundreds of recipes populate the internet and cookbooks.
What I am sharing today is an easy Banoffee pie. A pie that requires no baking or cooking. That is right, this recipe is mostly assembling.
Arguably there are several ways to make a Banofee Pie and I am showing you mine, which happens to be the simplest one.
- For this recipe I’ve used crushed chocolate covered digestive cookies mixed with melted butter to create the crust. However, I realize that tracking down this British staple might be difficult in the US, so I have a fair substitute:
- You can use chocolate wafers, by which I mean “plain chocolate cookies” instead of digestives without compromising on the taste. Allow your crushed cookie base to set in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours to become solid and crunchy.
- The toffee filling is something that can also be easily purchased. I usually buy canned Caramel (Dulce De Leche) filling by Carnation or make my own by cooking sweetened condensed milk. If you feel like making your own, these recipes for Slow Cooker or Instant Pot Dulce de Leche will show you how. If you make your own toffee, you will be able to control the consistency of the filling. My family prefers the less solid center of the Banoffee pie to the firm one, so the already prepared filling suits us just right.
- Finally, I love to decorate my Banoffee Pie with chocolate curls. They add so much drama to any dessert and making them is so easy. Simply melt the chocolate in a double boiler, then spread it thinly on a clean cookie sheet, let it set in the fridge. Then drag your knife across the chocolate surface to create curls. Alternatively, you can simply grate chocolate for the topping.
More No-Bake Dessert Recipes
If you love this Banoffee Pie, I am certain you could use more recipes for no-bake desserts. Here are our favorites:
- Strawberry Meringue Cheesecake (No Bake)
- Layered Blackberry Fool
- No Bake Cheesecake with Strawberries
- No Bake Strawberry Blueberry Trifle
Banoffee Pie Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups chocolate wafers, or chocolate covered digestive cookies
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted*
- 1 cup dulce de leche or caramel sauce, *
- 2 bananas, sliced
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, chilled
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar , (or confectioners sugar)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 oz chocolate, (chips or chunks)
Instructions
- Prepare an 8 inch tart or pie plate by greasing with butter and set aside.
- Process the cookies in a food processor until they turn into crumbs or put them in a ziplock bag and crush with a rolling pin.
- Melt the butter and stir into the cookie crumbs until well combined. Line the pie plate with the cookie crumb mixture making sure it comes all the way to the top of the plate. Your pie crust should be approximately 1/4 inch thick. Refrigerate the crust at least 4 hours to set.
- Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave, then spread on a clean cookie sheet in a thin layer. Put the cookie sheet in the fridge to set for 1 hour. Remove from the fridge and drag the blade of your knife across the chocolate surface in smooth and firm movements to create curls. Once the curls are created, put them back in the fridge until needed.
- Fill the pie crust with the prepared toffee filling and flatten with an offset spatula. Add a layer of sliced bananas.
- Whip the heavy cream with icing sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form then top your sliced bananas with it. Use the back of your spoon to create swirls. Then top with chocolate curls. Chill banoffee pie in the fridge for two hours before serving to allow layers to set and flavours to meld.
Notes
*Salted Butter will still work in this recipe
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Made this for friends. Great reviews from all. Delicious
Haven’t made it yet, looks very interesting! Do you use dark chocolate digestives or milk chocolate?
Thanks!
Hi Brenda, we use these crushed chocolate covered digestive cookies. I hope that helps.
Thank you!! Can’t wait to try this recipe. Never heard of it before. 🙂
OK, I’m getting ready to make this pie. I have a store bought shortbread crust and I have sweetened condensed milk that I’m going to boil. Well the milk still be good in the can tomorrow.
HI Pam, the condensed milk will be ok cooling overnight at room temperature but I do usually refrigerate it once it has cooled to room temperature.
I made this and it was really good!I used the oreo cookie crumbs for the base. My family loves it.
Hi Ria, happy to know that you enjoyed this pie!
I’m confused,the recipe says fill with prepared filling but there are no instructions for preparing the filling
Hi Rae. Thanks for reaching out. In the blog post above the recipe card, see the section titled, “How do I make Banoffee Pie?” The toffee filling is the canned Caramel (Dulce De Leche) sauce mentioned in the recipe card. I included a link if you prefer to make your own homemade (click on the the red words) instead of using store bought.
hey I just wanted to say if you switch from US to metric, 3 cups of chocolate digestive cookies turn into 18 grams. That can’t be, Must be a mistake. There must be an error.
I enjoy your site and keep coming back for recepies 🙂
Thank you for letting me know that. That is very odd. It must have been a glitch. I updated it and it should be displaying properly now.
I LOVE banoffee pie and really want to make it. I’ve got a 9” pie dish and am wondering if using the quantity in this recipe will be fine for a 9 inch pie dish? Please let me know!
Hi Karishma, that should work, or something like a springform pan might work or even a 9 or 10″ cake pan although you might want to line the pan with parchment paper for easier release of the crust.
Hey Natasha, I’m very excited to tell you that I successfully made this in a 9 inch pie pan. And OH MY GOD. It was every bit as delectable as the one I’ve eaten in the U.K. Thank you so much for putting this recipe out there – The universe needs it!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review, Karishma!
hi love your recipes..can you please post recipe for mango pie . thanks
Hi Kavya, I’m happy to know that you’re enjoying my recipes. I don’t have a recipe for Mango Pie, here are my other pie recipes though that you can try.
Hi Natasha! I love your recipes and now I finally have more time to cook. I really want to try this Banoffee Pie but, unfortunately, I can’t get heavy whipping cream from anywhere, do you think double cream will work? Thank you so much, you are amazing!
Hi Diana, double cream is the British term for Heavy whipping cream. It is essentially the same thing with just a little more fat so be careful not to overwhip – it will whip faster and is easier to overwhip due to the higher fat content. I hope you love every recipe you try!
Hi Natasha! I really want to try this recipe but I don’t have a pie dish. Anything else I can use instead?
Hi Marina, something like a springform pan might work or even a 9 or 10″ cake pan although you might want to line the pan with parchment paper for easier release of the crust.
Wow, this recipe was so amazing! We had guests and they loved it!!
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback.
I found that I had to put my pie in the freezer, to make it meld better.
Hey Natasha, can I use the cookie part of Oreos for the crust?
Hi Elena, I haven’t tested that but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
Hi, Marie in the US here 👋. Just wanted to let you know that I just love Digestives and you can get them at Publix!!!
Thank you for sharing that with us, Marie!
Are you sure about the conversation of 18 grams of digestive cookies? Don’t think that’s 3 cups.
Will it affect the taste of this pie if make it the day before?
Fresh is always best but it should be fine the day after as well!
Hi Natasha,
Bananas usually turns dark after being peeled.
Will this affect the appearance of the pie at serving?
Hi Millie, The oxygen that hits the banana is what causes it to start browning. Because they are between the caramel and whipped cream, that helps prevents them from browning. You would want to have everything ready to assemble when you are slicing the bananas.
What are “digestive” cookies…. never heard of this before ….
Hi Nancy! Digestive cookies are sort of a cross between a cracker and a cookie and have a graham cracker like texture. Most grocery stores carry these cookies.
Regarding the digestive cookie- is there a brand I should look for? Someone said Publix carries it here in USA.
Hi Maureen, I link the cookies and a substitute in case you will not be able to find the Digestives that I used. Feel free to check out the links in the recipe as I mentioned them there.
I’ll be trying this for Thanksgiving and doing a test run just for me ;-). Thanks for sharing and thanks to Julia also!! 🙂
The Banoffee Pie is a gorgeous pie on a Thanksgiving table! I hope it becomes a new favorite for you!
I love your no bake desserts! Keep posting please. This and the no bake cheesecake was amazing!
We’re so happy you enjoyed it! Thank you for the great feedback!
This is such a smart idea! It simple but just perfect!! Caramel + cream + a cookie crust. I love everything about this!!
Thank you for this amazing review, Victoria!
Can I use a ready pie crust for this?
Hi Sarah, I haven’t tested that but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
I’m from the UK and the majority of Banoffee pies here are made with a pre-baked pie crust- I always do it that way.
Thank you so much for sharing that with us!