This easy banoffee pie is piled high with a graham cracker crust, sweet dulce de leche, slices of fresh banana, and a mountain of whipped cream. I made this for Thanksgiving and everyone who tried a slice absolutely loved it!
Ingredients:
- 1 and 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 10 full sheet graham crackers)
- 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 and 1/4 cups dulce de leche (homemade or store bought)
- 2 large bananas, sliced
Whipped Cream
- 2 cups cold heavy cream or heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar or granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- optional toppings: chocolate shavings, chopped nuts, or toffee bits for garnish
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
If you’re starting out with full-sheet graham crackers, you can use a food processor or blender to grind them up. Or crush them in a zipped top bag with a rolling pin. Mix the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and granulated sugar together in a medium bowl until combined. The mixture will be thick, coarse, and sandy. Press the mixture into the bottom and slightly up the sides of a 9-inch pie dish. Make sure it is tight and compact. Use the bottom of a flat measuring cup to press it down tightly. Bake the crust for 15-16 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes (and up to 2 days) before adding the layers. Meanwhile, make the whipped cream. (Next step.)
For the whipped cream: Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract on medium-high speed until medium peaks form, about 3-4 minutes. Medium peaks are between soft/loose peaks and stiff peaks and are the perfect consistency for topping and piping on desserts.
Spread dulce de leche on top of the crust. Arrange banana slices in 1-2 layers on top of the dulce de leche, then spread whipped cream on top.
Refrigerate pie uncovered for at least 2 hours and up to 1 day. Garnish with toppings before serving, if desired.
Cover and store leftover pie in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Make ahead tip: Cover the baked and cooled graham cracker crust tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before using. Dulce de leche, instructions below, can be made up to 2 weeks in advance. Cover tightly and store in the refrigerator. The fully assembled pie can be prepared up to 1 day in advance. Store uncovered in the refrigerator until ready to serve. I don’t recommend freezing the prepared banoffee pie because it doesn’t thaw very nicely, but you can certainly freeze any leftover slices for up to 3 months.
Dulce de leche: You can use store-bought dulce de leche, or use a can of sweetened condensed milk. Instructions: Pour the sweetened condensed milk in a pie dish. Place the pie dish in a large roasting pan and place the roasting pan in the oven. Fill the roasting pan with enough HOT water until it reaches halfway up the pie dish. Loosely cover the pie dish with aluminum foil. Heat oven to 350°F. Bake until sweetened condensed milk has thickened and caramelized, about 2 hours. Add more hot water after 1 hour, since some of it has evaporated. After 2 hours, the sweetened condensed milk has turned into golden dulce de leche. (If not, continue to bake.) Let the dulce de leche cool, then pour into your pre-baked graham cracker crust. You can make the dulce de leche up to 2 weeks in advance.
Bananas browning: If you are worried about the bananas browning you can squeeze a few drops of fresh lemon juice all over the banana slices before layering them into the pie. This keeps the banana slices fresh, especially if you’re making the pie a day in advance. With a small amount of juice, you won’t detect the lemon flavor.
