Once R and I decided to switch our long weekend destination from Nashville to London, we both started compiling “must” lists in our head. Since I was sort of the designated tour guide, and Ham was more than happy to oblige my need to mosey through and hop from market to market, I have few specifics in my head for what I wanted to do. Being in London is enough for me. Good friends that are willing to hunt for good food is just toffee on the pudding. Or, bananas in the banoffee pie. More on that in a sec.
Ham on the other hand had two very specific requests: he wanted to see Waitress with Katharine McPhee and eat banoffee pie. I was fine with both of those things, but I had to ask, “What’s banoffee pie?“
Since I’m not much of a pie aficionado (because cake > pie), Ham gave me the low down. Popular in Ireland, this pie consists of a digestive biscuit crust, a layer of toffee sauce, a layer of fresh bananas all topped with whipped cream. Given that description, I was into it, and ready to join the hunt for my friend’s second favorite dessert (we had already managed to secure, somewhat unexpectedly, his favorite favorite, some flourless chococolate cake).
By Saturday night after having been to two markets, a pub and a restaurant without the aforementioned pie, I could tell there was a hint of sorrow and slight desperation that we wouldn’t’ find it at all. Nevertheless, we tucked into our seats at the Palace Theatre for a delightful story about, as luck would have it, a lady that makes pie. Whether to express joy or sadness, she finds solace in the butter, flour, sugar and salt.
The show was plugging along and at intermission, Ham got up to use the loo and stop by the concessions. As he made his way back to our seats, he carried with him little mason jars, and a huge grin on his face.
“BANOFFEE PIE!”
And there he had it. The concession stand sold two flavors of mini-mason jar pie cups, and banoffee just happened to be one of them. It capped the perfect end to the perfect London day.
Before the final curtain call, I knew that mini banoffee pie cups just had to be my vacation recreation.
So here we have it- so simple in both ingredients and execution. I went the extra mile (more like, quarter-mile) and made the toffee sauce from scratch, but I’m sure you can find a ready-made one to make this go even faster than it already does.
Because I came home with a tube of Digestive biscuits, I stuck to tradition and used that as my base. Because, here stateside, they are a bit harder to find, graham crackers will do just fine. A quick and dirty homemade toffee coats that nicely and freshly whipped cream finishes the whole thing off. Since this pie is very sweet for my taste, a little mason jar size is just the right amount for me.
Note that you will have extra sauce from this recipe, just perfect for, say, an ice cream sundae?
Just a thought.
Mini Banoffee Pie Cups
Easy, single serving mini banoffee pie cups, made with a digestive biscuit base, homemade toffee sauce, fresh bananas and real whipped cream.
Ingredients
- For the crust:
- 5 Digestive biscuits (chocolate covered are fine)
- 1 TB unsalted butter, melted
- For the toffee layer:
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 TB spiced rum
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (8 oz) sweetened condensed milk
- 1 whole banana, sliced into thin rounds
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 1 TB sugar
- Chopped pecans, to garnish
Directions
- Step 1 First, make the crust by pulsing the digestives in a food processor until they are crumbs. Add the butter and combine until all the crumbs are wet. Divide the mixture into 4 mini-mason jars (about 2 TB each), pressing the mixture down firmly. Set aside.
- Step 2 Make the toffee. To a small saucepan, add the butter, sugar and rum. Bring to a low bowl and add the condensed milk. Boil another 2 minutes, stirring constantly to ensure the mixture does not burn. Remove from heat, add the vanilla and let cool until the mixture is thick but not solid.
- Step 3 Whip the heavy cream and sugar until you get medium-stiff peaks. Set aside.
- Step 4 Assemble the rest of the cups by adding a layer of toffee over the biscuit crusts, about 1 1/2-2 TB. Top that layer with sliced bananas and finish with whipped cream. Garnish with chopped pecans and extra, chopped banana.
- Step 5 Let set in the refrigerator, about 1 hour. Serve at room temperature.
