Recipe: chocolate & caramel banana cream pie

A very extra banoffee pie

Banoffee pie is something that often featured at big family dinners when I was a child. My aunt would make it–a crust of golden crushed biscuits and butter, a thick layer of caramel, chopped bananas, and a cloud of whipped cream on top. It is a dessert that for the most part I’d left in my childhood; I was never a huge fan of it when I was wee. I thought it was too sweet, and maybe even a bit boring, so the urge to make my own was never very strong, until I saw the banoffee pie by June's khaoyai on Instagram. The mass of whipped cream on top was enough to make me want to recreate it. It also appears that my sweet tooth is becoming more insatiable the older I get, because all of a sudden the idea of banoffee pie, once too sweet and boring, was incredibly appealing.

This pie uses oreo cookies for the crust, but with the icing removed to cut down the sweetness level. On top of the crust lies a golden layer of caramel, then a rich dark chocolate ganache, fresh bites of banana, and a mountain of vanilla whipped cream to finish with a dusting of cocoa. It will convert even those that think they don’t like banoffee pie (me), and the whole pie can be made the day ahead and stored in the fridge–a perfect make ahead pudding for dinner parties.