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Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
Banoffee pie is the kind of dessert that has people genuinely asking for the recipe at a potluck. It’s an instant crowd-pleaser, combining the rich, complex notes of dulce de leche with the mild sweetness and velvety texture of fresh sliced bananas.
While I enjoy the light, whipped creaminess of banana cream pie, it can sometimes have too much banana flavor for my taste—but banoffee strikes the perfect balance of salty, sweet, nutty, and buttery. Plus, it has a fun—and memorable—name! Here’s what makes it special.
What is Banoffee Pie?
Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
Banoffee pie consists of three layers: creamy dulce de leche, sliced bananas, and fluffy mounds of whipped cream. Combining qualities of light, creamy banana cream pie with rich, toasty notes of classic English toffee, some recipes for Banoffee pie sprinkle shaved chocolate or cocoa over the whipped cream to tie all of the flavors together.
The best part? It’s only about five ingredients: Melted butter and graham cracker crumbs form a no-bake crust, while layers of rich, decadent dulce de leche, banana slices, and whipped cream fill out the bulk of the pie.
The History of Banoffee Pie
Developed by Nigel Mackenzie and Ian Dowding in 1971 for the Hungry Monk restaurant in Southport, United Kingdom, this quirky English dessert actually began as an attempt to recreate a popular treat from a (now-closed) San Francisco pastry shop: Mackenzie and Dowding tried to make their own version of Blum’s popular “Coffee Toffee Pie," but did not have much success.
According to The Telegraph, the recipe quickly evolved into something entirely new: The pair experimented with adding different fruits to a toffee pudding pie until they discovered that creamy, tropical banana perfectly complemented the caramel notes. Their uniquely English dessert—with a name of its own—soon gained a devoted following.
While most recipes today use a buttery graham cracker crust to hold the pie together, the original version at the Hungry Monk used a classic butter pastry—more like a tart.
18 Vintage Pies From Grandma's Recipe Box
What Does Banoffee Mean?
Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
Banoffee is a portmanteau of “banana” and “toffee.” While it may seem like it has a long and storied history, it wasn’t until Mackenzie and Dowding developed the titular recipe in the early 1970s that the word “banoffee” first appeared! The dessert became so popular that it’s now a household term across the UK and beyond—not to mention a Blue Ribbon County Fair winner for one of our readers.
What the All Recipes Community Says about Banoffee Pie
- “This pie is still popular in the UK (my husband and I traveled to Ireland in August, 2012). After I came home, I had to make this for my husband and his all-Irish family. The first one lasted all of about 2 minutes, which was about the time it took to slice it all into about 12 pieces!” —corinaesq
- “As a Brit who works in hospitality I can confirm this is indeed a national favourite…We don't have Graham crackers in the UK, [so] our equivalent would be crushed digestives.” —CaringGhee7424
- “1st place winner at our county fair. Easy to make. 2nd time I made it, I used the crumbs of leftover scones in place of the graham crackers and it worked great.” —Carolyn Stout
Get the recipe: Banoffee Pie
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