Banoffee Pudding

Bake #7 for 2025: Banoffee Pudding by Claire Saffitz

Banoffee Pie is a British dessert made from bananas, whipped cream, and a thick caramel, typically in a crumbly "biscuit" crust; the name is a portmanteau of “banana” and “toffee.” The recipe I used comes from Saffitz’s first cookbook Dessert Person, which is excellent. Check your local library for a copy or purchase here. Additionally, a full video walk-through is available on her YouTube with the recipe quantities in the video description.

Instead of a pie, she assembles it like a traditional (US) layered banana pudding. While her recipe turned out very well, I’ll personally tweak some things for next time. I think the Southern girl in me wants it to be a bit more of a hybrid with the (admittedly often over-sweet) classic banana pudding.

Quick takeaways:

  • It was my first time trying digestive biscuits, and I found them rather disappointing in flavor and texture. The recipe notes that graham crackers can be used instead and while Charlie thinks it would make it too sweet, I disagree and will probably still go that route next time.
  • The pudding was fantastic – very flavorful and not too sweet.
  • The whipped sour cream + heavy cream layer is unsweetened and unflavored, which I was skeptical of, but works well. I like the tang and stabilizing element of the sour cream, but I’ll definitely add a splash of vanilla to it. If using digestive biscuits, I’d add some powdered sugar next time too, but if using graham crackers, leave it unsweetened.
  • By pure chance, our store was out of cans of dulce de leche so I grabbed the squeeze bottle version instead (Nestle brand). Not only was this almost exactly the right amount needed for the recipe, it was infinitely easier to drizzle than it would’ve been out of the can. Making note of that for sure!
  • Lastly, the recipe calls for any glass bowl or dish with a 2-quart capacity. I had to guess a bit on what to assemble it in, but it worked out fine. In the cookbook, she uses a bowl and I definitely think a flat-bottomed dish will make it easier to get even layers. I also ended up having to improvise the layer quantities because the math and quantities didn't work out quite right. But it's a forgiving dessert assembly-wise, so don't get too hung up on that.

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