The BEST Banoffee Pie Cups Recipe

The BEST Banoffee Pie Cups Recipe – The much loved banana toffee pie made even simpler in cute little individual cups! With layers of digestive biscuit crust, dulce de leche, banana slices and whipped cream, this no-bake “pie” is dangerously delicious and a cinch to make!

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE DULCE DE LECHE LAYER:

1 (14oz/ 397g) can of sweetened condensed milk (or readymade dulce de leche like Trader Joe’s or Carnation Caramel)

INSTRUCTIONS

TO MAKE THE DULCE DE LECHE: (PREFERABLY PREPARE A DAY AHEAD OR UP TO SEVERAL MONTHS IN ADVANCE (SKIP THE FOLLOWING COOKING PROCESS IF USING READYMADE DULCE DE LECHE)

Peel the label off a can of sweetened condensed milk, then place unopened in a large saucepan. Fill the saucepan with enough water to cover the can by 1 to 2 inches. Place the saucepan over high heat and bring to a gentle boil, then immediately reduce the heat to medium-low to medium, so that the water maintains a slow simmer.

VERY IMPORTANT: watch the water level every 1/2 hour to make sure that its at least 1 inch above the can. Seriously, set a timer! Be sure that the can is fully submerged in the water at all times, or else it could explode! You will find that every 30 minutes or so you will need to add more hot water to the saucepan to keep the water at the right level. You will need to do this several times throughout the cooking process. Simmer the can for at least 3 hours and up to 4 hours for a deeper color, flavor and thicker consistency. I do 4 hours 🙂

Turn off the heat, then using tongs remove the cans from the saucepan, set aside and allow the cans to come to room temperature before opening. DO NOT OPEN WHILE STILL HOT. Congratulations! You have now successfully made glorious dulce de leche!

CHILL THE WHIPPING CREAM EQUIPMENT:

To prepare for whipping the cream, place the bowl and whisk attachment of a stand mixer (or a medium bowl and the beaters of a handheld mixer) in the freezer. This step is optional but using super cold equipments, really helps whip the cream faster and more efficiently into perfectly stiff peaks.

TO PREPARE THE CRUST LAYER:

In a medium bowl, stir together the digestive biscuit crumbs and brown sugar until combined. Add in the melted butter and stir well to evenly coat the biscuit crumbs.

Divide the biscuit mixture evenly among 10 (5 if making double-deckers) small glasses or dessert cups (of 1 cup/ 8oz capacity); 2 tablespoons per cup.

Using the bottom of a clean spice bottle, press on the biscuit mixture to compress into an even layer. Refrigerate until you prepare the remaining components.

TO PREPARE THE WHIPPED CREAM:

Take the chilled bowl and whisk attachment out of the freezer. Pour in the cold heavy whipping cream into the bowl. Using the chilled whisk attachment, whip the cream on low speed until it starts to foam and slightly thicken. Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract, then raise the speed to medium and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Transfer to a piping bag with your favorite tip, if desired, and set aside.

TO ASSEMBLE:

Take the cups with the prepared crust out of the fridge. Top the crusts with 2 tablespoons of dulce de leche in each cup. Use a spoon to gently spread it out.

Peel and slice the bananas into rounds of medium thickness. Arrange 4 to 5 banana slices into each cup, shingling them on top of the dulce de leche layer.

Casually spoon or pipe some whipped cream on top of each banana layer. Stop here if you’re making 10 single layer pie cups. If making 5 double-deckers, repeat the process of layering one more time, by topping the whipped cream with 2 tablespoons of biscuit mixture, followed by 2 tablespoons of dulce de leche, then banana slices and finishing it off with a big swirl of whipped cream.

To garnish, heat the chocolate bar in the microwave for 10 seconds, then use a vegetable peeler to make chocolate curls. Sprinkle a few curls on top of each cup.

Chill until ready to serve. Take out of the fridge 15 to 20 minutes before serving to take the chill out of it.

RECIPE NOTES

This recipe can be doubled, tripled, quadrupled, etc to accommodate for the amount needed.

Don’t confine yourself to the size of cup mentioned in the recipe. Use whatever you have! Just be sure to adjust the quantities accordingly. Shot glasses would be so cute for a two-bite dessert. Disposable plastic cups would be perfect for big gatherings.

For a shortcut, store-bought dulce de leche can be used instead of cooking sweetened condensed milk. I’ve tasted Trader Joe’s brand (in the U.S.) and can confirm that its heavenly.

Dulce de leche can also be made in a slow-cooker, where the water level is less of an issue. Check out the slow-cooker method here.

Since dulce de leche takes a long of time to make, a HUGE TIP would to be boil up a load of condensed milk cans at the same time. Once they are cooked they will keep safely UNOPENED for months in the cupboard. Once you have the dulce de leche on hand, this makes it the fastest ever.

If you would like to take the traditional route and serve this as a “pie” pie. The same recipe could be adapted for a 9-inch pie dish. However, you’ll need to make double the crust quantity. Everything else shall remain the same.

Source: cleobuttera.com