The first time I had Banoffee pie was years ago after my final year exam. That evening I went out with my Malaysian friend to a restaurant in Covent Garden. We only went there for a glass of rosé and a dessert. I still remember the ambiance of that restaurant very clearly, long candles inserted into emptied old wine bottles which were placed along the staircase and windows, the melting wax dripped on the sides of the bottles, very mysterious I felt at that time.
Looking into the dessert menu, the name and description of banoffee pie intrigued me most so I order that and it became one of the most unforgetable desserts or puddings (in British saying) ever since. There is rumor that this is Mrs. Thatcher’s favorite pudding! Unfortunately that restaurant no longer exists, I had tried banoffee pie elsewhere but it was never that good. Since this pie needs to be consumed fairly quick as the top cream layer will not stand or it will flop over time. Therefore I think some restaurants put some gelatin in the whipped cream and let it stand better which I do not like at all, I can tell immediately when it contains gelatin.
I have wanted to make this dessert for a long time but I found making the caramel from boiling cans of condensed milk sounds rather dangerous to me and also time consuming. Until recently when I was in UK, I found ready-made Carnation Caramel (Dulce de leche) is available in the supermarkets, so without hesitation, I bought a can to try. It came out to be so much more efficient and fuss free to prepare this pudding.
So I made this yesterday for Peter’s birthday and it was so divine that every one kept making “hmmmm” while eating, they all agreed that this is an indulgent dessert. Since this is a very rich and scrumptious pudding, it’s ideal to make for special occasions.
For recipe:
