Banoffee Pie

The invention

Banoffee pie was created in 1971–1972 by Nigel Mackenzie and Ian Dowding at The Hungry Monk restaurant in Jevington, East Sussex. They adapted an American recipe for “Blum’s Coffee Toffee Pie,” replacing the coffee with banana. The dish became immediately popular and spread from restaurant to home kitchens. Mackenzie and Dowding were unusually forthright about the invention, giving away the recipe freely, which accelerated its spread. It is now one of the most recognisable British desserts internationally.

The toffee base

The classic banoffee toffee is made by boiling an unopened tin of condensed milk in water for several hours — the sugars caramelise inside the sealed tin, transforming the contents into a thick, spreadable toffee (dulce de leche). This method has safety risks if the tin is allowed to boil dry, so modern recipes often use an oven or microwave approach instead. The toffee layer is the structural heart of the pie — sweet, dense, and slightly chewy.

Assembly and variation

Banoffee pie requires no baking for the filling or topping — only the biscuit base needs minimal preparation (crushing and binding with butter). Once the base is set and the toffee has cooled, banana slices are layered over the toffee and generously covered with whipped cream. Variations include adding coffee to the cream, layering the banana twice, or using a pastry case instead of a biscuit base. The chocolate shavings or cocoa dusting on top are optional but almost universal.

International spread

Banoffee pie is now found in cafes and restaurants across Europe, North America, and Australia. In some countries it has been adopted as a staple offering. The combination of biscuit, caramel, banana, and cream has proven universally appealing, and it remains one of the few truly modern British culinary inventions to achieve global recognition.