Salted Chocolate Banoffee Pie

caramel, chocolate, dessert, dulce de leche, Pies, recipes

posted on June 15, 2013 by Bianca Garcia

Sometimes when I’m making a sandwich, I think of my dad.

When I was in high school, my dad would help make me little breakfast sandwiches to eat in the car, or he would help make my lunch. And he would make the sandwiches the same way I make sandwiches now: carefully, evenly spreading whatever spread or condiment is being used, making sure that all four corners of each sandwich bread is covered evenly.

Sometimes when I catch myself looking at a little post-it note in my purse, where I jotted down a quick list of to-do’s (maybe a grocery list, or a list of errands I need to attend to for the weekend), I think of my dad. I see an image of him quickly glancing down at a little a scrap of paper in his pocket. He’s a list-maker, too.

And sometimes, actually most of the time, whenever I eat gelato, I think of my dad, too. When we went to Italy a few years ago, we ate gelato every single day. My mom took one of my favorite photos ever: me and my dad eating gelato, side by side, grinning and looking satisfied. You can see it in this older blog post I wrote for Father’s Day, where I also said that desserts made with bananas make me think of my dad, as well.

This is the first time I made Banoffee Pie, and I virtually dedicate it to my dad. Right now we’re continents apart, but because we are so alike, and because he is my dad, I just know that he’d love to have a slice (or two).

Banoffee Pie is traditionally made with crushed biscuits, sticky toffee (or dulce de leche), bananas, and whipped cream. But this recipe is extra special, because it has an added layer of salted chocolate ganache. Extra special, just like my dad.

Salted Chocolate Banoffee Pie

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
5 tablespoons butter, melted
1 (13 oz) can dulce de leche
3 bananas
3 cups whipped cream (from approximately 1 1/2 cups heavy cream)
4 oz dark chocolate with sea salt (I used Lindt A Touch of Sea Salt Bar; you can also just use plain dark chocolate plus 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt) plus 2 more oz, chopped, for topping
1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 F.
Make the crust. Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter and sugar. Using the back of a large spoon, press crumb mixture firmly on the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake crust 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven to cool.
Make the ganache. Combine 1/2 cup heavy cream and 4 oz dark chocolate with sea salt in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Heat for 2 minutes then whisk together until smooth and glossy. (You can also make ganache the traditional way - by heating the cream over medium heat until right before boiling, then pouring on top of chocolate, letting it sit, then whisking together). Pour ganache onto pie crust, and chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes or until the ganache sets or firms up a little.
Pour dulce de leche over ganache and spread evenly. Slice the bananas and place on a single layer on top of the caramel. Whip the cream and spoon it on top of the pie. Sprinkle with the remaining chopped chocolate. Cover loosely with foil or plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for an hour or so before serving.

Recipe

When I sliced into this Salted Chocolate Banoffee Pie, I realized that underbaked the crust a little and it didn’t set properly. One of my favorite things about pie is the crust, and as I scraped off the extra graham cracker bits from the plate and topped my pie with it, I thought of my dad, again. He likes pie crust a lot, too. I really am my father’s daughter, and I couldn’t be happier. He is my idol, my hero, and my number one banana dessert companion.