Banoffee Pie

I have something to share with you. I don't like bananas. As much as I try, I can't learn to love them. However, I dream about this dessert. Banana + toffee = banoffee.

I had never heard of banoffee pie until I had dinner at Allium in Hintonburg. There was a strange concoction called "Banoffee Pie" on the menu. I had to ask what it was and, when I heard the description, I was pretty skeptical but I decided to give it a try anyway. I've never looked back. Bananas, toffee, whipped cream, a cookie crust, and a little chocolate shaved on top for good measure. It's such a simple concept with such a delicious result. Banoffee has been popular in the UK for ages. I wish I'd come across it sooner. I've been meaning to attempt making this since I first tried it and today seemed like as good a day as any. Since having an entire delicious pie in the house isn't the smartest idea for me I decided to do what I do with so many desserts and made individual portions.

Individual Banoffee Pies

makes 6

• 1/2 cup graham, or digestive cookie, crumbs
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• dash of cinnamon
• 1 banana. sliced
• prepared dulce de leche
• whipped cream
• chocolate, for garnish

Combine graham crumbs, melted butter, sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. In a muffin tin, divide the crust mixture between 6 cupcakes liners and press onto the bottom and up the sides of the liner. Bake at 350F for 5 minutes and let the crusts cool before moving on to the next step.

Before baking

Spoon about a teaspoon of dulce de leche into the bottom of each crust and top with 4 or 5 slices of banana.

On top of the bananas, spread about a tablespoon more dulce de leche to cover the bananas and fill the crust. 

Chill the pies until you're ready to serve. Before serving, top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Enjoy!

Now that I'm aware of how easy these are to pull together I'm slightly worried that I'm going to want to make them all the time. Other than the banana, I have most of these ingredients in the house most of the time. 

Dulce de leche, or caramel, might be the ingredient that throws most people. It seems like a tough thing to make. I will admit, the discovery of jarred dulce de leche at Costco has been an addition to my pantry. It has made its way into a number of recipes and it's just so darned inexpensive. This giant jar is under $5. That's way less expensive than the ingredients for the equivalent amount of caramel or even homemade dulce de leche. 

Do you have a food you "don't like" but love in certain circumstances?