When The Hart in Marylebone opened last autumn, it debuted a banoffee pie made with digestive biscuit, dark muscovado toffee, fresh banana and banana crème diplomat with Chantilly cream and grated chocolate on top. The Hawksmoor restaurants have recently introduced a version featuring dulce de leche and banana compote with whisky and mascarpone cream, while Tom Booton, formerly of The Grill at The Dorchester, is developing a version for his new restaurant opening in Belgravia in early summer. The pie is said to be still in development, but is likely to contain a caramel infused with smashed bananas, cream cheese and pecans.
Banoffee pie has long been a staple of home cooks, bakeries and diners. The version at Bubby’s in New York, for instance, is legendary. But with a return to comfort and familiarity in modern dining, it fits perfectly on upscale restaurant menus too. “It’s playful, nostalgic and a bit messy in the best way,” says Hawksmoor co-founder Huw Gott. “A cheeky dessert you can be sure will sell,” says Booton.
The banoffee pie was invented in 1971 by Ian Dowding, chef at The Hungry Monk restaurant in Jevington, East Sussex. It was inspired by a San Franciscan recipe known as Blum’s coffee toffee pie but using a soft toffee made from dulce de leche, condensed milk that has been boiled in the can for several hours. “Apple was quite good, mandarin was downright disgusting,” wrote Dowding of his experiments with fruit. “But the day we made it with a layer of banana, I knew I had cracked it.” He finished the pie with coffee-flavoured whipped cream made ’70s-style with instant coffee granules.
