Son, (and ugly, red-haired stepchild) of Banoffi

Banoffi Pie, a wondrous creation by the chefs at the Hungry Monk Restaurant in East Sussex, UK. If you haven't had the pleasure, it's rich, dairy laden, comforting, dairy laden, incredibly textured, dairy laden.. oh.. did I mention that it's dairy laden? Buttery short crust.. an ample layer of dulce de leche, bananas and a copious layer of coffee-kissed whipped double cream topping it off. It is, in short, mind numbing.

There are a lot of copies, adjusted recipes, and down-right criminal acts of butchery to the recipe. Some are good, some - well, not so good, and a few (by a couple of televised chefs) that only have a passing resemblance to the original...( graham cracker crusts......really??)

So, in the spirit of sharing, here is my take on the original. I call it...

Son of Banoffi Pie

Serves 10 (Seriously... slice it real thin)

Ingredients
2 Cans Sweetened Condensed Milk (here's the thing - the original recipe was created in 1974 - way before you could buy dulce de leche in a can. I would imagine you could just use a 10 ounce can of DdL, but my thoughts are that it still wouldn't be thick enough to hold the layer together.)
3 Bananas - Peeled and Sliced Length-wise into 3 slices each

1 Recipe Short Crust (Below)

• 2 1/2 Cups AP Flour
• 1 Cup Butter - Cold and Cubed
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Teaspoon Sugar
• 6 Tablespoons Water

1 Custard Recipe (Below)

• 1/2 Cup Sugar
• 1/4 Cup Flour
• 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Cup Milk
• 2 Egg Yolks
• 1 Tablespoon Butter
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla

2 Teaspoons Instant Coffee
1 Pint Heavy Whipping Cream

1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 Teaspoon Espresso Grind Coffee
1 Double Boiler
1 8" Spring Form Pan
1 Dutch Oven
1 Food Processor
Assorted Spatulas
Whisk

• For the Dulce de Leche
• Place the 2 cans of UNOPENED condensed milk in the dutch oven and cover with water
• Bring the water to a boil and boil for 2 hours - Be very careful not to let the water evaporate below the top of the cans.
• Remove from heat and allow to cool completely - unopened
• For the Custard:
• Place sugar, flour and salt in the top of a double boiler. 
• With a wire whisk, stir in milk until smooth. 
• Place over boiling water, stir and cook until thickened about (10 minutes)
• Remove milk mixture from heat and beat a little of it into egg yolks
• Return egg yolk mixture to hot mixture and place over boiling water. 
• Cook, stirring, until thickened.
• Remove from heat and whisk in butter and vanilla. 
• Continue beating until slightly cooled.
• Refrigerate and cool completely
• For the Crust
• Place all the crust ingredients into the food processor and pulse until it forms a ball
• Remove and press the crust into the spring for pan about 1/4" evenly across the bottom only
• Let the dough  lip up on the sides of the pan about 1/2 inch only
• Place the pan in a 400 degree oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes
• Remove and cool
• Topping:
• In a small mixing bowl add the whipping cream, sugar and instant coffee, beat until stiff peaks form
• Set aside
• Assembly:
• Spread a 1/2 to 3/4" layer of dulce de leche on top of the baked crust
• Place a layer of sliced bananas on top of the DdL
• Spoon a 1" layer of custard over the bananas and spread to even it out
• With a spatula, carefully spread the whipped cream over the custard and top with the espresso coffee
• Refrigerate and chill completely (about 3 hours) before serving

Today was mom's birthday, and as you may know, she is among the 5% of Americans that are totally lactose intolerant - no butter, no milk, no cream, no whey... (no way!) It saddens me that there is a lot out there that she (and a lot of you) just can't enjoy because of dietary restraints. So, for mom's birthday, I made Banoffi Pie - Lactose Free Edition... here and after to be referred to as the Ugly, greasy, red-haired stepchild of Banoffi...

...it wasn't exactly one of my finest hours.

The recipe is still going to need some tweaking:
The caramel layer is still too loose to be served chilled. I had to pop it into the freezer to  tighten up the  caramel enough to cut it.
The mock whipped cream topping worked fine - but just way too much of it. I think it will need a layer of lady fingers above the bananas to add some more texture and separation.
Feel free to make your own adaptations...

Lactose Free Banoffi Pie (the ugly step child)

Serves 10
Ingredients
1 Short Crust Recipe (See Above - Substitute 3/4 Cup Crisco Shortening or lard for butter)
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup White Sugar
1/4 Cup Butter Substitute (I used Smart Balance)
1 Tub Tofutti(c) Cream Cheese Substitute
3 Bananas - Peeled and sliced lengthwise - (3 Slices per banana)
2 Teaspoons Instant Coffee
1 Mock Whipped Cream Recipe (Below)

• 4 1/2 Tablespoons AP Flour
• 1 1/2 Cups Shortening
• 1 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 1/2 Cups Lactose Free Milk
• 1 1/2 Cups Sugar

1 Large Saucepan
Assorted Spatulas
1 8" Spring Form Pan
1 Whisk
1 Stand Mixer With Medium Bowl
1 Food Processor

• Prepare the crust as above
• For the Filling:
• In a large sauce pan place the brown sugar, white sugar and butter and cook over medium high heat until the caramel is thick and coats the back of a spoon (about 15 minutes)
• Remove from heat and cool completely
• Add the Cream Cheese and stir to combine
• Set aside and chill
• For the Mock Whipped Cream:
• In a Sauce pan add the milk, flour and instant coffee
• Cook over low heat until the  milk mixture thickens
• Remove from heat, cover and cool completely
• Add the shortening and sugar to the stand mixer and beat until fluffy
• Add the chilled milk mixture and beat until sugar is melted and the topping is light and fluffy
• Set Aside
• Assembly
• Cover the bottom crust with the caramel filling
• Add the slice bananas in a single layer over the caramel
• Spoon the whipped topping over the bananas and smooth with a spatula
• Sprinkle with a little extra instant coffee
• Chill completely before serving

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