Fruit

Call This Gazillionaire's Shortbread, Because It's Bananas

Whether or not you're familiar with banoffee pie, it's easy to be intrigued. There's little not to love about pairing together bananas, cream, and toffee. And it gets even more alluring when you pile it all on top of a buttery pastry crust. If you like bananas, this is the dessert for you. It's messy and gooey and crunchy and creamy all at once. There's sweetness from the toffee which is balanced nicely by the fruit and the rich creaminess of the dairy.

But really, why stop there? Banoffee pie is the sort of classic recipe that is rarely trifled with (see what I did there?). Such a simple template doesn't invite much creativity: People love their banoffee pie as is!

I'm trifling. Photo by Posie Harwood

Being myself of course, I've been on a kick to discover all the ways I can plausibly enjoy banoffee pie. I'm dreaming of banoffee pie ice cream, banoffee pie scones, and perhaps a banoffee pie bread pudding of sorts. And today I'm bringing you my first offering for the I Love Banoffee Pie Fan Club (t-shirts forthcoming, applications being accepted): banoffee (millionaire's shortbread) bars.

Shop the Story

Millionaire's shortbread itself is a very traditional sweet, too. Made by layering a thick shortbread base with creamy caramel and a shiny chocolate top, it's very sugary and very rich. But when you introduce it to banoffee pie on a blind date (in the kitchen), things go to new heights of delicious.

First date's gone pretty well, yeah? Photo by Posie Harwood

Start with the buttery shortbread base, which is a similar component of each recipe. Then make a quick and easy stovetop caramel with sweetened condensed milk and brown sugar. Pour that over a layer of fresh sliced bananas, then top it all off with a layer of dark chocolate. I finish these bars with a hefty sprinkling of flaky sea salt, which really goes a long way in keeping them from tasting too sweet.

Join The Conversation

Top Comment:
“Sweetened condensed milk and what basically amounts to almost a full cup of sugar in the same filling? That in itself is a sign this recipe will be one that will not be made more than once as well as being a recipe leaving cooks/bakers rather upset they most likely had to throw away wasted baking ingredients. Better to have added a recipe for dulce de leche instead, be it homemade or the simmering of sweetened milk tin. Also, anyone worth their salt when it comes to baking with chocolate would surely have an idea ( especially Food 52 ) if a spoonful or so of butter or other fat is not added to melted chocolate used for topping, and if the chocolate is not lightly scored before being left to firm up, the chocolate will crack ( as depicted in photo ) as soon as a knife comes near it. ”
— Joycelyn
Comment

Try them this weekend and enjoy all the glorious crumbs and messy fingers that result. And if you're also dreaming up banoffee pie dishes, tell me your inspired thoughts and we'll make them happen together!

Seriously, banana/banoffee fan club: share your ideas in the comments, below.

See what other Food52 readers are saying.

  • Joycelyn
    Joycelyn
  • nurture
    nurture
  • Tracy
    Tracy
  • Posie (Harwood) Brien
    Posie (Harwood) Brien
  • NYRangersfan
    NYRangersfan
I like warm homemade bread slathered with fresh raw milk butter, ice cream in all seasons, the smell of garlic in olive oil, and sugar snap peas fresh off the vine.

7 Comments

Joycelyn March 30, 2018
Sweetened condensed milk and what basically amounts to almost a full cup of sugar in the same filling? That in itself is a sign this recipe will be one that will not be made more than once as well as being a recipe leaving cooks/bakers rather upset they most likely had to throw away wasted baking ingredients.

Better to have added a recipe for dulce de leche instead, be it homemade or the simmering of sweetened milk tin.
Also, anyone worth their salt when it comes to baking with chocolate would surely have an idea ( especially Food 52 ) if a spoonful or so of butter or other fat is not added to melted chocolate used for topping, and if the chocolate is not lightly scored before being left to firm up, the chocolate will crack ( as depicted in photo ) as soon as a knife comes near it.
 
Posie (. March 30, 2018
Thanks for leaving your thoughts! Sounds like this won’t be making your list :) — Rusric and messy, yes, I don’t temper or score the chocolate for the topping as I don’t mind them cracking and being a bit messy but that’s just me. Bakers can certainly take the extra step to make a glossier topping.
 
nurture March 30, 2018
I was excited to try this but unfortunately it was far too sweet for my palate. Even my husband, teenagers, and preschooler agreed that it was saccharine. It started out well, with a basic shortbread and fresh bananas, but the caramel layer actually reminded me of the filling in a Cadbury Chocolate Egg! Which is not something you want a whole pan of. This is my first and last time using sweetened condensed milk. We threw away the whole pan of bars. A sad waste of time and ingredients :(
 
Posie (. March 30, 2018
It is VERY sweet I agree, I’m so sorry you felt it was a waste! I’m going to make a note in the recipe that people can opt to double the banana layer and the chocolate and use half the caramel so it’s a much thinner layer. Hopefully this will be the perfect solution for people who don’t love the Cadbury egg type dessert level of sweetness :) thanks for the feedback!
 
nurture March 30, 2018
Good idea to double the bananas and decrease the caramel! That may have been a better balance for our family. I always appreciate author's notes when trying out new recipes. Tips that help customize the results make the whole experience more rewarding.
 
NYRangersfan April 6, 2018
Ditto :)
 
Tracy March 29, 2018
Cannot wait to bake this!