Guest Author - Karyn Johnson

Recently, I was asked to bring in my favorite international dessert for a meeting. I decided that the dessert I had to make should be English. I don't know why, since baklava is a favorite, and so is tiramisu. But sticky toffee pudding is also right up there on my list of favorite desserts.

But the thought of making any of those did not appeal to me. Eventually, I stumbled on the solution - BANOFFEE PIE! It's also known as Banoffi Pie.

This decadent pie is a delicious combination of toffee and banana flavors. It was first made at The Hungry Monk Restaurant in Jevington, East Sussex in 1972. It is rumored to be the favorite pudding of Margaret Thatcher, and was a favorite of Princess Diana's as well.

While the typical English recipe has a digestive biscuit base, the American version requires either a graham cracker or standard pie crust (I suppose, for a tasty variation, you could also use an Oreo cookie crust, for a bit of added chocolatey goodness, although this obviously makes it more American). Also, to save time on the filling, you can look for cans of dulce de leche, which are available in the Latin foods section of the supermarket.

Here is how I made it:

- 1 purchased graham cracker crust
- 2 cans sweetened condensed milk (14 oz each) (Recommended: Eagle Brand)
- 2 large bananas
- 1-1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Chocolate shavings or cocoa powder for garnish

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (218 C). Put a mixing bowl and the beaters from your electric mixer into the freezer to chill.

For the filling: pour the sweetened condensed milk into a 2 quart casserole dish. Cover tightly with foil. Place dish inside a large roasting pan, and fill pan with hot water - enough to come halfway up the sides of the casserole dish.

Carefully place pan in oven. Bake for about 90 minutes, checking periodically to fill up with hot water as needed. After 90 minutes, the condensed milk should be very thick and brown.

Remove from oven, stir, and allow to cool. (Note - do not cool in the refrigerator, unless you want rock hard caramel.)

Once the filling is cooled, spread half of it evenly into the graham cracker crust. Slice bananas and layer them on top. Cover with the rest of the filling, spreading evenly. Put more sliced bananas on top.

In a chilled mixing bowl, whip heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract with electric mixer until it forms into whipped cream. (Be careful not to overwhip, as you will turn the cream into butter!) Spread on top of pie. Garnish with chocolate shavings or cocoa powder.

The result: there was nary a crumb left on the pie plate by the end of the meeting!

Enjoy!