By NEERU SINGH
I had my first bite of banoffee pie at a party years back.
Back then having a banoffee pie was such a big deal that a dramatic announcement would precede its cutting. People impatiently waited till they could dig into the pie. Those were times when a banoffee pie would be bought only for special occasions.
Things have changed now and the banoffee pie finds space in most of Delhi’s famous bakeries.
Here’s what you must know about this pie that was invented in United Kingdom. It was invented in the year 1970 and derives its name by clubbing of the words ‘banana’ and ‘toffee’.
The traditional way to make the banoffee pie is simple yet fascinating. The pastry used for the pie is the short crust pastry which is filled with toffee and finely chopped pieces of banana and covered with whipped cream on top. The pie is stuffed with toffee, bananas and cream and is garnished with chocolate flakes. An alternate way is to use crushed digestive biscuits for making the pie. Some like to add coffee or chocolate to their pies.
We feel that the crunchy, creamy, rich and fruity texture of this pie work well together.
However, the magic of the pie lies in the toffee. This is the delicious core ingredient of the pie and is also the simplest to make. One just has to boil a can of condensed milk in a large pot with hot boiling water for at least three hours. There is another method where one slowly stirs simmering milk and sugar together till the sugar breaks down and forms a toffee-like texture. For the lazy Garfields in the town, there is dulce de leche (sweetened milk cooked and ready to be used directly) that they can buy and make banoffee pie without any trouble of boiling or cooking.
There are many bakeries in Delhi which are doing a great job with this dessert but the ones that get it better than others are Big Chill Café, Sakley’s The Mountain Café and FIO - Cookhouse & Bar which serves Banoffee Pie in a mason jar with a biscotti at the bottom.
Banoffee pie has become one the most ordered desserts at eateries across the city. It is the simple, humble and comforting nature of this dessert that make it extremely popular.
There are many reasons to love this English dessert, but most people would agree that it is the toffee that does the trick.
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