Behold! The greatest dessert ever!!!!

I'm not one to use hyperbole or exaggerate, in fact you might even say that I never do it.  But what I am about to share with you will literally blow your mind!!

It all started with my wife and I going to our new favorite restaurant, Coopers Hawk (applause).  After a particularly tasty meal we were eying the dessert menu looking for something to curb the richness of the food.  Picking out a dessert to share can often lead to "what you do you want? I don't know what you do want" (ad infinitum/nauseam).  Do we go with the Cheesecake?  Always a good bet.  What about something new?  What's this?  Banoffee Pie. 

To fully understand how new this dessert was to us, imagine someone trying to explain something in English to someone who doesn't speak the language.  In attempting to pronounce it correctly I think we ended up shouting it loudly at the waiter who looked just as confused as us. B-A-N-O-F-F-E-E Pie.  Doing this of course solidifies Americans as being the most obnoxious tourists of all regardless of the fact that we were in Wheeling, IL.  But I digress.

I don't always have a sweet tooth but if you say the word 'toffee' to me, I will be eating it before you finish your sentence.  Now combine that with God's creation of the 8th day, melted butter.  Melted butter, at the risk of sounding irreverent is a living example of Psalm136 "His love endures forever".   Mix up the butter with crushed graham crackers to make a crust and top it all with homemade whipped cream and fresh bananas and you got yourself a party.

According to British people, banoffee pie recipes vary from person to person and place place so to try and give you THE recipe would tantamount to tomfoolery. As good as it was at Coopers Hawk, ours is better.

Here is our go to recipe.

Crust:
9 oz. Graham Crackers
1 stick melted butter

Toffee
1/2 cup Packed Dark Brown Sugar
1 14oz. can sweetened condensed milk.
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

Filling
1 1/4 Cups Heavy Cream
3-4 regular bananas

Crust
-Line the bottom of a springform pan with parchment paper.
-Blend the crackers in a food processor until they are finely ground.
-Pour the butter over the crackers and mix well until the crackers stick together
-Press the crumb mixture over the bottom of the pan and 1 1/2 inches up the side of the pan.
Refrigerate

Toffee:
Place med. heavy saucepan over medium heat.
-Combine the sugar and 3 TB of water in the pan
-Stir over med. heat until the sugar dissolves.  Increase the heat and boil w/o stirring until the color is a deep amber, occasionally swirl the pan and brush down the sides with a pastry bush that has been dipped in water, about 5 minutes.
-Stir in the condensed milk and butter.  Continue stirring for about 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly.
-Remove the toffee sauce from the heat and spread 1 cup of the sauce over the crust and refrigerate for an hour or until the toffee is semi-firm.
*keep the remaining toffee at room temp

To fill the pie:
-Using an electric mixture beat the cream in a large bowl until thick and very soft, billowy peaks form.
-Very thinly slice the 3 bananas and fold into the cream.
-Spread the cream mixture over the pie
-Cut the remaining banana and arrange it over the pie.  Extra points for arranging the banana to resemble your favorite celebrity or historical figure.
-warm the remaining toffee and drizzle over the pie.  If you need to thin the toffee, add some milk to get a desired consistency.

To eat the pie:
-Cut a piece, a large one...there is no sense in being polite.
-Eat the pie.
-Allow your eyes to return back to their original position after they have rolled back in your head.
-Rub your stomach in a clockwise manner while saying "Now THAT was the greatest dessert ever!"

Enjoy....and don't forget to brush your teeth before you go to bed that night.