This banoffee pie is proof that you don’t have to give up anything to be vegan and you can enjoy absolutely everything on a healthy diet.
Banoffee pie is an English dessert made with bananas and toffee. In fact, the name ‘banoffee’ combines the two words. This banana toffee pie is one of those versatile treats that just steal the show. It’s fairly simple to make, yet is one of those uber decadent desserts that everybody loves.
The classic banoffee pie recipe consists of 3 layers; a biscuit base, toffee banana filling and a whipped cream topping. The base consists of digestive biscuits mixed with melted butter to form a pie crust. The toffee layer consists of a caramel sauce which is made by boiling an unopened can of sweetened condensed milk for a couple of hours. Some also use ready-made dulce de leche. The toffee is then topped with a layer of sliced bananas and covered with whipped cream.
Coconut whipped cream simply makes every dessert magical! I use it in Vegan Gateau Marie, to top my Prinjolata, as Chocolate Frosting and a whole load of other scrumptious recipes.
Is banoffee pie healthy
The banoffee pie ingredient list contains;
- Biscuits
- Butter
- Bananas
- Sweetened Condensed milk
- Whipped cream
As you can see, the original recipe for banoffee pie can’t exactly be listed under the healthy recipes category. The only nutritious ingredient is the banana.
So I revamped the classic banoffee recipe to a healthy banoffee pie that will have you begging for another slice. This easy and super tasty dessert comes super close to the real thing yet is healthy enough to eat for breakfast!
So what’s inside it?
To start off, I subbed the biscuits with a mix of nuts, no added sugar breakfast cereal, and sugar-free biscuits. If you want to omit the biscuits completely, you can simply add more nuts and cereal as a replacement. For the toffee layer, I used soft dates boiled in almond milk with a touch of vanilla extract and speculoos flavoured sunflower butter.
The sunflower butter is totally optional, yet the speculoos flavoured one gives this banoffee pie a really nice burst of warm spicy flavours. You can also use almond butter if you prefer.
To finish off the vegan toffee pie, all you need is two cans of chilled coconut milk. Make sure these have been refrigerated overnight. I like to keep a couple of coconut milk cans in the fridge for whenever I feel like making a healthy dessert that requires ‘whipped cream’.
The final result is similar to a vegan banana cream pie with added caramel sauce. If you like a strong banana flavor, simply add more layers of banana on top of the date caramel.
How to make caramel for banoffee pie vegan
Vegan date caramel is extremely simple to make. Dates are super fruits. They’re pretty much nature’s own caramel. Although these fruits are high in fructose, they score a low glycemic index, meaning you don’t get a dreaded sugar spike and crash after eating a moderate amount. They’re also rich in vitamins, dietary fibre and potassium.
To make the date toffee, all you need to do is boil the dates in almond milk, add sunflower butter and a dash of vanilla extract. Keep stirring the mixture whilst mashing the dates at the same time until you achieve a thick consistency that looks like dulce de leche. That’s it! Super simple.
How to make vegan whipped cream topping
Coconut milk has been my go to dairy free whipped topping. All you need to do to make vegan whipped cream is to scoop the solid part of the chilled coconut milk from the top of the can and beat it using an electric hand mixer until light and fluffy. Done!
How to make banoffee pie gluten-free
It’s fairly easy to make this recipe gluten-free. Simply use gluten-free biscuits. Alternatively you can omit these completely and just use more nuts and cereal.
How long does banoffee pie take to set?
You’d need to refrigerate the banoffe pie for at least 4 hours before serving. This ensures the base will hold and won’t be crumbly. I definitely suggest letting it set overnight though, as it’s miles better when eaten the next day. If you can wait that is 😉
Store any remaining portions in the fridge. It will hold for up to five days.
The original banoffee pie recipe requires quite some time to prepare. That’s because it takes at least 2 hours to turn the can of sweetened condensed milk into toffee. This easy banoffee pie recipe, on the other hand, will only take around 45 minutes in total.
One thing I absolutely love about this vegan banoffee pie is that it’s completely no bake. I really don’t enjoy putting on my oven in the midst of summer when the room would already be boiling. So I always opt for an easy no bake dessert when the sweet tooth hits.
A Healthy Vegan Banoffee Pie that’s so good it’s unreal!
Equipment
- Food Processor
- 25cm Springform Pan
- Electric Hand Mixer
Ingredients
Banoffee Pie Base
- 80 g Sugar Free Biscuits
- 30 g Breakfast Cereal
- 20 g Almonds or other nuts
- 100 g Dates
- 70 g Chocolate Protein Powder
- 60 g Coconuts
- 30 g Date Syrup
- 15 g Coconut Oil
Banoffee Pie Filling & Topping
- 2 Bananas medium to large
- 300 g Dates
- 1 heaped tbsp Sunflower Seed Speculoos Butter
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 250 ml Almond Milk or other plant milk
- 2 cans Coconut Milk
- 1 tbsp Coconut Sugar
Instructions
- Process biscuits, cereal, almonds, dates, protein powder, and coconuts in your food processor
- Add date syrup and coconut oil and process until you achieve the consistency of wet sand
- Press into the bottom of your springform pan and refrigerate while you prepare the filling
- Add dates, almond milk, vanilla extract and sunflower butter to a saucepan and bring to a boil
- Lower the heat and keep stirring and mashing the dates at the same time until you achieve a thick caramel consistency. You can use a hand blender for an even smoother date caramel
- Pour the cream pie filling on the base and top with sliced bananas. Refrigerate while you prepare the whipped topping
- To make coconut whipped cream simply spoon off the hardened part on top of the coconut milk can, add coconut sugar and whisk until light and fluffy using an electric hand mixer.
- Top your banoffee pie with coconut whipped cream and refrigerate for a few hours before serving
Video
If you use My Fitness Pal to log your food, you can find this recipe listed on the database as ‘The Healthy Malteser Vegan Banoffee Pie’ .
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This was the first time I baked a vegan treat and I’m actually shocked at how delicious it is! Will definitely be trying more vegan sweets in future 😋 Thank you The Healthy Malteser for this recipe!