The Collegio Pittsburg's student voice since 1916
Ingredients:
For the crust and pie:
1 and 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups dulce de leche
2 large bananas, sliced
For the whipped Cream:
2 cups old heavy cream or heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Chocolate shavings, chopped nuts, or toffee bits for garnish
Instructions:
Begin by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. Next, it is time to assemble the crust. If you are starting out with a full-sheet of graham crackers, you’ll need to crush them up. You can do this by either using a food processor to grind them up, or if you don’t have one, you can crush them up in a Ziploc bag and with a rolling pin. Once the gram crackers are ground up, mix them with the melted butter and granulated sugar in a medium-sized bowl until it’s well combined together. The mixture should be thick, sandy, and coarse. Once your mixture is complete, press it into the bottom of a nine-inch pan with the mixture going slightly up the sides of the dish. Make sure the crust is tight and compact against the pan. If you are having trouble making the mixture stay flush against the pan, try using the bottom of a flat measuring cup to press it down tightly.
Next, bake the crust in the oven for approximately 15 to 16 minutes. Once you remove the crust from the oven, allow it to cool for another 15 minutes.
While it is cooling, make the whipped cream. Using a hand-mixer or a stand mix fit with the whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract on a medium-high speed until a medium peak forms. This may take about three to four minutes. A medium peak is when the cream’s consistency is somewhat loose and soft yet still stiff.
Once you’ve made your cream, begin to assemble the pie.
Spread dulce de leche on top of the crust, then arrange the banana slices in one to two layers on top of the dulce de leche. Top the pie with the whipped cream on top. Place the pie in the fridge for at least 2 hours before eating it, then garnish it with your desired toppings before serving it.
Commentary:
This British dessert is one of my favorite pies. My mum, who is Scottish, used to make this for my family a lot growing up, so I’ve always enjoyed it. As I’ve grown up, I’ve learned to make it myself since it’s so easy. There aren’t many ingredients and the most time spent is waiting for it to cool in the fridge. For ingredients, you can use store bought dulce de leche, or you can make your own if you have the time. For the toppings, I personally like chocolate shavings and toffee bits, but you can add any you like. Other toppings that go well are chopped nuts.