This past Sunday evening, our church had a special choir program and dinner. This is always an enjoyable time because we get to sit back and listen to the beautiful music the choir has performed during the past year, then eat a wonderful meal afterward.

This time we had shrimp and grilled sausages with corn-on-the-cob and oven-roasted potatoes. It was so good.

For dessert, choir members provided pies. Some were homemade and some were store bought, but all were delicious. And all were eaten.

My favorite pie there – or at least, the one that got the most attention for being good and different – was one made by my friend Carolyn Jolley.

I can’t say it was my favorite because the ones I tasted were all so good. But Carolyn’s definitely got the most “ooos” and “ahhhs.” Even the name got attention: Banoffee Pie.

Maybe you’ve had this particular pie or, perhaps, made it. But it was the first time I’d heard of or tasted it.

It won’t be the last time. In fact, that’s the recipe I have for you this week.

The name – banoffee pie – might sound deceiving. Or maybe it’s just me. I love coffee, so I assumed it had a coffee flavor. I was wrong – but not disappointed.

The “offee” part of the name comes from a toffee or caramel filling made with sweetened condensed milk.

A traditional British dessert, banoffee pie has its share of enthusiasts on this side of the pond, too. Banana slices, sticky toffee and whipped cream are layered over a graham cracker crust. The result? A cool, creamy treat that leaves you way too satisfied to do anything else.

When looking for a recipe, be prepared, there are many.

I chose two different recipes. Or, maybe I should say, one recipe with a variation.

The recipe calls for crust and caramel made from scratch. It’s definitely time consuming.

The variation uses a pre-made crust and caramel cream, which cuts off hours of preparation. Plus the pre-made crust and caramel cream are much easier and much faster – but maybe not as much fun.

This pie made its debut at The Hungry Monk, a pub in England, in 1972. Traditional recipes involve boiling unopened cans of condensed milk, but since that sometimes results in explosions, there are easier methods.

I remember making a similar pie in the ’70s. It might have been this one and my memory is Just. That. Bad.

I guess I was lucky because I never had a can of exploding condensed milk like some people (not unlike the pressure cooker explosions I can tell you about).

It does, however, take a long time (about two hours) to boil a can of condensed milk into a can of make-it-yourself caramel. By the way – I can sit and eat the entire can by myself. It’s that good.

But, enough of that.

Here are the recipes. I hope they turn out great. Thank you, Carolyn, for turning us on to this pie.

Banoffee Pie

For the crust:

1 stick plus 2 tablespoons melted butter
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon grated ginger\

Toffee filling:

2, 14 oz. cans sweetened cond. milk
4 bananas
1 1/2 cups of heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Grated chocolate for garnish

Crust:

Stir the melted butter, ginger, and graham cracker crumbs together until well blended. (This is important to keep the crust from falling apart) Spread onto the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Chill for at least one hour.

Filling:

To create toffee filling, caramelize the sweetened condensed milk. Pour the condensed milk into a nine inch by 12 inch by two inch glass baking dish. Cover with foil and place dish inside a larger poaching pan. Add water to poaching pan until half way up sides of baking dish. Bake for one and a half hours.

Once the toffee filling has cooled, spread half of the filling evenly inside crust. Slice the bananas and layer on top of filling. Pour remaining half of filling over bananas, spreading evenly. Whip the cream with the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla and spread on top of the pie. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Alternative method:

Buy a prepared graham cracker crust, get two cans of La Lechera (by Nestle) from the Mexican foods aisle of your grocery, and then to make it super easy, get some already whipped topping. Assemble according to the recipe above and refrigerate at least two hours. Sprinkle a bit of shaved chocolate on the top just before serving.