Banoffee Bars

I adore this recipe – its simple and oh so sublime. There is something so incredibly wicked about dulce de leche. It is satiny, rich and is a perfect foil for bananas, cream and a graham cracker crust. Banoffee Bars hark back to the 1970s and is an English pie or bar combining bananas, dulche de leche and cream on a graham cracker crust. The dulche de leche is simply sweetened condensed milk that has been caramelized in the can. Since I wanted to be able to serve several more people than I can with a pie, I chose to make this into bars.  Please note that they don't cut into proper, neat squares; they are a little messy, but I find that endearing.

While there are a number of naysayers out there that say don’t boil the cans of milk because they explode, I will say honestly, I have never had a problem. In order to caramelize the milk, simply place the entire can sans label in a deep pot and cover with water. Boil for 3 hours, maintaining the water level so that it is always over the can. Once boiled, allow the can of caramelized goodness to cool to room temperature and then place in the fridge overnight. It is then ready to use.

Banoffee Bars
18 bars

3 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 ½ sticks butter, melted
¼ cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
4 bananas, sliced
2 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk, boiled in can for 3 hours, cooled overnight in fridge
2 cups heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare crust by combining first four ingredients. Pat into a greased 9x13 pan and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool completely.

Place sliced bananas on top of crust and then top with dulche de leche. Spread the dulche de leche out evenly. Finish the bars with the whipped cream. Either cut into bars and serve immediately or chill for a couple of hours. Prepare to swoon.

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