Ewan Dalton, from whos page I first found a banoffee pie recipe had this to say about the banoffee pie on his recipe page:
"This dessert has become popular in the last couple of years, and completely adulterated by the likes of Pizza Hut and the supermarkets who sell pre-frozen variants which are a dim shadow of the real thing."I think this is a statement which all lovers of banoffee pie would have to agree with.
The banoffee pie itself began life as the offspring of a banana and some toffee. Over the course of its life, it has mutated and diversified, giving rise to such creations as banoffie, banoffy, bannofie, and many other offspring. This is an attempt to cause natural selection to improve the banoffee pie even further, and has resulted in some wonderful creations such as the banoffee pies served in the canteen from time to time at Robinson College, Cambridge.
As a result of this diversity, there are many recipes for banoffee pie. If you can't find precisely the one you want, find two which both have aspects that you like and try breeding them. You may get lucky and improve the species :-)
The first time that this delicacy was spotted in captivity was when it came to be
served at The Hungry Monk in 1972. The
recipe was devised by Ian Dowding and Nigel Mackenzie, and was often prepared by chef
Lucy Baldwin. The Hungry Monk still features
The Original Hungry Monk
Banoffi Pie prominently.
It therefore appears that according to the creators of the pudding I have the wrong
spelling. On the plus side this does leave the
domain spelt the “correct” way
available for the restaurant itself, although they don't seem to have put anything
there as of the last time I looked.
The banoffee links page is the result of my searching for references to banoffee pie elsewhere. I intend to add a proper comments page soon too.
Daniel Brown sent me this article which appeared in the Daily Telegraph, and claims to reveal the true source of this delicacy.
The banoffee pie is noted as the favourite pudding of the RCPS,
and the better banoffee pies must be rated as the best pudding of all time.
If you would like to add your own comments or ponderings on banoffee pies to this set
of pages, please contact [email address removed].