Banoffee Pie Cups
The much loved banana toffee pie made even simpler in cute little individual cups! With layers of digestive biscuit crust, dulce de leche, banana slices and whipped cream, this no-bake “pie” is dangerously delicious and a cinch to make!
If you’ve never heard of Banoffee Pie, be prepared to discover your new dessert weakness.
If you have…then high chances are, your eyes light up whenever you see one, and the only way to get you to stop eating it, is by forcing your plate away #TrueStory.
Banoffee Pie is arguably one of the best British creations, that combines sweet, sliced fresh bananas and clouds of whipped cream that sits on top of a velvety toffee filling, cradled by a crunchy bed of cookie crust.
Think banana cream pie, only 100X better.
Why?
Because of this….
Dulce (Danger) Leche!
I don’t know about you, but I’ll take a filling of luscious dulce de leche over pastry cream any given day.
It’s what puts the “TOFFEE” in”banOFFEE.” It’s the STAR of the pie!
Unlike any caramel or toffee sauce you’ve had, this toffee (dulce de leche) is far luxurious. It’s Spanish for candy of milk or milk jam. So you could imagine how thick and rich and creamy it feels on the tongue. What I love most about it though, is that its not as sweet as caramel, which means you could eat it by the spoonful without having your teeth fall out. I’m in love with this stuff and its milky undertones, and want to put it over EVERYTHING. Facial?
Oh and did I mention that its made from just ONE ingredient?!
That’s right! It’s made by heating the heck out of a can of sweetened condensed milk until it magically turns into this glorious liquid gold.
And aaaannnnd…if you’re lucky enough to live in an area where they sell ready-made dulce de leche in supermarkets, Trader Joes’ I’m looking at you! (Ummm…I’m just a tiny bit jealous), then you could totally skip the heating process and get right to layering the dessert. Which makes it the fastest dessert in town!
What I did here is deconstructed the famous pie into little personal size cups.
The thing is, I’ve seen the kind of destruction that happens to this pie at gatherings and how unattractively it gets scooped up on plates, instead of getting cut in neat slices. I couldn’t help but cringe the last time I saw the dessert massacre, and that’s when I got the Ah-haaaaa moment of making it in cups! And doesn’t everything look infinitely cuter in small packages?! Ughhh…imagine this in tiny shot glasses?! OR MASON JARS?! Cuteness overload!
Speaking of small…If you’re a normal human being of average appetite, very little greed and decent table manners, then make single layer cups like the ones below. It’s the right thing to do, if we’re being completely honest here.
But if you’re the kind of person who either goes BIG or GOES HOME! Then…I’m not gonna stand in your way…Do the double decker!
So how do we do it…
We first start with the toffee filling.
Baking Nerd Alert!
Like everything I share here with you, I tested several methods for making the filling, mainly to give you the best outcome, but in large part, I just wanted to get around boiling the can of sweetened condensed milk for hours.
I tried several versions of a popular shortcut method, where condensed milk gets cooked with butter and sugar (brown in most recipes) for about 10 minutes, until the the mixture gets deeper in color, caramalizes and thickens. Verdict: Naaaaaaah! Through this method, the mixture never really reaches that super caramelized stage where the flavor actually tastes like toffee. It still pretty much tasted like condensed milk to me. Not that condensed milk is bad…I mean I LOVE condensed milk, but it’s not what we’re after here. I’ve also noticed that the filling firms up too much to the extent of being chewy.
With that experience behind, I knew that I had to go back to making proper dulce de leche. In my research I learned that there are several quicker, safer methods of making dulce de leche. I tried the one where the condensed milk gets emptied in a dish, covered with foil, then the gets transferred to a roasting pan filled with water. The whole thing goes into the oven for about 1 hour. Kinda like making creme brûlée. Verdict: One hour wasn’t enough to caramelise it. So when I extended the cooking period to 2 hours, it did caramelize a bit more, but nothing comparable to the boiling can method. The main problem though, is that the texture got all screwed up. It dried out and got stiff. I think its due to a lot of water evaporating from it.
The third method I experimented with, is cooking already made dulce de leche with butter and brown sugar. It is believed by the source that it adds more depth of flavor and extra stability. Verdict: I found that it added unnecessary sweetness and a grainy texture from some of the sugar granules that didn’t dissolve in the dulce.
So…from that my dear friends, we learn that nothing beats the old school way…so boil that darn can! Or buy ready made ones…sob sob😢
Now I know its time consuming and I’m aware of the danger associated with it, and for that reason I’d like to direct you to a slow cooker method, which people swear by and is less involved. As for the rest of us, who don’t own a slow cooker, follow The Pioneer Woman’s way.
It’s actually quiet simple and there’s nothing to worry about as long as you make sure that the can is fully submerged in the water at all times. All you do is simmer an unopened can of sweetened condensed milk for 3 to 4 hours. Yup! Sorry? But I mean if you’re gonna do it anyway, you might as well boil several cans at once. They’ll keep in the cupboard for months and you can have banoffee pie in a moment’s notice. Also it might be a good idea if you make it a day ahead.
VERY IMPORTANT: watch the water level every 1/2 hour to make sure that its at least 1 inch above the can. Seriously, set a timer! Be sure that the can is fully submerged in the water at all times, or you’ll be cleaning the ceiling! You will find that every 30 minutes or so you will need to add more hot water to the saucepan to keep the water at the right level. You will need to do this several times throughout the cooking process. Simmer the can for at least 3 hours and up to 4 hours for a deeper color, flavor and thicker consistency. I do 4 hours 🙂
Now tell me that wasn’t worth it?
With that done, it’s all about the layering now. So gather around your ingredients, because things will get fast from here.
A couple tablespoons of digestive biscuits crumbs mixed with butter and sugar, gets pressed into the bottom of the cups. I like to use the bottom of a clean spice bottle to compress it well.
Another 2 tablespoon of yum yum goes in. Gosh I love using an ice cream scoop for EVERYTHING. I think it’s the most underestimated tool in the kitchen. This is a tablespoon-sized scoop.
After that, some banana slices gets shingled on top.
A generous swirl (or dollop, if you like things rustic) of whipped cream. This is where you’ll decide whether you’d wanna turn it into a double decker, or leave it “sin”noccent.
Let’s leave it at that point for now, because have I mentioned that I’m doing Weight Watchers?! 😇
Aaaaaand a few beautiful chocolate curls on top because since when is chocolate a bad idea?!
And voila! There you have it! A delicious concoction of digestive biscuits, dulce de leche, bananas, whipped cream and chocolate. I mean…with an ingredient list like that, how could it not taste good?! There’s almost no room for error. Unless of course you blow up the can of condensed milk 😜
Ok I’m caption-less here.
Seriously though…something about that Banoffee flavor combo, that makes me weak in the knees. Have you tried my Banoffee Pie Pancakes yet?! THAT’S INSANE! You gotta!
Banoffee Pie Cups

Be sure to use sweetened condensed milk for this recipe and NOT evaporated milk, which are often mixed up. Check the 'Notes' below for an alternate dulce de leche cooking method and more tips.
Ingredients
For the Dulce De Leche Layer:
- 1 (14oz/ 397g) can of sweetened condensed milk (or readymade dulce de leche like Trader Joe's or Carnation Caramel)
For the Crust Layer:
- 1 cup (4oz/ 114g) digestive biscuit crumbs, made from finely crushing 8 biscuits (graham crackers may be substituted)
- 2 tablespoons (1oz/ 28g) soft light brown sugar (granulated sugar may be substituted)
- 4 tablespoons (2oz/ 57g) unsalted butter, melted
For the Whipped Cream Layer:
- 1 cup (237 ml) heavy whipping cream, cold
- 2 tablespoons (1/2oz/ 14g) powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
For the Banana Layer:
- 3 to 4 bananas
- Chocolate, for garnish
Instructions
To make the Dulce De Leche: (Preferably prepare a day ahead or up to several months in advance (skip the following cooking process if using readymade dulce de leche)
- Peel the label off a can of sweetened condensed milk, then place unopened in a large saucepan. Fill the saucepan with enough water to cover the can by 1 to 2 inches. Place the saucepan over high heat and bring to a gentle boil, then immediately reduce the heat to medium-low to medium, so that the water maintains a slow simmer.
- VERY IMPORTANT: watch the water level every 1/2 hour to make sure that its at least 1 inch above the can. Seriously, set a timer! Be sure that the can is fully submerged in the water at all times, or else it could explode! You will find that every 30 minutes or so you will need to add more hot water to the saucepan to keep the water at the right level. You will need to do this several times throughout the cooking process. Simmer the can for at least 3 hours and up to 4 hours for a deeper color, flavor and thicker consistency. I do 4 hours 🙂
- Turn off the heat, then using tongs remove the cans from the saucepan, set aside and allow the cans to come to room temperature before opening. DO NOT OPEN WHILE STILL HOT. Congratulations! You have now successfully made glorious dulce de leche!
Chill the whipping cream equipment:
- To prepare for whipping the cream, place the bowl and whisk attachment of a stand mixer (or a medium bowl and the beaters of a handheld mixer) in the freezer. This step is optional but using super cold equipments, really helps whip the cream faster and more efficiently into perfectly stiff peaks.
To prepare the crust layer:
- In a medium bowl, stir together the digestive biscuit crumbs and brown sugar until combined. Add in the melted butter and stir well to evenly coat the biscuit crumbs.
- Divide the biscuit mixture evenly among 10 (5 if making double-deckers) small glasses or dessert cups (of 1 cup/ 8oz capacity); 2 tablespoons per cup.
- Using the bottom of a clean spice bottle, press on the biscuit mixture to compress into an even layer. Refrigerate until you prepare the remaining components.
To prepare the whipped cream:
- Take the chilled bowl and whisk attachment out of the freezer. Pour in the cold heavy whipping cream into the bowl. Using the chilled whisk attachment, whip the cream on low speed until it starts to foam and slightly thicken. Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract, then raise the speed to medium and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Transfer to a piping bag with your favorite tip, if desired, and set aside.
To assemble:
- Take the cups with the prepared crust out of the fridge. Top the crusts with 2 tablespoons of dulce de leche in each cup. Use a spoon to gently spread it out.
- Peel and slice the bananas into rounds of medium thickness. Arrange 4 to 5 banana slices into each cup, shingling them on top of the dulce de leche layer.
- Casually spoon or pipe some whipped cream on top of each banana layer. Stop here if you're making 10 single layer pie cups. If making 5 double-deckers, repeat the process of layering one more time, by topping the whipped cream with 2 tablespoons of biscuit mixture, followed by 2 tablespoons of dulce de leche, then banana slices and finishing it off with a big swirl of whipped cream.
- To garnish, heat the chocolate bar in the microwave for 10 seconds, then use a vegetable peeler to make chocolate curls. Sprinkle a few curls on top of each cup.
- Chill until ready to serve. Take out of the fridge 15 to 20 minutes before serving to take the chill out of it.
Recipe Notes
- This recipe can be doubled, tripled, quadrupled, etc to accommodate for the amount needed.
- Don't confine yourself to the size of cup mentioned in the recipe. Use whatever you have! Just be sure to adjust the quantities accordingly. Shot glasses would be so cute for a two-bite dessert. Disposable plastic cups would be perfect for big gatherings.
- For a shortcut, store-bought dulce de leche can be used instead of cooking sweetened condensed milk. I've tasted Trader Joe's brand (in the U.S.) and can confirm that its heavenly.
- Dulce de leche can also be made in a slow-cooker, where the water level is less of an issue. Check out the slow-cooker method here.
- Since dulce de leche takes a long of time to make, a HUGE TIP would to be boil up a load of condensed milk cans at the same time. Once they are cooked they will keep safely UNOPENED for months in the cupboard. Once you have the dulce de leche on hand, this makes it the fastest ever.
- If you would like to take the traditional route and serve this as a "pie" pie. The same recipe could be adapted for a 9-inch pie dish. However, you'll need to make double the crust quantity. Everything else shall remain the same.
Dulce De Leche cooking process adapted from The Pioneer Woman.
Measurements Note: All recipes of this site have been developed using weight measurements. Although US volume measurements have been included for your convenience, it is highly encouraged that you weigh your ingredients using a kitchen scale to get the best possible results. Due to the sensitive nature of baking, kitchen scales are proven to yield more accurate and consistent results than measuring cups. Enjoy!
This post may contain affiliate links.
All images and content are owned by Cleobuttera® and are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you would like to republish a recipe, please rewrite it in your own words and link back to the recipe page on my site. Original recipes and creations of this site are intended for personal and home use. Commercial replication or media consumption are only allowed with a written consent and agreement with Cleobuttera owners. Otherwise it is considered a violation of intellectual property. Thank you for respecting and appreciating the amount of time and effort that goes into creating free, unique recipes that make people happy.
That dulce de leche is killing me, yum! Love this dessert.
Dulce de leche is my new obsession❤️ Is it wrong that I want to slather over everything?
Woah this looks amaaaaazing! So there goes my no sugar diet!!
This is definitely one demolition dessert. RIP diet of any kind 😆
Hi, did you find Dulce de leche in the supermarkets here in Egypt?
No Mai, unfortunately. Had to do it the old school way. Please let me know if you do run into it😉
Hi, I cooked 2 cans of condensed milk for 3.5 hours but only the bottom part turned out dulce de leche and the rest is like nothing happened. If you know what went wrong please tell me🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 I still have 1 unopened can of condensed milk From that batch can I still repeat the process and for how long?
Hi Tsokonat! I’m so surprised this happened. Were the cans fully submerged in the water the whole time?
Oh my! That looks ah-mayzing, Tasbih! I really want to give this a shot, how can I not with your ridiculously amazing pictures! I’ve already boiled the condensed milk cans 😉 two of them for 4 hours, thank you very much, so my pantry is a dangerous dangerous place right about now heh…I might make it as a pie though, so I’m wondering how running the toffee filling is? Do you think it would be okay if I cook it for a little bit on the stove top to firm it up slightly? I don’t want to cut a slice and have a river of liquid gold to deal with (whaaat!?) Can you please suggest me a way to firm it up just a tad bit? The option of cooking it with butter and sugar makes my teeth ache ;p Thank you so much!
Hey Mahvish! So good to hear that you’ve already taken action!
No need to worry at all about the filling running all over the place. The consistency is more like a thick pudding not like caramel sauce. As you can see from the swirled dulce de leche pics, it takes the shape of the spoon for a while. So really there’s no need to do anything to it. Enjoy:)
Okay so I made this as a pie and doubled the crust quantity. Also added a few dashes of ground cinnamon and browned the butter, because… BROWNED BUTTER. As if that wasn’t enough, did a thin chocolate layer over the crust by melting 4 oz. dark chocolate with half a cup of cream. The whipped cream had a bit of coffee to cut down on the sweetness, followed by a whole lot of chocolate shavings. The verdict: There is not a crumb left! So good! Thank you for another amazing recipe. Oh, and like you said, the Dulce de leche was the perfect consistency. Can’t thank you enough for all your helpful advice, you are amazing 🙂
Oh my goodness, I almost licked the screen while reading the description of your decadent dessert! I mean seriously? Browned butter? Chocolate ganache? Double crust? Girl your my hero! Next time I make this, will have to take it to new heights of deliciousness like yours!
Hi 🙂
ok this may be a silly question but if i wanted to use the smaller sweetened condensed milk cans do i just half the cooking time? or still the same?
Thanks 🙂
Hi Linda! Actually it’s a really smart question that is leaving me puzzled🤔 To be honest, I’m not really sure although it makes sense that it will cook in less time. I think that if it’s only slightly smaller than just do 3 1/2 hours.
Hi Tasbih!
I love love this recipe! Just wanted to say that there IS dulce de leche here in Egypt, in Darb EL Barabra store in Nasr City. They sell it by the kilo and it tastes a lot like the sauce Mcdonald’s use in their caramel sundae. They have equally thick and delicious chocolate and strawberry sauces too!
Wow that’s amazing news Randa! It’s perfect for those times when we don’t have 4 hours to babysit a can of condensed milk. Thank you SO much for sharing. I know a lot of people will be so happy to hear that.
Hi Tasbih,
I’m not really a fruit dessert eater i’m more of a chocolaty person but i decided to do this recipe and actually EAT it. this looks amazingly DELECIOUS. i just need to know will it be ok to do it as a pie, will i have neat cuts or not. Moreover, what is better to use rotten bananas or yellow ones? please let me know.
Thank youuuuuu 🙂
Hi Nadine! Yaaaay for trying a different type of dessert👏🏼
U sure can do it as a full pie. I have the instructions for that in the ‘notes’ section of the recipe. It will cut nicely but not super sleek as the dulce de leche is kind of pudding-like in texture. But if you’re worried that it’s going to be runny as caramel sauce, then don’t be, it’s a lot thicker and much more stable.
Fresh yellow bananas are perfect here. Ripe but not brown, nor green either. Just the way you’d like to eat it☺️
Pingback: 19 Heavenly Ways To Eat A Banana – The Yahtzee Dope
Hi Tasbih .. My new secret
May I use the salted caramel sauce recipe you did in the peacan cheesecake instead of the ~dulce de leche~ . I hope it would give good results , please reply ASAP, and thank you in advance .
Hi Salwa…my new friend 😊
You could surely do that. Please note though that it’s softer & slightly sweeter than dulce de leche but every bit as delicious.
That’d be my pleasure ☺️☺️
Hi Tasbih,
Although we try to promote healthy, less sugary meals at http://www.mixandmuesli.com, I couldn’t help trying this one and it turned out G.O.R.G.E.O.U.S!!!
Thank you Tasbih for the awesome blog!
P.S. Your food photography is awesome
Wow Samer your website is amazing! You have some great collection of mueslis. I wish you were in Egypt:(
I’m so happy you enjoyed your little indulgent treat. Believe or not I’m a health nut as well, but never deny myself a little piece of dessert when it’s worth it. It’s all about the balance right? 😊
Hi
Would these be ok made 24 hours in advance or are they best made on the day?
Thanks
Hi Sara! Making it 24 hours in advance will work, but I personally prefer to assemble them on the same day so the bananas won’t change color and stay as fresh as possible. What you can do is layer the cookie base and dulce de leche the day before, refrigerate, then top with the bananas and whipped cream the next day. Hope that helps!
I’m embarrassed to say but we had condensed milk explode onto the ceiling. All seven cans. I had burnt condensed milk in every jam and corner of our kitchen, dining and as far as livingroom. Curtains, walls, ceiling, furniture all had splatter of sticky explosion. 🙈 Lesson learned. Switching to cooking the condensed milk in a slow cooker became a breeze.
Oh my God! That’s one sticky disaster. I love the idea of the slow cooker method…so much safer. If only I had one tho 😄
It was!!!! I found sticky milk weeks after in areas and cracks that I I thought it’d never reach 😆
Oh dear 😄
Pingback: Bananen-kleine Kuchen mit dem gebräunten Butterzimt-Frischkäse-Bereifen – Super Bilder
Pingback: Der erstaunlichste russische Honigkuchen – Super Bilder
Pingback: Best Toffee Dessert Recipes – Craft Ideas
Hey Tasbih,
Will I find the condensed milk cans in supermarkets here in Egypt? Is it common? And, if I didn’t find it, is there a way around this?
Also, is it completely safe if I check the water level every 30 minutes. I am scared it will explode hahaha
Hi Rana! Absolutely! I live in Egypt and have never had trouble finding it. It’s at practically every supermarket. It’s called ‘7aleeb Mokathaf Mo7alla’ in Arabic. Popular brands are Nestle, Bonnie and Rainbow.
If you make sure that the can is covered with water by at least an inch at all times, then you shouldn’t worry at all. The danger is when the water is below the level of the can.
Best of luck!
Pingback: THE MOST AMAZING RUSSIAN HONEY CAKE – Food Trend Mag
I made this tonight and it was amazing! I put it into coffee cups and it made enough for three 10oz cups. I made the caramel with sweetened condensed milk after cooking it for 4 hours. It was time consuming for very delicious!
So happy to hear that you loved how these turned out Alex! So glad you found it worth the effort!
Pingback: THE MOST AMAZING RUSSIAN HONEY CAKE – Mr. Bee Honey
Hi Tasbih,
I just want to ask if I can use Nestle Sweetened Condensed Caramel Milk instead of cooking the condensed Milk?
Hi Ala
Just my two cents 🙃
Sweetened condensed milk is basically condensed milk, and as lovely as condensed milk is, it isn’t anything caramelly, so it won’t work here. If you’re from South Africa, dulce le leche is called ‘caramel treat’ and can be found in most stores.
This blog is really written on a very useful topic. It made me read your blog. I must say that you have a good ability to write. The words used in your articles are chosen to convey the thoughts of the writer. Each post is nicely written, and the content is genuine. I like reading your posts to get good training in current seasons. Since you have good content in your post, readers are following your blog more and more. Thank you for sharing these details with us. I would like to recommend you to my friends who work with me on https://clubessay.com/cheap-essay-writing-service.