Taste Test: Banoffee Pie SEPTEMBER 5, 2013 8:38 AM BY PURVA MEHRA

Banoffee pie at Salt Water Cafe The banoffee pie is one of those desserts thats so simple to assemble yet oh-so-easy to muck up. Too much caramel and it becomes a treacly disaster; not enough texture variation of pastry or biscuit base to banana, and its essentially a pie of mush. Its creator Ian Dowding swears by a base made of shortcrust pastry, though most swap it out for crumbled biscuit today. We went in search of the perfect version of this British dessert, which according to us, is one that gets the proportions of banana, caramel sauce or dulce de leche, and whipped cream just right. That, however, is easier said than done. The results: Busaba 4 Mandlik Road, near Indigo, Colaba. Tel: 022 2204 3769. Mathuradas Mills Compound, N. M. Joshi Marg, Lower Parel. Tel: 022 6747 8971. Also at BusaGo, 11, Gasper Enclave, opposite Golds Gym, Pali Naka, Bandra (West). Tel: 022 6127 8898. Price: Rs150 The South-East Asian restaurant chains banoffee is possibly as popular as its khow suey. This version, served in a cup, has alternating layers of biscuit crumb and homestyle dulce de leche that distinctly tastes of condensed milk. Our only grouse: it doesnt have enough banana. Caf Churchill 103-8, East West Court Building, Colaba Causeway, Colaba. Tel: 022 2284 4689. Price: Rs95 The combination of soggy pastry crust, a cloying layer of synthetic chocolate cream, and sweetened banana puree earned Churchills pie the position of our least favourite banoffee. Deliciae Out of the Blue, Le Sutra Hotel, 14, Union Park, Khar. Tel: 022 3313 0286. Also at First Floor, Haiko Place, Hiranandani Gardens, Powai. Tel: 022 2571 7000. Price: Rs160

Deliciae takes a rich dessert and makes it more sinful by adding chocolate into the equation. The circular mass looks like a whoopie pie with cream, caramel, gooey chocolate sauce and sliced bananas sandwiched between layers of dark chocolate biscuit. Its a bit too much of the good stuff even for chocoholics like us. Mamagoto WINNER Ground Floor, Gazebo House, next to Cest La Vie and Rays Pizzeria, Hill Road, Bandra (West). Tel: 022 2655 2600. Also at T-34, Third Floor, R-City Mall, Ghatkopar (West). Tel: 022 6640 1860. Price: Rs285 The right amounts of (Digestive) biscuit crumbs bound by butter, golden-hued caramel, evenly distributed slices of banana and a pool of pearly whipped cream are smushed into a glass jar. 1/2 Nido 21 Union Park, off Carter Road, Khar. Tel: 022 6770 6336. Price: Rs390 A fragile nest made of caramelised sugar, a pretty but unessential ornamentation, rests over Nidos elegant looking slice. The fine-dining restaurant reorders the ingredients of the typical banoffee, by using sliced banana as the garnish, over the base of buttery biscuit crumbs, thick caramel and whipped cream. The meagre slices of banana felt almost incidental to the otherwise excellent cream and caramel pie. The Pantry Yeshwant Chambers, Ground Floor, Military Square Lane, near Trishna, Kala Ghoda. Tel: 022 2267 8901. Price: Rs145 Chunks of ripe banana are dunked into a puddle of sticky caramel thats poured into a tart shell. The dessert is finished with whipped cream (far too much to make it perfect) speckled with chocolate dust. Salt Water Caf WINNER Rose Minar Annexe, 87 Chapel Road, next to Mount Carmel Church. Bandra (West). Tel: 022 2643 4441. Price: Rs250 The wall of the pretty-looking tart caves with ease and spills toffee-brown caramel onto the plate. Theyre careful not to use too much whipped cream and let the banana and caramel shine, and the result is delicious. 1/2 Yellow Tree Caf 33, Ambedkar Road Junction, Bandra (West). Tel: 022 2648 7800. Price: Rs205 The all-day cafs sugary banoffee has an evenly mushy texture thanks to a soggy pastry shell. A few spoonfuls is enough to induce a toothache.

Tags: Banoffee pie, Busaba, BusaGo, Cafe Churchill, Deliciae, Mamagoto, Nido, Restaurants, Salt Water Cafe, Taste Test, The Pantry, Yellow Tree Cafe 100 142 254 Comments (4) 1. kel | September 6, 2013 at 2:41 pm @stonethrower first before you be a pompous ass and yell at someone for doing their job. Caramel is simply a liquid made when you heat sugar to a certain temperature and thats it. Dulce de Leche you are making caramel by heating MILK SUGARS and is a form of caramel and is TOTALLY the same sir could you pay attention before you open your mouth? if you have an issue with someones writing how about you NOT read it. 2. Stonethrower | September 6, 2013 at 12:04 pm Once again an example shocking ignorance, poor research and being factually incorrect. Added to this is poor editing. Our worthy Ms Mehra writes, and I quote, We went in search of the perfect version of this British dessert, which according to us, is one that gets the proportions of banana, caramel sauce or dulce de leche, and whipped cream just right. Dulce de Leche is not by any stretch of imagination caramel sauce. Caramel is sugar or sugars which are heated and thereby caramelized. You could add cream and butter and make a caramel sauce. Dulce de Leche is a confection made by caramelizing milk and sugar. It is totally different. It is not caramel sauce. Can someone please pay attention? 3. Nicole | September 5, 2013 at 11:19 am For home chefs, try Sugar Rushs banoffee pie. Its incredible. 4. Reema | September 5, 2013 at 10:09 am

Im sorry but if you dont pick Pizza Express Banoffee Pie as among the top 5, its impossible to believe anything else you publish about Banoffee Pies.