Wilkin and Sons have done it again! Another wickedly delectable product from Essex’s best-known producers of stuff to spread on toast. The people who brought you those amazing lemon, lime and passionfruit curds, and salted caramel spread, are at it once more. This time it’s a favourite in the UK and Ireland that’s little-known elsewhere… banoffee!
What is banoffee?
As the name implies, it’s derived from banana and toffee. It has its origins in banoffee pie, a cake invented in England in the 1970s. It usually consists of a biscuit base, covered in a layer of bananas in a thick, sticky caramel sauce, topped with cream. This flavour combination of banana and toffee really caught on, and now it can be found in ice creams, in sauces, and of course in this delicious spread.
Wilkin and Sons Tiptree Banoffee Spread is certainly something special. It’s ideal for adding to those long, luxurious weekend brunches. Some fresh, hot tea, steaming buttered toast, pancakes, waffles, a croissant or two, a good newspaper and a selection of spreads – now you’re talking! What better way to kick off a Sunday of doing very little?
Banoffee can be extremely sweet, verging on the sickly at times. But that’s not the case with this banoffee spread – sure it’s sweet, but not cloyingly so. It’s balanced out by the fruitiness and gentle acidity of the banana, so that the end result is soft, thick and dangerously tasty.
Needless to say, Wilkin and Sons Banoffee Spread is a great short cut for making your own banoffee pie. But if you want to enjoy the flavour without going to all that trouble, it’s also delicious spread on good old toast. Better yet, add a little to a croissant, or even put a (small!) spoonful on top of some waffles or pancakes.
Here’s another tip: warm it up just a little and it becomes more liquid. This makes it perfect for using as a syrup on ice cream. No doubt there are an endless number of uses for banoffee spread, as long as you can overcome the temptation to just eat it out of the jar with a spoon!
