Name: Banoffee Icebox Cake
Total time: 6 h 30 min
Ingredients: 4 ounces cream cheese, softened; ⅓ cup packed (66 grams) light brown sugar; ¼ teaspoon kosher salt; 2 cups heavy cream; 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract; 12 whole graham crackers, divided, plus extra crumbled for serving; 2 ripe bananas, sliced ⅛ inch thick, divided; ½ cup dulce de leche, divided; Shaved bittersweet chocolate

Why This Recipe Works

This no-bake cake reimagines banoffee pie, the British dessert of bananas, caramel, and cream, as a make-ahead icebox cake that sets up in the refrigerator while you go about your day. Whipping a little cream cheese and brown sugar into the heavy cream provides a billowy filling with enough structure to hold clean layers and a little tang to balance the sweetness. Softened graham crackers stand in for a baked crust, turning cake-like as they absorb moisture from the cream during the long chill. Dulce de leche layered between the crackers and sliced ripe bananas delivers the caramel richness the dessert is known for, and a shower of grated graham crackers and shaved bittersweet chocolate finish the unmolded cake.

Before You Begin

We tested this cake with both homemade dulce de leche and store-bought caramel sauce; either works, but avoid caramel sundae syrup, which is too sweet here.

Instructions

Line 8½ by 4½-inch loaf pan with long sheet of plastic wrap, pressing it into all 4 sides of pan; let excess overhang all edges by several inches.

Using stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip 4 ounces softened cream cheese, ⅓ cup packed (66 grams) light brown sugar, and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add 2 cups cream and 1½ teaspoons vanilla and whip on high speed until mixture is thick and forms stiff peaks, 1 to 2 minutes.

Spread ½ cup cream mixture over bottom of prepared pan. Top with 4 whole graham crackers in single layer, breaking to fit as needed (you might not need 4 whole crackers). Spread 1 cup cream mixture over crackers. Cover with 1 ripe banana sliced ⅛ inch thick (do not overlap), pressing gently into cream. Dollop ¼ cup dulce de leche over bananas and spread gently to cover.

Top with another layer of 4 graham crackers, remaining 1 ripe banana sliced ⅛ inch thick, and remaining ¼ cup dulce de leche. Top with remaining 4 graham crackers, then spread remaining cream mixture on top into even layer.

Fold overhanging plastic over cake. Refrigerate until set, at least 6 hours or up to 24 hours.

Unwrap top of cake. Invert cake onto serving platter and discard plastic. Top with crumbled graham crackers and shaved chocolate. Serve chilled.