Banapple pie
November 19, 2009 • Hello. I am currently out of the country and unable to respond to comments and e-mails. Rest assured, however, that future posts have been scheduled so new recipes will go live almost everyday during my absence. I'll be back soon with lots of stories and photos. Ciao for now! ~ ConnieFriday, May 16, was my sister-in-law’s birthday. A few days before that, a brother-in-law arrived from overseas from a month-long vacation. So, it was a double celebration on Friday. We had dinner at Ten Titas (rumored to be owned by TV personality Marvin Agustin) at Gateway Mall in Cubao and, before driving home, we had coffee and dessert at Banapple Pies and Cheesecakes along Katipunan Avenue. I wasn’t able to take photos at Ten Titas (it was a fast and furious meal) but, for the record, I enjoyed my kare-kare very much. I did take time to take a few photos at Banapple, however.
Banapple pie is a combination of bananas and apples in a pie with a caramel filling. I don’t much care what its origins are since origins never add nor detract to the flavor of anything but let me tell you what it’s like to sink your fork into the pie, lift a piece into your mouth and chew slowly, appreciating the flavors, levels of sweetness and textures.
The banapple pie has five layers — the crust, the caramel, the fruits, the icing and the shaved chocolate topping. As your fork sinks into the pie to cut off a piece, the fork goes through smoothly. As you lift your fork, tendrils of caramel swirl this way and that where a piece of the pie has been broken. As the piece of pie enters your mouth… well, don’t chew like crazy. Close your mouth for a few seconds without chewing, allowing you to savor the flavors as your tongue and palate come in contact with each layer. Then, start chewing slowly. I tell you, every layer of the pie has a distinct flavor. As you start chewing a bit faster, the fruits get mashed into the creamy-sticky caramel then they mix with the slight crunchiness of the crust and the subtle bitterness of the shaved chocolate. Oh my goodness, the banapple pie is a dessert to be savored. It isn’t something you just pop in your mouth and hope it fills your tummy. You have to experience it slowly and deliberately.
It was tempting to try the other cakes but we were really too full after the Ten Titas dinner. My daughters really just wanted coffee but, you know, it was too tempting not to try the banapple pie. I’ve read some reviews about it, some superlatives as usual, and I wanted to know how much were exaggerations. Paid reviews and free tastings hardly say anything negative.
The banapple pie deserves all the superlatives, all right, but the coffee is just so-so. We also ordered empanadas and a loaf of almond and carrot glazed cake for take out and, well, I didn’t find them too outstanding. I reheated the pies for breakfast the following day and the crusts were surprisingly good as though the empanadas were freshly baked. The crust is sweet and flaky — and I like that. The slightly salty filling of the tuna pie was a good contrast to the sweet crust but the filling of the chicken pie was not as good. When you have a sweet crust your filling cannot be just as sweet. An empanada is a folded pie and if you can’t tell where the crust ends and the filling begins, well, you might as well eat sweet unleavened bread without any filling.
The carrot cake was dense and the texture makes it a cross between a cake and a pudding (too much eggs, perhaps, or underbeaten eggs?) but the taste was good. Not too sweet and just the right amount of spices (cinnamon and nutmeg, according to my tongue).
So many cafes and bakeshops in the metro and getting really good dessert can be such a hit-and-miss thing. The confusion is confounded by paid write-ups and other people who get free sampling. I’m not a believer in fads, even with food. The more hyped up a place is, the more suspicious I am. We’ve been to so many of them, most were too blah to write about, and I still say that if you don’t want to compromise on the quality of pies and cakes, and you don’t mind paying premium prices, go to Hizon’s along J. Bocobo Street in Manila. None of today’s hip cafes and bakeshops beats Hizon’s.
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tried out the pie last mothers day, for me it was too sweet to appreciate. well maybe i did not savor the flavors slowly, as you suggest. i agree that hizons is still the best when it comes to best quality cakes.
You are making me hungry again. Chocolate and coffee are my favs. I can have those two any time of the day. And, thanks for the info. I will definitely try Hizon’s pies and cakes (and coffee too?) next time my wife and I go home for vacation.
Sounds yummy, Ms. Connie! Matagal ko pa yatang hindi matitikman yan, so I may just have to attempt it myself (wish me luck!) Is it kind of like an apple pie with banana and caramel with chocolate on top? Is it baked or a no-bake pie? Thanks!
if i have a taste for sweet,i use wendy’s pancake
mix, add banana to batter then cook as pancake, add thin sliced banana on top and fold into two. add
whipped cream on top, and drizzle with chocolate
syrup.some nuts will make it better.
It is homemade and deliz……
mareza
I think you’re talking about the banoffee pie. I don’t believe that Banapple carries a banana-apple pie combination, but the name stems from their two house specialties—the aforementioned banoffee pie, and the apple caramel crumble pie.
Really, Jo? LOL I can still remember the taste but talk about not paying attention to the name.
That means I gotta try the one with apples next time.
My boyfriend and I are always at banapple during the schoolyear!
Personally, my favorite item on their menu is their tocino. It’s perfectly caramelized, and the scrambled eggs are beyond creamy.
Their cakes are more craving killers for me than anything. Their chocolate caramel cake is fantastic one day and way too sweet the next. I really should drop by again one of these days.
hi ms connie!
so i was right! it was you whom i saw that night of may 16 at ten titas. you were talking as you walked past our table (right side of the resto facing the escalators). you said you enjoyed your kare-kare and yeah, it did taste good. but poor me, i would never get an order of sinigang na norwegian salmon sa miso ever again. all i remembered was the extreme sourness of the soup. lucky you, you even had a great dessert to cap the night.
Farrah, what a small world! Were you with the all-girls group? We were planning on going back sometime, when we do I know won’t order the sinigang. Thanks for the info.