John Cena’s Favorite Dessert Is So Vintage

While promoting the second season of Peacemaker, actor and wrestler John Cena made a video with Bon Appétit about the three foods he can’t live without. Among the list was a vintage dessert, banoffee pie, which Cena says he has every birthday. 

Cena’s three foods are a flat white, spanakopita and banoffee pie. When the BA staff placed their take on banoffee pie in front of him, Cena said it was “like looking at a bald eagle holding hands with a Bengal tiger walking down Fifth Avenue,” which is to say it is a rare sight for him. He doesn’t see the British dessert on many menus. He got into banoffee when he would go on overseas tours to the United Kingdom with WWE and, on their last day, the other wrestlers and he would eat “big vats” of banoffee pie with their hands. To them, banoffee pie was “like gold” and he said, “you could use it as currency” with the other wrestlers. 

While waiting to take a bite for the interview, Cena said not eating the pie right away was “torture.” When the mean interviewers finally let him take a bite, it was like the gates of heaven opening up. Musical fanfare played as Cena closed his eyes and savored his favorite dessert. 

He calls it a “gem,” and his perfect banoffee pie has a topping of chocolate shavings, layered with a heavy cream filling, bananas, caramel nougat and a hard crust made of Graham crackers or British biscuits, similar to a cheesecake crust. Some people also include nuts like peanuts, cashews or almonds. 

To make one at home, use barely ripe bananas so they have maximum sweetness while still retaining their shape. To really get into the British spirit, use digestive biscuits for the crust. Graham crackers are an acceptable American substitution. Plan to use at least one packet of Graham crackers or 8 to 9 sheets. Blend biscuits or crackers in a food processor until they are fully sandy, then add a tablespoon of sugar and at least half a stick of melted butter so it comes together as a crust. You can also add salt and vanilla extract for more flavor. Press it into a pie plate. Bake the crust at 350 degrees without the filling until brown and let it cool completely before adding the filling. 

If using nuts, sprinkle them on the bottom of the cooled crust. For the caramel, some recipes use dulce de leche, but an easy homemade caramel sauce made with sweetened condensed milk works best and tastes super rich. 

Slice 4-5 ripe bananas and arrange them as you like over the caramel. To make a very neat and even pie, try to work outside in and make concentric circles. Chill the pie while you get the rest ready.

For the cream filling, there are various methods. One involves whipping heavy cream and then adding sour cream and vanilla pudding mix. A more basic whipped cream includes 2 cups heavy whipping cream with ¼ cup granulated or confectioners’ sugar. No matter the ingredients, the cream should have firm but not stiff peaks so it holds shape but isn’t too hard. Spread it over the bananas at least until they’re covered and either smooth it out flat or create dramatic peaks with the spatula. 

Take a Y-peeler to your favorite bar of chocolate until you have enough chocolate shavings to cover the top of the pie to your liking. Dust cocoa powder over the top to create a uniform look. The example in the video had some sliced almonds on top as garnish, but you can also use more banana slices or, as the name suggests, toffee.

Chill the pie for 2 to 4 hours before serving. The fresh bananas will not keep for very long without turning brown, so it’s best to eat it on the day it’s made.

“Every birthday I ask for one thing,” Cena said. “A banoffee pie.” He says he has been eating an entire banoffee pie on his birthday since he was 25.