step-by-step recipe :: banana cream pie

hi ladies, feeling good? it’s friday!!!!! oh i am thrilled to be friday! i know, i know “but you’re unemployed, every day is the same to you!”… well, first, i understand that you can think that way, second, no, they are not, they are actually quite different… and i work full-time to get my {etsy shops} better and better! oh, forgot to mention, but yesterday i hit my 40th sale! yay for me! welll, i think i deserve a prize, don’t you think? yes! i knew i could count on you! so, as a prize i want something sweet… something i can eat. you got it, i am teasing you because today i have a delicious recipe to share with you. a few weeks ago i was browsing and tweeting and found her blog… look at this name…. {lick my spoon}… and i knew i had to get in touch with this lady! her name is stephanie… and she is really a nice gal!

 

stephanie suggested {banana cream pie} and this one was actually between my favourites from her blog… so here we go! prepare yourselves, this should be a long, yet delicious, journey!

what is the recipe?
banana cream pie

note from the cook:
this pie is pure homey indulgence.  it is made with a classic golden graham cracker crust coated with dark chocolate ganache, sweet bananas, thick vanilla-specked pastry cream, and pillows of soft whipped cream swirled with salted caramel.

ingredients:
graham cracker crust
1 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs (10 or 11 whole crackers)
1 teaspoon sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

ganache layer
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 ounces bitter sweet chocolate (about 1/2 cup chocolate chips)

pastry cream
1 2/3 cups whole milk
¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped out and reserved
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

salted caramel sauce
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon water
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel (or kosher salt)

for assembly
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
3 medium bananas

how do we make it?
make the crust…
preheat the oven to 325f/160ºc.  combine the crumbs and sugar in a bowl.  add the butter and mix until the crumbs are moistened.  pour the mixture into a 9-inch pie pan and use a flat-bottomed cup to press the crumbs evenly over the bottom; press it up the sides with your fingers.  the edges of the shell will be crumbly.  bake until lightly browned, 10-12 minutes.  cool completely.

make the ganache…
set the chocolate into a bowl. heat the heavy cream to boiling point and pour over the chocolate. let stand a couple of minutes and gently stir until fully incorporated and glossy.  it should be the consistency of warmed chocolate syrup.  cool to room temperature.

pour over the cooled pie crust and refrigerate.

make the pastry cream…

combine the milk, ¼ cup of sugar, and the vanilla bean and seeds in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat.  (tip:  if the vanilla bean is hardened, throw the entire bean in the saucepan so that it softens as the milk warms up.  once it’s pliable again, fish it out, split it in half, and scrape the seeds out.  add it all back into the saucepan until the mixture simmers.) when the milk comes to a simmer, strain out the vanilla bean pods.

in a small bowl, sift the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar together with the cornstarch.  in a large bowl, whisk together the egg and yolks. add the cornstarch mixture to the eggs and whisk until well combined.  while whisking, slowly pour in about one-quarter of the milk to temper the egg mixture.

transfer this mixture to the saucepan, set over low heat, and simmer, whisking constantly, until it reaches the consistency of thick pudding (be careful not to curdle the eggs).

remove from the heat and stir in the butter until incorporated.  if the mixture isn’t quite as smooth as you’d like, you can always run it through a sieve.

pour into a shallow bowl, place plastic wrap directly on the surface, and chill.

make the caramel sauce…
in a heavy saucepan set over medium-high heat, stir together sugar and water, and bring to a boil. let boil until amber-colored. once it starts taking on color, keep a close eye because it will turn quickly.

immediately add butter and stir to incorporate. remove from heat, add cream and salt (be careful, it will splatter), and mix well.  it should be smooth and have a syrup-like consistency.  let cool to room temperature.

to assemble…

using an electric mixer or a whisk, whip the heavy cream into peaks.  add powdered sugar and incorporate.  transfer the pastry cream to a large bowl and whisk until smooth.  fold in about half of the whipped cream.

line the bottom of the pie crust with a layer of bananas (approximately two bananas sliced into rounds).  with the remaining banana, slice half if it into rounds for garnish, and roughly chop the other half to fold into the pastry cream.

drizzle a thin layer of caramel sauce over the bananas.

spoon the pastry cream evenly into the crust.  mound the remaining whipped cream on top.

drizzle some caramel sauce over the whipped cream, swirling it decoratively.  decorate with remaining banana slices.

dear kitchen…
“you never let me down when i’m throwing a dinner party for dear friends, baking a sweet treat for my honey, or searching for something to satisfy those midnight munchies.  you comfort me with the hum of the oven heating up, and relax me with the steady chop chop chop of my knife on the cutting board.  now if only you could be self-cleaning…”

wasn’t this a delicious moment? oh… now i am heading to my lunch, which is not sweet of course… but i would love to have a piece of this as a dessert. maybe a banana will do the thing! ah! oh, you can also browse through more recipes that stephanie shares on her {blog}!

images: lick my spoon