Banana Cream Pie

It’s been a couple of weeks now that I’ve been craving for pies. It’s funny because I consider myself more of a cake person than a pie person. I must confess that I’m even usually a little disappointed when invited over for dinner and learn that we’ll be served pie for dessert (ok, maybe not that disappointed, because after all, I’m definitely a sweets person).

A little while ago, I bought Martha Stewart’s Pies & Tarts book, enticed by the picture on the cover (curiously, the same thing happened with her Cupcakes and Cookies books). I looked at the pictures over and over, drooling, and the book finally ended up sitting on my shelf since (once again, the same happened with its other fellows). But, enough! Today I decided it was time to start to make these books cost-effective: I made a banana cream pie! I don’t think I ever had that type of pie before, and let me tell you it is rich, but so delicious! The banana cream was so fragrant, and it might have been a little too banana-ey by itself, but the cream balanced it out perfectly.

I can’t wait to try another pie recipe from this book. In fact, I might as well make one this weekend. So many of them seem so good, how am I to chose, though? Should I just flip the book open at any page and just bake the featured pie? That could be an idea…

Recipe (Adapted from Martha Stewart)

Yield: 1x9 inch pie

Ingredients

Your favourite pâte brisée

½ cup sugar

¼ cup cornstarch

¼ teaspoon salt

2 cups milk

4 large egg yolks

2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

3 ripe bananas, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise

1 ½ cup heavy cream

2 teaspoons confectioners’ sugar

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Chocolate curls, for garnish

Directions
On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough and fit in a 9-inch plate. Pierce the bottom of the shell all over with a fork. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425^oF. Line shell with parchment and fill with pie weights (or dried beans). Bake until the hedges turn gold, 15 to 18 minutes. Reduce heat to 375^oF. Remove weights and parchment, and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Combine granulated sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk in milk, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until bubbling and thick, about 7 minutes (2 minutes after it comes to a boil).

Whisk egg yolks in a medium bowl until combined. Add milk mixture in a slow, steady stream, whisking until completely incorporated. Return mixture to saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it returns to a boil, 1 to 2 minutes.

Pour milk mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl. Add butter, and stir until melted. Fold in bananas. Pour into crust. Press plastic wrap directly on surface of custard. Refrigerate until filling is set, about 4 hours.

In a chilled bowl, beat together cream, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla until soft peaks form. Spread whipped cream over filling. Shape topping into peaks using a spatula or a spoon. Sprinkle chocolate curls on top, and serve immediately.

Banana Cake with Chocolate Frosting

Whenever there are ripe bananas at home, I use them to bake delicious muffins. When I was younger and still living at my parents’, I used to bake them so often that my sister soon got fed up and couldn’t even stand the sight of them anymore! Too bad for her, I continued to make them, using various recipes, this way they’re always somewhat different. To this day, I never grew tired of them (okay, I don’t always bake banana muffins, I also alternate with other flavours!) and you can always find some hidden somewhere in my freezer, this way they’re handy to grab and have them as a snack at the office.

This time, instead of the usual muffins, I decided to go for a banana and nuts cake for a change and, oh heaven, top it with a chocolate frosting. It was decadent! I even had it for breakfast… I got this recipe from my uncle years ago and it had been a very long time since I last used it. It was as good as I recalled! However, I switched his chocolate frosting recipe for a less sweet recipe since the cake already calls for a lot of sugar.

Ingredients for the cake:

2 cups of flour

1¼ teaspoon of baking powder

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1 teaspoon of salt

⅔ cup of chopped walnuts

1⅔ cups of sugar

⅔ cup of butter

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1¼ cup of mashed ripe bananas (about 2-3 medium sized bananas)

⅔ cup of milk

Preheat oven at 350^o. Butter and flour a bundt pan or 2 x 8’’ cake tins.

In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and walnuts.

In a second bowl, cream butter and sugar using a hand mixer (or a stand mixer if you have one). Add the eggs and vanilla. Mix thoroughly then add the ripe bananas. Slowly add the dry ingredients, alternating with the milk. Mix until combined.

Pour the batter in the tin and bake for about 30 minute on the middle rack, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Ingredients for the frosting:

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate (chocolate chips would do)

1½ cup of light sour cream (you could also opt for full fat!)

1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. When melted, transfer the chocolate in a bowl. Add sour cream and mix using a hand mixer. Add the vanilla, then continue mixing until light and fluffly, about 2 minutes.

I suggest you make the frosting only once the cake has cooled down because you need to use it right away before it gets too stiff. (You can wait, but it just won’t do a neat job afterwards). Then, just spread the love and enjoy!