••••BANANA CREAM PIE••••

(Source: marthastewart.com & photo also)

INGREDIENTS 

• All-purpose flour, for dusting 
• 1/2 recipe Pate Brisee
• 1 large whole egg, lightly beaten, plus 4 large egg yolks 
• 6 to 8 medium-ripe bananas 
• 3 cups whole milk 
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar 
• 5 tablespoons cornstarch 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 1 cup heavy cream 
• 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar 

DIRECTIONS 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to a 12-inch round, a bit less than 1/4 inch thick. Fit dough into a 9-inch pie plate. Using kitchen shears or a sharp knife, trim crust so there's a 1/2-inch overhang all around. Fold under overhang so it extends slightly beyond edge of pie plate. Crimp edge as desired. Prick dough all over with a fork. Brush rim of dough with beaten egg. Chill pie shell until firm, about 30 minutes. 

2. Line chilled pie shell with a round of parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until edges of crust just turn golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove pie weights and parchment. Return crust to oven, and continue baking until golden all over, 20 to 25 minutes more. Place pie shell on a wire rack to cool completely. 

3. Prepare an ice bath; set aside. In a bowl, lightly whisk egg yolks; set aside. In a saucepan, whisk together milk, granulated sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Bring to a simmer (do not boil), and cook, whisking constantly, 3 to 4 minutes. 

4. Whisk a quarter of hot-milk mixture into egg yolks; whisk in remaining milk mixture. Strain into a clean saucepan, and cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until custard is thick and bubbles appear in center, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl, and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto surface to prevent a skin from forming. Set in ice bath until completely chilled, 30 to 35 minutes. (Filling can be kept in refrigerator, covered with plastic wrap, up to 1 day.) 

5. Cut 3 or 4 bananas into 1/4-inch slices, slightly on the bias. Beginning at the edge of the piecrust, arrange the slices in slightly overlapping rows. Cover with custard, using an offset spatula to smooth it into an even layer. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine cream and confectioners' sugar; beat until soft peaks form. Using a small offset spatula, spread the whipped cream on top of the custard. Refrigerate pie, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days. 

6. Just before serving, cut 3 or 4 bananas into 1/4-inch slices, slightly on the bias. Beginning at the edge of the piecrust, arrange the slices in slightly overlapping rows on top of the whipped cream.

••••BANANA CREAM PIE••••

(Source: Cookingchannel.com & photos also)

Banana Cream Pie

• 2005, Ellie Krieger, All Rights Reserved

TOTAL TIME:

3 hr 55 min

Prep:

35 min

Inactive Prep:

3 hr 

Cook:

20 min

YIELD:

8 servings

LEVEL:

Easy

INGREDIENTS

• Cooking spray
• 12 graham cracker squares (6 full sheets)
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
• 3 tablespoons boiling water
• 1/3 cup, plus 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 1/2 cups 1 percent lowfat milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups sliced banana (3 medium bananas)
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

Spray a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray. In a food processor, process graham crackers until finely ground. Add butter and 1 tablespoon of water, and process until the crumb clumps together. Press crumb mixture into bottom of pie plate and about 1/2-inch up the sides. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, then let cool.

In the meantime, make the filling. Put the gelatin in a small bowl; add 3 tablespoons of boiling water and stir until gelatin is dissolved. In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1/3 cup of sugar and the flour. In a medium bowl lightly beat the milk and eggs together. Add the egg and milk mixture to the saucepan and whisk so the flour and sugar dissolve. Cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly, for 10 minutes, until mixture comes to a boil and has thickened. Stir in the vanilla extract and gelatin. Set aside to cool slightly.

Arrange the sliced bananas on the graham cracker crust and pour the pudding on top. Place in the refrigerator until the pudding has set, about 3 hours. 

Whip the cream with an electric beater. When it is about halfway done, add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, then continue whipping until fully whipped. Put the whipped creamin a plastic bag, concentrating it in 1 corner of the bag. Snip that corner off the bag and squeeze the whipped cream out of the bag in a decorative pattern around the pie.