banana cream pie

banana cream pie is a dessert that works for any occasion. saaaay breakfast. or during tv time. or howsabout any time one wishes to eat at all. i suppose it would be good for Thanksgiving or potlucks as well, but that would mean you'd have to share it and i'm not sure i'm up for that. i'm only kidding, of course. i made a banana cream pie the other day for the reason that i had ripe bananas as well as a box of graham crackers that i needed to use up. it turned out to be pretty great. and in case you're wondering...yes, i did share, though i would have preferred to just eat it right out of the pan with a fork like a savage.

*this recipe calls for mashed bananas IN the crust, which i thought was weird, but i went for it anyway. the result was a chewyish type crust that was sort of hard to scrape from the bottom of the pie tin. i thought the chew was kinda odd, but everybody who tried it liked it and some even preferred it over your standard graham cracker crust. either way, it was delicious so go about it however you'd like.

for the longest time i would smash graham crackers into crumbs using a heavy bottle of olive oil until one day a light bulb lit up and i realized that that rolling pin i've had for so long would probably do the trick more efficiently. how did that not register in my brain sooner?

custard in all of it's perfection

if you don't do this the top layer will turn into a "skin" which disgusts me. correct me if i'm wrong, but i've heard that the "skin" part of homemade puddings is something that people fight over in (please excuse me...) white people households. i just can't wrap my my around that.

i followed this recipe i saw on Epicurious to a tee, except that i added whipped cream on top.

banana cream pie

ingredients:

crust

- 2 /12 c graham cracker crumbs

- 1/3 c sugar

- 1/4 c mashed banana

- 1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted

filling

- 1/2 c sugar

- 1/3 c cornstarch

- 1/4 tsp salt

- 1 1/2 c whipping cream

- 1 1/2 c whole milk

- 3 large egg yolks

- 1 vanilla bean

- 2 tbs unsalted butter

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 5 ripe bananas

directions:

for crust:

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2. in your pie pan, mix graham crackers, sugar, and mashed banana until thoroughly mixed

3. mix in melted butter so that all elements are moist

4. evenly press into pie pan 

5. bake for until light golden brown or about 15 minutes

6. allow to cool completely

for filling:

1. in a medium saucepan stir together sugar, cornstarch and salt 

2. gradually whisk in whipping cream and whole milk

3. whisk in egg yolks 

4. cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise, scrape the seeds and add everything to the saucepan

5. whisk over medium high heat until the custard thickens or comes to a boil

6. remove from heat

7. whisk in butter and vanilla extract

8. discard the vanilla bean

9. transfer custard to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap so that it touches the surface of the custard. allow custard to cool competely

assembling the pie:

layer one cup of custard on the bottom of the pie, then a layer of sliced bananas (use 4 of the 5), and continue to alternate until you've run out of ingredients. spread a layer of whipped cream atop the pie (i whipped up 3/4 c whipping cream, 2 tbs sugar and a splash of vanilla extract, whipped until stiff). adorn with last banana, sliced and extra graham cracker crumbs if you've got them.