Banana Cream Cookie Pie
I am excited to be writing my first official blog entry! And for it to commemorate this day is even better. I have both a personal and professional Facebook page, as well as an Instagram account, on which I post numerous amounts of photos of food that I make, whether at home or at work. So many pictures. Food, food, food. One of the most common complaints I get, though, goes something along the lines of "You're just teasing us! Your pictures always make me so hungry!" So, this is my response-- I've created a blog to share the moments behind the photos, as well as the recipes I use. Hopefully this way, friends and family will no longer have to just live vicariously through the photos; they'll actually get to taste some of my passion for themselves!
I mentioned above that this is an exciting post to launch my blog with. At Johnson & Wales University, the school from which I got my baking degrees, I met my best friend, Sarah. Her family graciously took me in as another member of their household when I moved to San Francisco about a year ago, and they have become my family away from home ever since. Sarah, her mom, and I all work for the same company which means that not only do we live together, but we also commute and work together. So basically, it's a good thing we all love each other and get along well!
Last week marked the nine-year anniversary of Sarah's dad's heart transplant. Obviously, I wasn't in their lives at the time of the operation, but I am now, and it was a special day that I feel blessed to have been a part of. Sarah wanted to celebrate by throwing her dad a dinner at home among family; while her and her boyfriend are in charge of creating a delicious meal, I took over the dessert.
Bill, Sarah's dad, has a HUGE sweet tooth-- much to my advantage. Among his favorite desserts are bread pudding, anything with chocolate mousse, and banana cream pie. Since there were plenty of bananas hanging out on the kitchen counter, I decided I'd go for the last option; the fact that both pies and pastry cream are some of my favorite things to make might have helped with that decision too!
The recipe I used makes enough for one pie--- one darn good pie, if I may say so myself. I like to add my own flare to traditional desserts, so there are a few steps that are out of the ordinary, such as the roasted bananas and cookie crumb topping. So go ahead, and try it! And no more complaining about my pictures making you all hungry ;)
Banana Cream (Cookie) Pie
For the crust:
1 stick cold butter, cut into small cubes
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg yolk
A pinch of salt
4 tablespoons of cold water
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Mix together the butter, sugar, flour, egg yolk and salt in a bowl. I like to work by hand, but this can also be done in a food processor, pulsing for 30 to 60 seconds. If mixing by hand, rub the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingertips until they become pea-like sizes. Add half of the water and mix the dough until it starts to come together, then add the rest of the water. At this point, the dough should hold together well. Shape it into a disk, and wrap it in plastic wrap. Place the dough in the fridge for about 20-30 minutes.
Lightly flour a work surface, and roll the dough out to 1/8 to 1/4-inch thickness. Place the dough in the tart pan and blind bake it by placing a piece of parchment paper on top, so that the paper comes up about an inch over the edge of the pan. Fill the pan with enough dry beans, or rice, so that it weighs down the paper on top of the dough, and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, remove the paper and beans and bake for 2 to 3 minutes more, until golden brown. Remove the tart shell from the oven and sprinkle the bottom of the shell with the chocolate chips, let them sit for about 30 seconds, and then spread them to a smooth consistency along the base to create an even layer of chocolate. Let cool.
For the pastry cream:
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
3 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons cornstarch
A pinch of salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 roasted bananas, mashed and cooled
2 sliced bananas
1 cup of cookie crumbs (any cookie of your choice!)
Pour the milk and sugar into a small pot over medium heat and bring to a low simmer. Meanwhile, whisk 3 egg yolks and 3 tablespoons cornstarch in a small bowl-- this is called a slurry. When the milk reaches a simmer, take it off the heat and, using a 1/4 cup measurement, slowly pour the milk into the slurry while whisking-- this is called tempering the eggs. You only have to whisk in about half of the milk mixture, just so that the egg slurry is heated up a little bit. Gradually whisk the slurry and milk mixture back into the pot containing the rest of the milk, and return to the stove over medium heat. Make sure to always be whisking at this point, until the mixture comes to a full boil-- this is called a double boil-- until thickened. Once this stage has been reached, take the pot off the stove and whisk in butter, vanilla, and salt. Fold in the mashed roasted bananas and let cool by pouring it into a bowl and covering the surface of the cream with plastic wrap to avoid creating a skin. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, arrange half of the banana slices on the pastry shell base. Pour chilled filling into the prepared pastry shell, and top with the rest of the banana slices. Top the pie off with the cookie crumbs. Cover with plastic wrap, and chill until firm, at least 3 hours and up to 1 day.
The recipe I used makes enough for one pie--- one darn good pie, if I may say so myself. I like to add my own flare to traditional desserts, so there are a few steps that are out of the ordinary, such as the roasted bananas and cookie crumb topping. So go ahead, and try it! And no more complaining about my pictures making you all hungry ;)
Banana Cream (Cookie) Pie
For the crust:
1 stick cold butter, cut into small cubes
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg yolk
A pinch of salt
4 tablespoons of cold water
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Mix together the butter, sugar, flour, egg yolk and salt in a bowl. I like to work by hand, but this can also be done in a food processor, pulsing for 30 to 60 seconds. If mixing by hand, rub the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingertips until they become pea-like sizes. Add half of the water and mix the dough until it starts to come together, then add the rest of the water. At this point, the dough should hold together well. Shape it into a disk, and wrap it in plastic wrap. Place the dough in the fridge for about 20-30 minutes.
Lightly flour a work surface, and roll the dough out to 1/8 to 1/4-inch thickness. Place the dough in the tart pan and blind bake it by placing a piece of parchment paper on top, so that the paper comes up about an inch over the edge of the pan. Fill the pan with enough dry beans, or rice, so that it weighs down the paper on top of the dough, and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, remove the paper and beans and bake for 2 to 3 minutes more, until golden brown. Remove the tart shell from the oven and sprinkle the bottom of the shell with the chocolate chips, let them sit for about 30 seconds, and then spread them to a smooth consistency along the base to create an even layer of chocolate. Let cool.
For the pastry cream:
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
3 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons cornstarch
A pinch of salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 roasted bananas, mashed and cooled
2 sliced bananas
1 cup of cookie crumbs (any cookie of your choice!)
Pour the milk and sugar into a small pot over medium heat and bring to a low simmer. Meanwhile, whisk 3 egg yolks and 3 tablespoons cornstarch in a small bowl-- this is called a slurry. When the milk reaches a simmer, take it off the heat and, using a 1/4 cup measurement, slowly pour the milk into the slurry while whisking-- this is called tempering the eggs. You only have to whisk in about half of the milk mixture, just so that the egg slurry is heated up a little bit. Gradually whisk the slurry and milk mixture back into the pot containing the rest of the milk, and return to the stove over medium heat. Make sure to always be whisking at this point, until the mixture comes to a full boil-- this is called a double boil-- until thickened. Once this stage has been reached, take the pot off the stove and whisk in butter, vanilla, and salt. Fold in the mashed roasted bananas and let cool by pouring it into a bowl and covering the surface of the cream with plastic wrap to avoid creating a skin. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, arrange half of the banana slices on the pastry shell base. Pour chilled filling into the prepared pastry shell, and top with the rest of the banana slices. Top the pie off with the cookie crumbs. Cover with plastic wrap, and chill until firm, at least 3 hours and up to 1 day.