1207. Banana Cream Pie

One of my greatest pleasures in life is when a tiny human asks me to cook them something. This time it was all about pies; the sort of pie silly movies throw in each others' faces. I have a tendency to prefer tarts over pies, but this was a request I could not refuse.
A good choice seemed to come naturally in the form of a banana cream pie. Besides the crust, the pie is not baked. The filling is creme patissiere, which is the French custard that typically fills eclairs, and bananas, because what kid doesn't like bananas?

Ingredients: serves 8-10

For the crust:
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, cold
1/4 cup ice cold water

For the filling:
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
2 cups milk
6 Tbsp (75g) soft butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 medium bananas, peeled and sliced 1/2" thick



Method:

To make the crust, blitz the flour and salt in the food processor to distribute. Add the cubed cold butter and blitz until small pieces of butter are distributed throughout. As the machine is running drizzle in the cold water. Stop the machine when you see the dough start to come together. Do not over process. Refrigerate in cling film until needed.
Roll chilled pie dough into a 12" to 13" circle, and settle it into a 9" pie pan that's at least 1 1/2" deep.
Crimp the crust then refrigerate for 30 minutes to help prevent if from shrinking as it bakes.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Remove the pie from the refrigerator, and prick its bottom surface all over with a fork; this will help keep it flat. Line the crust with a piece of waxed paper or parchment and fill with dried beans.
Bake the crust for 20 minutes. Remove it from the oven, remove the weights and paper, and continue to bake for 15 to 20 minutes more, until it's golden brown across the bottom. Remove the crust from the oven, and cool it on a rack while you make the filling.
To make the filling: In a medium-sized heatproof bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cornstarch, salt, and eggs, whisking until smooth.
In a medium-sized saucepan, bring the milk just to a boil.
Gradually add the hot milk to the egg mixture, stirring all the while.
Return the egg/milk mixture to the saucepan, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and starts to boil. Keep watch as this happens quite quickly.
Remove the pastry cream from the heat, and stir in the vanilla and butter.
Place the sliced bananas in the bottom of the pie crust. Spoon the hot pastry cream over the bananas, Smooth the surface, and cover it with plastic wrap — or with the same piece of parchment you used to line the crust while it was baking.
Refrigerate the pie until it's completely cold; the filling will thicken and set. Serve the pie cold, with whipped cream if desired.

صحة و عافية