Cooking

For the Love of Pie

Modernizing the Banana Cream Classic

    What is better than pie? It has been one of my favorite foods since childhood. Pie is uniquely American and earthier than, say, cakes or pastries, which can be ethereal and difficult to make. Pie just seems to appeal to the basic, practical nature of American cooks. Pies can be either savory or sweet, are usually good served hot or cold, and tend to keep well, even at room temperature.
    My love of pies is rooted in the rural South and the fruit pies my mother made. Fruit was abundant and available, and everyone, rich and poor alike, made pies from peaches, apples, blackberries, plums, persimmons and other fruits that often grew just outside the backdoor. We also used pumpkins, sweet potatoes, mincemeat and peanut butter, and all these ingredients were either locally grown or readily at hand.
    My appreciation and love of pie expanded with my first non-farm job. I worked at a grocery store in a small town. The store had a bakery that made what were to me exotic pies, including multilayered Boston cream, creamy coconut-custard, light-as-air chiffons and beautiful, fluffy meringues. These pies without fruit seemed magical in both their appearance and creation. Often, as a reward for working extra hours on Saturday, the store manager would let me choose any pie or cake from the bakery to take home and enjoy. I always chose pie, and I always chose one I had never tried before. I actually looked forward to working extra just so I could try another kind of pie.
    My love of pie has lasted to this day, and I am always searching old cookbooks and periodicals for different pie recipes. I never tire of trying new and interesting ideas involving pie. One of my favorites is banana cream. I found the basis for this tasty recipe in a cookbook from the 1940s. I modernized it, added chocolate and made it easier—almost failure-proof—to make. Of course, it is delicious to eat. It is, after all, pie.

Dark chocolate banana cream pie

For the crust:
1¼    cup graham cracker crumbs
    (about 10 whole crackers)
4    tablespoons butter, melted

For the pastry cream:
12/3    cups whole milk
¼    cup sugar
½    vanilla bean, cut into half and seeds scraped out (or substitute 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
1     large egg
2     large egg yolks
3    tablespoons cornstarch
1½    tablespoons unsalted butter

For cream topping:
1½    cups heavy whipping cream
¼    cup crème fraîche or sour cream

For the chocolate layer:
4    ounces semisweet dark chocolate, chopped   into small pieces
2    ounces unsalted butter, cut into
    1-inch cubes
4     medium bananas sliced into ¼-inch rounds

    Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the cracker crumbs and the butter. Mix slightly with a fork; then, using your fingers, mix until uniform and evenly moistened. Pour the mixture into a 9-inch glass pie plate or metal pie pan. Using a round-bottomed cup or ladle, press the crumbs evenly into the bottom of the pan and up the sides. Bake until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely.
    In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, sugar and vanilla bean or extract and cook over medium heat until simmering. While the milk is cooking, whisk the egg and egg yolks with the cornstarch. If you are using a vanilla bean, remove it from the milk as soon as it starts to simmer. Slowly pour about one quarter of the milk into the cornstarch mixture, whisking as you pour.
    Transfer this mixture into the saucepan, again whisking while you pour. Turn the heat to low and continue whisking the mixture until it reaches the consistency of thick pudding. Remove from heat and stir in the butter until completely blended. Pour into a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Press the plastic wrap down on the pastry cream to keep skin from forming. Place in the refrigerator and chill.
    When you are ready to assemble the pie, pour the whipping cream and crème fraîche into a large bowl and, using an electric mixer, or whisk, whip the mixture into peaks. Transfer the pastry cream to a larger bowl and whisk until smooth. Fold ½ cup of the whipped cream into the pastry cream.
In a medium saucepan, add 2 inches of water; heat to boiling and turn off the heat. Place a bowl onto the saucepan so that the bottom of the bowl sits down in the pan but does not touch the water. Add the chocolate and butter and stir until melted.
    Line the bottom of the crust with a layer of bananas. Fold the remaining bananas into the pastry cream. Gently pour the melted chocolate evenly over the layer of bananas in the pie plate. Spoon the pastry cream/banana mixture over the chocolate and spread evenly. Mound the whipped cream on top of the pie. (I also like to take a small piece of dark chocolate and grate it over the pie.) Chill the pie thoroughly and serve.