Choclate Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pie

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This layered concoction of pastry cream and sliced bananas topped with whipped cream is often delicious and sometimes sliceable, but very rarely both. Using too much starch for stability resulted in a chalky, stodgy pastry cream. Instead, we found trading some of the excess starch for additional egg yolks and a bit of butter created the sliceable texture we were after. For banana flavor, rather than relying on banana extract (artificial) or liqueur (impractical) as most recipes call for, we got far better results by infusing the pastry cream with sauteed bananas. To slow down browning of the fresh banana slices, we tossed them in orange juice.

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Ingredients

  • Ingredients5 ripe bananas
  • 4 4 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 1/2 2 1/2 1 1/2 plus 1 1/2 tablespoons half-and-half
  • 1/2 1/2 1/2 2 (3 1/2 ounces) plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 6 6 6 large egg yolks
  • 1/4 1/4 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 2 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 1/2 1 1/2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 1 1 Pillsbury Just Unroll! Pie Crust
  • 4 4 4 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
  • 1/3 1/3 2 cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped, salted dry-roasted peanuts
  • 2 2 2 tablespoons orange juice
  • 1 1 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 2 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
  • 2 2 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Preparation

Step 1


Peel 2 bananas and slice into ½-inch-thick pieces. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add sliced bananas and cook until bananas begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add 2½ cups half-and-half, bring to boil, and boil for 30 seconds. Remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 40 minutes.
2. Whisk sugar, yolks, and salt together in large bowl until smooth. Whisk in cornstarch until incorporated. Strain half-and-half mixture through fine mesh strainer into yolk mixture—do not press on bananas—and whisk until incorporated; discard cooked bananas.
3. Transfer half-and-half mixture to clean medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thickened to consistency of warm pudding (180 degrees), 4 to 6 minutes. Whisk in remaining 3 tablespoons butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla, and transfer pastry cream to bowl. Press greased parchment paper directly against surface of pastry cream and set aside to cool slightly, about 1 hour.
4. Meanwhile, roll pie dough into 12-inch round on lightly floured counter. Transfer to 9-inch pie plate, fold edge of dough under itself so edge of fold is flush with outer rim of plate, and flute edges. Refrigerate 40 minutes; then freeze 20 minutes. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees.
5. Line chilled pie shell with 12-inch square of aluminum foil, folding foil over edges of dough. Fill with pie weights and bake for 20 minutes. Carefully remove foil and weights, rotate plate, and continue baking until crust is golden brown, 7 to 11 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.
6. Combine chocolate and remaining 1½ tablespoons half-and-half in bowl and microwave until melted, about 40 seconds, stirring halfway. Spread melted chocolate in bottom of baked pie shell. Sprinkle 1/3 cup chopped salted peanuts over chocolate.
7. Peel and slice remaining 3 bananas ¼-inch thick and toss with orange juice. Whisk pastry cream briefly, then spread ½ of pastry cream over bottom of pie shell. Arrange sliced bananas on pastry cream, then top with remaining pastry cream.
8. Whisk ¼ cup heavy cream and peanut butter together in bowl until smooth. Using stand mixer fitted with whisk, whip remaining ¾ cup heavy cream, confectioner’s sugar, and remaining ½ teaspoon vanilla on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to high and whip until stiff peaks form, 1 to 3 minutes. Fold peanut butter mixture into whipped cream, and spread evenly over top of pie. Sprinkle pie with remaining 2 tablespoons chopped peanuts. Refrigerate until set, 5 to 24 hours. Serve.


Test Kitchen Technique: Boosting Banana Flavor


To give our Banana Cream Pie deep banana flavor, we first flavor the half-and-half that we’ll be using to make the custard.


1. Add half-and-half to sliced bananas that have been sauteed in melted butter. Bring to boil, cover pot, and steep mixture for 40 minutes.



2. Strain banana-infused half-and-half into egg yolk mixture. Discard bananas.




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